Sea Level rise inundation modelling in SGES

Sea level rise is an important expected consequence of climate change which has implications for coastal infrastructure, communities and ecosystems. Potential sea level rise scenarios have been published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others. Inundation modelling can be used as a way to evaluate possible inundation effects of these scenarios. We have produced inundation models for commonwealth and state government departments and other coastal management organisations. Our approach uses the "bathtub" inundation method, which takes sea level components (including sea level rise estimates and tidal range) together with their associated height error estimates, and combines them with a digital elevation model (DEM) to calculate a spatial grid over the area of interest showing the locations likely to be inundated given the model settings and constraints. The model is currently implemented in the Python scripting environment. Increased availability of LiDAR height data provides an opportunity for more precise modelling than was previously possible. Modelled results can be used for economic, social and ecological purposes to inform the future management of vulnerable coastal areas. One important spinoff of this modelling is that it can be used to predict the present and future extent of coastal saltmarsh communities.