Is "Sea Level Rise Mitigation" A New Engineering Career Field? 2

[SlideRuleEra]

Whether global warming is "true", "false", "caused by human activities", or "natural" has been talked about frequently in other forums. Sea level change is often linked to global warming. Unlike global warming, sea level change has been documented by comprehensive real-time data collection. On the US coastline this has been taking place at numerous locations for up to 130 years. Sea levels are increasing. This could be caused by water level rise, land subsidence, or both... the reason does not matter. Here is a typical graph showing the increase at Charleston, SC, since 1921:

Numerous coastal cities are contending with real effects of sea level rise:

Most cities are "talking", "discussing", or "planning" about what to do. To my knowledge only one is acting: Charleston, SC

The city has no real choice, it is located on a peninsula with adjacent tidal water, small (135,000 population), flat, and low.

Flooding is complex, here are simplified examples:

1) With heavy rain at high tide, storm water drainage does not work... the city floods with fresh water.

2) No rain, but "very" high tide, there is no drainage, sea water floods the city.

3) Engineering solutions only address flooding for a limited time. If global warming is "true", the time is "sooner". If global warming is "false" the time is "later". For planning purposes, would be nice to know the answer.

Problems encountered while searching for a solution include:

Geotechnical​

Environmental​

Civil​

Structural​

Mechanical​

Astronomical (tidal cycles)​

Meteorological (rain, wind driven tide, hurricane storm surge)​

Archeological (unmarked graves, excavated unknown cultural sites, unearthed unexploded ordinance from Civil War artillery bombardment)​

Historic Preservation​

To my knowledge there is no such field of engineering that addresses all of these areas...at least at a level where one Engineer can explain the technical aspects of a proposed sea level mitigation project to "Decision Makers".

If there were such a thing as "Sea Level Rise Mitigation Engineering", perhaps the cities that are "talking", "discussing", and "planning" can be convinced to "act"... jump-starting engineering design, construction, and operation of large scale infrastructure projects that evidence demonstrates are badly needed.

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[waross]

So I saw this fellow in water up to his neck. He kept yelling;
"Help! Help! The water's rising!"
I patiently explained to him that the water wasn't really rising, but the object that he was standing on was subsiding.
He didn't seem to be reassured. grin
On a more positive note there may be a political solution. All it needs is the political will.
Those billions may be better spent as part of a program to discourage new building in coastal areas at risk and a plan to subsidize moves to a higher location.


Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[rb1957]

yeah, I get the story. However it has a direct bearing on the solution. If the sea level is rising then building a wall will obviously help. If the land is subsiding, then the wall may increase the rate of subsiding.

another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?