Global Warming for Cape Cod
The problems experienced on the Cape because of coastal change will be amplified exponentially by global warming. Not only will sea level rise threaten people’s livelihood in already vulnerable areas, but there will be a series of secondary and tertiary effects felt like increased erosion, storm intensity, flooding, loss of property and coastal habitats, contamination of both surface water and ground water and inundation of marshes and estuaries to cite a few examples.
Coastal marshes have kept pace with the slow rate of sea level rise that has characterized the last several thousand years. Thus, the area of marsh has expanded over time as new lands have been inundated. If in the future, sea level rises faster than the ability of the marsh to keep pace, the marsh area will contract. Construction of bulkheads to protect economic development may prevent new marsh from forming and result in total loss of marsh in some areas.
Current coastal management measures should be coupled with preparedness planning for sea level rise. The Cape, because of the National Seashore, is positioned differently than many other coastal communities that are preemptively responding by conducting beach replenishment or elevating existing structures in low lying areas. The EPA’s report on Climate Change states that:
Property owners and federal, state, and local governments are already starting to take measures to prepare for the consequences of rising sea level. Most coastal states are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to place sand onto their beaches to offset shore erosion.[i]
Because these same measures cannot be taken within the park, the NPS needs to be armed with information about how sea level rise will affect the coastline if it cannot be physically armoring its beaches. A better sense of how the Cape should respond can be gardened by conducting long term monitoring through projects like the Marindin Project or evaluating the vulnerability of the coast through models like the U.S. Geological Survey generated Coastal Vulnerability Index.
Coastal Vulnerability Index
The Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) is a map of the Cape that ranks the vulnerability of the coast to future sea level rise based on six different variables: geomorphology, shoreline erosion/accretion rate, coastal slope, relative sea-level rise rate, mean wave height, and mean tide range, which collectively yields a CVI number.
The rankings for each variable were combined and an index value calculated for 1-minute grid cells covering the park. The CVI highlights those regions where the physical effects of sea-level rise might be the greatest. This approach combines the coastal system’s susceptibility to change with its natural ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, yielding a quantitative, although relative, measure of the park’s natural vulnerability to the effects of sea-level rise.[ii]
Relative Coastal Vulnerability for Cape Cod National Seashore. The innermost color bar is the relative coastal vulnerability index (CVI). The remaining color bars are separated into the geologic variables (1-3) and physical process variables.
While this map offers a crude estimation of Cape’s susceptibility, it reinforces many the same sites I have identified as being vulnerable. Areas coded in red have the highest vulnerability ranking, which encompass featured sites in this project like the Nauset-Monomy Barrier, the Provincetown Hook and Great Island. By monitoring these areas closely, the community can be better prepared but without implementing some type of widespread short front protection strategies like soft solutions, the Cape will experience the same negative consequences of global warming as other low-lying coastal communities.
[i] “Coastal Zones and Sea Level Rise | Climate Change – Health and Environmental Effects | U.S. EPA.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/coastal/index.html>.
[ii] “U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-233, Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Cape Cod National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise, Abstract.” USGS Publications Warehouse. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-233/abstract.html>.
49 Comments to “Global Warming for Cape Cod”
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
By Lynwood Formey, August 18, 2010 @ 10:11 pm
Thanks this made for intresting reading. I love your wordpress theme, i continually come back here and i dont know why. I just seriously like your web site lol… I recently read something simular to this on That Are i believe they may well of stolen the blog?
By www, August 18, 2010 @ 10:19 am
Hi, it’s a great article, and very good idea.come and see a good and nice blog.
By Marcos Szymczyk, August 17, 2010 @ 4:22 pm
Hi administrator I rejoice in w/ ur content . can i copy this advice being my educate test ? thanks
By Dia de Spa, August 12, 2010 @ 7:12 am
Excelentes Tips! a ponerlos en practica! Gracias!
By phil, August 8, 2010 @ 7:40 pm
Nice post, pretty much nail it for me, cool website!
By google ad sense, August 8, 2010 @ 4:21 pm
Hello this is amazing site! really cool and it will be a new inspirations for me
By today sponge reviews, August 7, 2010 @ 6:46 pm
You are doing a great job at your blog, man. I have been always a reader of your blog.
By twitter follow, July 25, 2010 @ 7:05 pm
Cool Site, thanks for the info!!
By Boston web design, July 22, 2010 @ 2:38 pm
I am a student and i found your info on the site very useful for my study, Please keep it up.
By Viagra ohne rezept, July 21, 2010 @ 8:38 pm
All is well that ends well.
By Saturnina Saum, July 21, 2010 @ 1:51 pm
Hey there! Our staff members are looking for imminent authors, could you be curious? This ?s not going to prepare you rich on the other hand there is an eye-catching comp and if you exceptionally take pleasure in posting then this one gig is for you.
By Hoosiers full movie, July 17, 2010 @ 1:26 pm
Hmmm…good to know, there were definitely two or three items which I hadn’t thought of before.
By Travis, July 16, 2010 @ 11:12 pm
Nicely written and really instructive. I am thankful you took the time to post this since it was very useful.
By chanel handbags, July 12, 2010 @ 4:06 pm
This is a great resource for anyone who blogs!!
By louis vuitton handbags, July 12, 2010 @ 9:57 am
My English is not good, but to see the article you write a good feel of your
By Shayarin Bellah, July 12, 2010 @ 9:48 am
Of course, what a great web site and informative posts, I will add backlink and bookmark this web site? Regards, Reader.
By Marjorie Black, July 11, 2010 @ 6:40 pm
From the beginning of time, the world has been changing. Scientists have long studied the heating and cooling patterns that the earth. Whether you’re for or against global warming, the facts can’t be denied that yes, the earth warms, and it just so happens we are already going through a steady warming period. However, what goes up must come down, and also the earth will go through a cooling period as nicely. The trends have shown us this, and many say that we have already entered the cooling period. Thoughts?
By Natasha Jencks, July 9, 2010 @ 1:45 pm
I am going to bookmark this blogg on Mixx to get more clicks for you.
By Annette Anagnostou, July 7, 2010 @ 2:23 am
Global warming is a serious matter that simply ignoring is NOT going to work out! Thanks for the informatory blog post. Thanks for spreading the subject matter. This blog is CERTAINLY bookmarked! If you need more information on global warming, or the carbon tax, take a look at Carbonizm it genuinely helped me understand it more.
By Make money online, July 4, 2010 @ 12:15 pm
Extremely interesting post thank you for sharing I just added your web site to my bookmarks and will be back now and then. By the way this is off topic but I really like your blogs layout.
By obd2 scanners, June 26, 2010 @ 11:20 pm
I was trying to find more information on Global Warming for Cape Cod | Changing Coastline on Yahoo and this page was the first site I saw about it. Thanks for this and now I know where to find great stuff anytime I need it
By game review, June 15, 2010 @ 12:06 am
interesting post, pretty much covered it all for me, thanks.
By Kim Gudinas, June 14, 2010 @ 2:31 am
Heya¡my very first comment on your site. ,I have been reading your blog for a while and thought I would completely pop in and drop a friendly note. . It is great stuff indeed. I also wanted to ask..is there a way to subscribe to your site via email?
By Rossie Pavlosky, June 14, 2010 @ 1:02 am
Your blog is so informative ¡ keep up the good work!!!!
By Mila Vanhoozier, June 11, 2010 @ 9:42 am
You wouldn¡¯t believe it but I¡¯ve wasted all day digging for some articles about this. You¡¯re a lifesaver, it was an excellent read and has helped me out to no end. Cheers,
By Veola Shryack, June 11, 2010 @ 12:07 am
Very intereresting reading. thx
By Leslie Hilmes, June 10, 2010 @ 10:21 am
Hi there, awesome site. I thought the topics you posted on were very interesting. I tried to add your RSS to my feed reader and it a few. take a look at it, hopefully I can add you and follow.
By Art Pasquino, June 10, 2010 @ 12:29 am
Hello,The Burden of your blog is very Suit to me, I hope more interflow with you this Topic.
By Roberto Cobourn, June 7, 2010 @ 10:23 pm
You have stoked my interest. tweaks moustache.
By jujuzinha, June 2, 2010 @ 6:58 pm
ótimo poster, Parabéns pelo blog! possue um conteudo muito bom, estou sempre aconpanhando. Quando poder visite o meu tb, te um conteúdo legal, http://sofamosidade.blogspot.com bjs
By Charles Gelabert, June 1, 2010 @ 8:37 pm
Very interesting blog post thank you for sharing I have added your site to my bookmarks and will be back
By the way this is a little off subject but I really like your sites layout.
By Daniela Lamberti, May 30, 2010 @ 7:09 pm
Hi there, awesome site. I thought the topics you posted on were very interesting
By Randy Gitt, May 30, 2010 @ 5:13 am
Hi there, awesome site. I thought the topics you posted on were very interesting. I tried to add your RSS to my feed reader and it a few. take a look at it, hopefully I can add you and follow.
By metal roofing, May 26, 2010 @ 8:19 am
You got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about half an hour. I am a newbie and your post is valuable for me.
By Peter Cram, May 24, 2010 @ 6:20 pm
Hi,this is Peter Cram,just discovered your Blog on google and i must say this blog is great.may I share some of the Post found in your blog to my local people?i am not sure and what you think?anyhow,Thx!
By Ella Westphalen, May 24, 2010 @ 5:12 pm
I really enjoyed this post. I can tell you put in a great deal of effort and time into this post. I will be back to read more as you post more!
By eCards, May 23, 2010 @ 3:30 pm
Hey, I just hopped over to your site via StumbleUpon. Not somthing I would normally read, but I liked your thoughts none the less. Thanks for making something worth reading.
free ecards
By homegym, May 22, 2010 @ 9:43 pm
Interesting and good stuff. Keep it coming. I am always interested in the story
By best pda ever, May 22, 2010 @ 7:10 pm
I admire the valuable info you provide in your content articles. I’ll bookmark your blog and have my kids check up here frequently. I am quite sure they will learn lots of new stuff here than anybody else!
By best pda on the market, May 22, 2010 @ 1:26 am
I enjoyed reading it. I need to study more on this topic..Thanks for sharing a nice info..Any way I am going to subscribe to your feed and I hope you publish again soon.
By Monte Pohl, May 21, 2010 @ 1:27 am
hey,this is Monte Pohl,just observed your Blog on google and i must say this blog is great.may I quote some of the article found in the website to my local people?i’m not sure and what you think?in either case,Many thanks!
By renaissance clothing, May 10, 2010 @ 1:25 am
insightful post
By Registry Cleaner Reviews, May 2, 2010 @ 8:11 pm
I enjoy reading the report, too. It′s easy to understand that a journey like this is the biggest event in ones
life.
By tiffany jewellery, May 2, 2010 @ 2:11 pm
thank! for this news it’s a good infomation !
By Buckmaster at Tomato Plants, April 26, 2010 @ 12:30 pm
Great stuff. Perhaps a little off topic, but would you mind if I write something about this on my tomato plant blog? I will of course, cite original source and link back to your page.
By MOORE, April 23, 2010 @ 12:17 am
Excellent share. Thanks for informing us.
By Desmond Ester, April 21, 2010 @ 8:56 pm
I read your blog all the time and I just thought I’d say keep up the good work!
By Alfredo Bernath, April 20, 2010 @ 2:37 pm
I’m impressed! It’s good to see someone very well informed about what they do. Looking forward to future posts.Cheers!
By Patio Laycock, April 18, 2010 @ 3:21 am
I have found this article very interesting. It’s a beautifully written article. The write has gathered and arranged information in a brilliant fashion. The beauty of this article is in its language and verbosity. The subject of this article is also very capturing.