New SWCASC-funded Study Highlights Critical Challenges and Potential Solutions for California Coastline Amid Climate Change
A new publication by SW CASC-funded researchers titled “Significant challenges to the sustainability of the California coast considering climate change” was just published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). This perspective highlights the main threat to coastal sustainability: the compound effects of episodic events amplified with ongoing climate change.
This publication discusses one of the biggest threats to the coast of California: the compound effects of extreme events combined with ongoing climate change. The authors identified two key challenges for the sustainability of these coasts: 1) sea-level rise and the compounding effects of storms, and 2) warming oceans and the compounding effects of marine heatwaves. Additionally, the authors provide several potential solutions and management strategies to enhance sustainability, such as planning and implementing inland migration, actively implementing actions to resist ecosystem loss using nature-based solution, establishing a monitoring network to detect and anticipate change, and many others. These authors hope to encourage research and policy development that will emphasize prevention, mitigation, management, and conservation for coastal sustainability.
SW CASC Researcher Rich Ambrose
SW CASC Researcher Glen MacDonald