This book contains more than 300 papers presented at the 28th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, held in Cardiff, Wales, in July 2002. It is divided into five parts: coastal waves; nearshore currents, swash, and long waves; coastal structures; sediment transport; and coastal morphology, beach nourishment, and coastal management. The papers cover a broad range of topics, including theory, numerical and physical modeling, field measurements, case studies, design, and management. Coastal Engineering 2002 provides engineers, scientists, and planners with state-of-the-art information on coastal engineering and coastal processes.
A risk conundrum can be viewed as a risk that poses major issues in assessment, and whose management is not easily engaged. Such perplexing problems can either paralyze or badly delay risk analysis and directions for progression. Rather than simply focusing on the progress in risk analysis that has already been made, it is crucial to consider what has been learnt about these seemingly unmanageable problems and how best to move forward. Risk Conundrums seeks to answer this question by bringing together a range of key thinkers in the field to explore key issues such as risk communication, uncertainty, social trust, indicators and metrics, and risk management, drawing upon case study examples including natural disasters, terrorism, and energy transitions. The initial chapters address risk conundrums, their properties, and the challenges they pose. The book then turns to a greater emphasis on systemic and regional risk conundrums. Finally, it considers how risk management can be changed to address these unsolvable conundrums. Alternative pathways are defined and scrutinized and predictions for future developments set out. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of risk governance, environmental policy, and sustainable development.
A Users Guide to Hydraulic Modelling and Experimentation provides a systematic, comprehensive summary of the progress made through HYDRALAB III . The book combines the expertise of many of the leading hydraulic experimentalists in Europe and identifies current best practice for carrying out state-of-the-art, modern laboratory investigations. In add
Since the 1950s,the International Joint Commission (IJC) of Canada and the United States has issued water regulation and management plans for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Changes in recreational, environmental, navigational and other uses of the water system have prompted the IJC to consider replacing the current water regulation plan in operation for more than 40 years. IJC's goals for a replacement plan include sound scientific foundations, public participation, transparency in plan development and evaluation, and inclusion of environmental considerations. To help develop and select the new plan, the IJC supported a 5-year, $20 million Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study (LOSLR Study). The LOSLR Study uses models to compile and integrate data gathered from a series of commissioned studies of wetlands, species at risk, recreational boating, fisheries, coastal erosion and flooding, commercial navigation, hydropower, industrial, municipal and domestic water intakes, public information and education, and hydrologic modeling. This report reviews a portion of the study that focused on wetlands and species at risk and three of the models that were used. The report finds that the overall breadth of the LOSLR study is impressive, and commends the scale and inclusiveness of the studies and models. In terms of informing decision making, however, the reviewed studies and models show deficiencies when evaluated against ten evaluation criteria, including treatment of uncertainty, quality control/quality assurance, thorough documentation, and empirical foundations. Among the report's recommendations is a need for more thorough documentation of study methods and findings, stronger and more consistent quality control, and more attention to how uncertainty should be addressed to better inform decision making. This NRC study was conducted in collaboration with the Royal Society of Canada.
Climate change and land use transformations have induced an increased flood risk worldwide. These phenomena are dramatically impacting ordinary life and the economy. Research and technology offer a new strategy to quantify and predict such phenomena and also mitigate the impact of flooding. In particular, the growing computational power is offering new strategies for a more detailed description of the flooding over large scales. This book offers an overview of the most recent outcomes of the research on this argument.
One of 21 climate change synthesis and assessment products commissioned by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), this report examines the effects of sea level rise, impacts on society, and opportunities to prepare for those consequences, focusing on the eight coastal states from New York to North Carolina. Using scientific literature and policy documents, the report describes potential changes to barrier.
At the coast all is not what it seems. Decades of beachfront development have seen a variety of efforts to stabilize the shoreline to protect ill-placed beachfront property, both from shoreline erosion and from storm damage. Both of these problems become increasingly critical in a time of rising sea level. Many natural beaches are backed by sea walls, while others have been transformed by whole series of groynes, offshore breakwaters and a plethora of other schemes. Many recreational beaches are actually artificial replicas of the real thing, emplaced to protect badly placed infrastructure and maintained only through ongoing costly beach nourishment. However, all of these attempts to stabilize the shoreline are far from benign. Degradation and even complete loss of the all important recreational beach sometimes results from seawall emplacement. Increasingly, the choice of shoreline stabilization approach will depend upon plans for future response to rising seas which in many cases may involve retreat from the shoreline rather than holding the line. This book explores, through a series of case studies from around the globe, the pitfalls of shoreline stabilization and provides a ready reference for those with an interest in shoreline management. It is particularly timely in a time of global change.
A "conundrum" is a puzzle whose solution requires the resolution of a paradox. In this instance, the paradox lies in two widely held and conflicting assumptions: that the pathway to a modern economy requires exploiting and monetizing a country's natural resources, and that the long-term prosperity of a nation depends on the conservation of those same resources. This book consciously seeks to avoid the mentality of "trade-offs", where pro-development advocates view conservation efforts as impediments and conservationists are convinced that development inevitably leads to a loss for nature. Instead, through an evaluation of opportunities in the still pristine forests of the Cardamom Mountains and surrounding landscapes, the author seeks to demonstrate that wise management of a nation's renewable natural resources will facilitate economic growth. Resolving the Cardamom Conundrum demands an economic model that provides robust growth, and that alleviates poverty over the short term and eradicates it over the medium term. Any other solution is impractical and morally unacceptable. The author points the way by indentifying innovative options linked to climate finance and low carbon development strategies that span the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
