Browsing by Subject "sea level rise"
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Item Anaylsis of Beach Morphology and Water Levels at Three Sites Along the Texas Gulf Shore(1997) Morton, Robert A.Integration of beach profiles and water-level measurements at three sites on a microtidal, wave-dominated coast reveals that tide-gauge records systematically underestimate the actual elevations and horizontal positions that water reaches on the beach as a result of wave runup. On low-gradient sandy beaches, natural morphological beach features, such as the erosional scarp and vegetation line, accurately reflect the positions of frequent maximum high-water levels, and the berm crest reflects the position of more frequent ordinary high-water levels, whereas tide-gauge records consistently predict lower maximum and average levels of beach flooding. The discrepancies between predicted and actual water positions on the beach have important scientific and legal implications. The scientific implications involve the need to map shoreline features that closely track the long-term trends in beach movement but are insensitive to short-term fluctuations in water level. Neither the instantaneous high-water line (wet beach-dry beach boundary) nor the berm crest satisfy this requirement, and therefore, they are not recommended for monitoring shoreline position either in the field or interpreted from aerial photographs unless there is no reliable alternative. The legal implications pertain to land ownership and property boundaries in the United States that currently are surveyed from tide-gauge records but were originally defined by common law on the basis of high-water levels that leave physical marks on the upland property. Because water levels are actually higher on the beach than predicted by tide gauges, land surveys based on a tidal datum allocate more littoral property to the upland owner than is justified by the physical facts or was intended by law. Consequently, the publicly owned state submerged lands encompass less of the beach than that area which is regularly flooded by marine water.Item The Sentinel City: A Multivalent Resiliency Plan For Houston, Texas(2019-05-01) Moore, Dana; Atkinson, SimonSentinel Cities are the first metropoles in the United States to exhibit signs of climate change-related stress. Each Sentinel has a unique set of problems to overcome. In Houston these are climate-augmented storms and sea level rise, which subject its residents to compound flood vulnerability from drastic rainfall and storm surge. Today, Houston is subject to several underlying systemic weaknesses inherited from the city’s unchecked growth, which make the urban populace particu- larly vulnerable to flood events. The most acclaimed proposal to mitigate flood risk Houston is the “Ike Dike” Coastal Spine, a system of flood barriers and gates modeled after the 20th century Delta Works of Holland as precedent. Further interrogation of the Dutch model as precedent reveals deep differences between the Texas flood problem and that of the Netherlands, while also revealing aspects of the Delta Plan that Houston could emulate. A multivalent resiliency strategy for Houston can imitate these methods while also ensuring success in the distinct Texas social and political climate. This report explores a scheme called the String of Pearls, a strategy to incentivize sustainable growth in Houston while building emergency preparedness into the very fabric of the city.