Turks and Caicos Islands

studies of the relative magnitude of regional SLR also suggest that because of the Caribbean’s proximity to
the equator, SLR will be more pronounced than in some other regions (Bamber et al., 2009; Hu et al., 2009).
Based on the SLR scenarios for the Caribbean (see Section 3.11) and consistent with other assessments of
its potential impacts (e.g. Dasgupta et al., 2007), 1 m and 2 m SLR scenarios and beach erosion scenarios of
50 m and 100 m were calculated to assess the potential vulnerability of major tourism resources across the
Turks and Caicos Islands. Figure 4.6.2 is one example that illustrates the impacts of beach erosion are
already being seen in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Figure 4.6.2: Erosion at Cedar Grove Beach, The Turks and Caicos Islands
To examine the exposure of the Turks and Caicos to SLR, research grade Advanced Spaceborne Thermal
Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) data sets that were
recently publically released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japanese
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, were integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS). The
ASTER GDEM was downloaded from Japan’s Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Centre using a rough
outline of the Caribbean to select the needed tiles, which were then loaded into an ArcMap document. The
next step was to mosaic the tiles into a larger analysis area, followed by the creation of the SLR scenarios as
binary raster layers to analyse whether an area is affected by SLR through the reclassification of the GDEM
mosaics (see Simpson et al., 2010 for a more detailed discussion of the methodology). These assessments
were used to calculate the impacts of SLR on the islands.
Table 4.6.1 summarizes the transportation infrastructure that is at risk to a 1 m and 2 m SLR scenario. With
1 m SLR, 1 of the 2 airport lands in the Turks and Caicos Islands would become inundated, along with 2 of
the 5 ports and 30 km (4%) of the major road networks. With a 1 m SLR 73% of major resorts would be at
risk of inundation and with a 2 m SLR 60% of turtle nesting sites would be lost.
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