Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities - Climate ...

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Appendix BNorthern Gulf of Mexico Case StudyThe shores of the Gulf of Mexico support ecosystems and economies of national significance.According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the commercial fish andshellfish harvest from the five U.S. Gulf states was estimated to be 1.3 billion poundsvalued at $639 million in 2010. The Gulf also contains four of the nation’s top seven fishingports by weight and eight of the nation’s top twenty fishing ports by dollar value.Gulf landings of shrimp and harvest of oysters lead the nation and the Gulf also houses aproductive recreational fishery. In 2010, marine recreational participants took more than20.7 million trips.According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, offshore operations in theGulf produce a quarter of the U.S. domestic natural gas and one-eighth of its oil. In addition,the offshore petroleum industry employs over 55,000 U.S. workers in the Gulf.Coastal communities and ports maintain this energy production by supporting the operationof offshore and inshore production facilities as well as onshore pipelines andprocessing plants.Major Gulf ports include New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston, Mobile, and LakeCharles. More than 220 million tons of cargo moved through the Port of Houston in2009. In 2008, the Port of Mobile had a trade volume of over 67 million tons. The cargoconveyed on the Mississippi River alone is estimated to have an approximately $115 billionannual impact on the nation’s economy.Vulnerable Coastal Habitats and CommunitiesGlobal sea-level rise will have a disproportionate effect along the Gulf Coast shoreline becauseof its flat topography, regional land subsidence, extensive shoreline development,and vulnerability to major storms. Considerable uncertainty remains about whether theregional climate will become wetter or drier in the future, but future trends in rainfall,runoff, and consequent soil moisture are critical to human and ecological well-being inthe Gulf Coast. Freshwater availability influences coastal ecosystems through salinitygradients as well as agricultural production and many coastal industries and water supplyfor municipalities.Climate changes could also result in potential shifts in El Niño/La Niña cycles, hurricanes,storms, and coastal ocean currents; however, even if storm intensities remainconstant disturbance from coastal flooding and erosion will increase because rising sealevels will generate higher storm surges even from minor storms. The effects of recentstorms, including Katrina and Rita in 2005, have been dramatic and demonstrate thevulnerability of large population centers like New Orleans and Houston.However, in addition to the dramatic, newsworthy events associated with major141
142 Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilitiesevents, the rural communities of the Gulf Coast are also of concern due to their existingsocial vulnerability. The figure below (Figure B-1) shows how indices of coastal vulnerability(CVI) merged with indices of social vulnerability (CSoVI) produces a place vulnerabilityindex (PVI) with high values in the counties of coastal Louisiana and Texas.Figure B-1 Vulnerability of Gulf Coast counties based on physical (CVI) and social (CSoVl) indicatorsand their integration into place vulnerability (PVI). Based on: Boruff et al., 2005; Pendleton et al., 2010.A ‘Laboratory’ for Understanding Coastal Change and TestingNew ApproachesThe northern Gulf of Mexico provides an excellent laboratory for considering the effectsof future climate change for several reasons:• Adaptation and change are already integral. From ecosystems to communities,change is both inevitable and already happening. The deltaic wetlandsof coastal Louisiana are in a constant state of change associated with growthand degradation of delta lobes, and a northward shift in the limit of persistentmangrove growth is already underway. Although these changes are associatedwith both gradual and pulsed forcing, coastal communities change in responseto storm events. Although the conventional wisdom tells us that relocating orelevating coastal residents is difficult, post-storm efforts in coastal Louisiana and
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National Climate Assessment Regiona
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© 2012 The National Oceanic and At
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Coastal Impacts, Adaptation,and Vul
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Chapter 3Lead Author: Carlton H. He
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ContentsKey TermsAcronymsCommunicat
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4.4 Human Health Impacts and Implic
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Key TermsxixExposure 3 - The nature
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AcronymsxxiNAO - North Atlantic Osc
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Executive Summaryxxvffffffffffffffo
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Executive Summaryxxviiweakened by v
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Executive SummaryxxixAdaptation and
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Introduction and Context 3irrigatio
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Introduction and Context 9coastal w
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Physical Climate Forces 11fffffffff
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Physical Climate Forces 13Figure 2-
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Physical Climate Forces 15Sea-level
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Physical Climate Forces 17maintain
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Physical Climate Forces 19These low
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Physical Climate Forces 21Figure 2-
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Physical Climate Forces 23that surv
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Physical Climate Forces 25Table 2-2
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Physical Climate Forces 27Most of t
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Physical Climate Forces 29(low to m
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Physical Climate Forces 31A number
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Physical Climate Forces 33off the c
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Physical Climate Forces 35in these
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Physical Climate Forces 37this diff
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Physical Climate Forces 39in input
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Physical Climate Forces 41Intensifi
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Physical Climate Forces 43depth qua
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Physical Climate Forces 45precipita
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Physical Climate Forces 47Sea and w
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Physical Climate Forces 49by sea ic
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Physical Climate Forces 51niche ero
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Vulnerability and Impacts on Natura
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Vulnerability and Impacts on Human
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Vulnerability and Impacts on Human
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