Integrated assessment of storm surge barrier systems under present and future climates and comparison to alternatives: a
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Integrated assessment of storm surge barrier systems under present and future climates and comparison to alternatives: a case study of Boston, USA Paul Kirshen 1 & Mark Borrelli 1 & Jarrett Byrnes 1 & Robert Chen 1 & Lucy Lockwood 1 & Chris Watson 1 & Kimberly Starbuck 1 & Jack Wiggin 1 & Allison Novelly 1 & Kristin Uiterwyk 1 & Kelli Thurson 2 & Brett McMann 3 & Carly Foster 2 & Heather Sprague 2 & Hugh J. Roberts 3 & Kirk Bosma 4 & Di Jin 5 & Rebecca Herst 6 Received: 19 February 2019 / Accepted: 25 June 2020/ # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract
Large-scale barriers are a management option for present and increasing coastal storm flooding. The barriers have gates that are open most times except during storms. As an example of the assessment process for a barrier, an integrated assessment of two barrier options for the coastal city of Boston, located in the northeastern USA, is presented. The assessment also included a comparison to shore-based adaptation options such as elevated walkways, playing fields, and open space. While harbor-wide barriers in Boston could manage storm coastal flooding with perhaps minimal environmental impacts and moderate impacts on harbor users such as shipping, their cost-effectiveness is low. Their operational lives are limited by a rapidly increasing annual number of gate closures over time as sea level rises—placing considerable mechanical stresses on them. With low potential to adapt or adjust a barrier once it is in place, there are limited opportunities to respond to the uncertainties of climate change over time. The alternative of a wide spectrum of shore-based, district-level solutions using nature-based solutions located on the waterfront, however, has the potential for high cost-effectiveness and several key advantages. These solutions have the potential to incorporate multiple levels of protection, manage storm and tidal coastal flooding, provide flexibility and adaptability, offer co-benefits, endure for long operational lifetimes, and cause minimal impacts to the environment and harbor users. Keywords Storm surge barriers . Sea level rise . Boston . Nature-based solutions
* Paul Kirshen [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
Climatic Change
1 Introduction Substantial sea level rise (SLR) of 2 m or more may occur by 2100 even if global temperatures are limited to a 2 °C increase from pre-industrial conditions as agreed to in the Paris Climate Agreement. Furthermore, the increases will continue for 1000s of years (Hinkel 2018). IPCC (Wong et al. 2014) reports that in the 136 port cities with populations greater than 1 million inhabitants, 39 million people are presently exposed to the 1% flood. With 0.5 m of global mean sea level rise and socio-economic development, this number may increase in 2070 to 148 million people. The estimated total value of assets in large port cities exposed to coastal flooding is US$3000 billion in 2005, which is 5% of global GDP. By 2070 with relative SLR and increases in extreme water lev
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