Coastal perilNew sea-level rise and flood alert network launches
The City of Imperial Beach is a low-lying coastal community south of San Diego that is one of the most vulnerable in California to sea-level rise. During periods of extreme high tides and winter swell, Imperial Beach experiences flooding that impacts residents, businesses and infrastructure. A new program, called Resilient Futures, will significantly upgrade its flood alert capabilities and better prepare for sea-level rise.
The City of Imperial Beach is a low-lying coastal community south of San Diego that is one of the most vulnerable in California to sea-level rise. During periods of extreme high tides and winter swell, Imperial Beach experiences flooding that impacts residents, businesses and infrastructure.
Now, thanks to a $250,000 donation from the David C. Copley Foundation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego will help the City of Imperial Beach significantly upgrade its flood alert capabilities and better prepare for sea-level rise.
The Resilient Futures program will create a flood alert system customized to the specific needs of Imperial Beach. A network of instruments to measure local wave and water level conditions is being installed by researchers with the Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation (CCCIA) at Scripps. These observations will improve predictive models of coastal flooding, especially where large waves and extreme tides may occur simultaneously, exacerbating flooding risk. Additional measurements will also be made to monitor flooding on shorelines adjacent to South San Diego Bay and the Tijuana Estuary.
“This program will help Imperial Beach to understand what factors are contributing to flood events and inform preparedness for emergency managers and the community at large,” said Mark Merrifield, director of the CCCIA at Scripps and a leading sea-level rise expert. “These tools will also help assess future flooding risk as sea levels continue to rise.”
Scripps notes that the initial funding from the David C. Copley Foundation has supported the installation by the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) of an offshore wave buoy at Imperial Beach to measure wave height, period and direction. Other network components include a tide gauge at the end of the Imperial Beach Pier for accurate tidal heights and water levels; current meters and pressure sensors at 10 meters (32 feet) depth to assess nearshore wave model predictions; and pressure sensors buried in the beach at the mean high water line to test wave run-up predictions in flood-prone areas. Scripps also plans to install an array of pressure and salinity sensors on land to assess the duration, depth and arrival times of flood waters.
