Coastal challengesDOD, Navy Confront Climate Change Challenges in Southern Virginia
The Navy and Defense Department have efforts underway to mitigate the challenges posed by climate change in one of the most military-dense regions of the country.
The Hampton Roads area in southern Virginia is home to dozens of military installations, including Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval facility. On the Atlantic Ocean and an important part of the Navy’s ocean-faring capability, it’s a unique example of how the nation’s defense can be affected by the environment.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III went to Naval Station Norfolk just last month to visit the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and to discuss the impact of climate change on security and military readiness. It’s an issue that’s been a priority for him.
“Since 2010, the Department of Defense has acknowledged that the planet’s changing climate has a dramatic effect on our missions, plans and installations,” Austin said earlier this year. “The department will immediately take appropriate policy actions to prioritize climate change considerations in our activities and risk assessments [in order] to mitigate this driver of insecurity.”
The kind of work the secretary alluded to is already taking place at Navy installations in Hampton Roads according to Rear Adm. Charles Rock, the commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. The command is responsible for, among other things, shore infrastructure at Navy bases in the Hampton Roads area.
“Every installation within Navy Region Mid-Atlantic continuously evaluates the impact of climate and weather effects on our readiness and identifies opportunities to mitigate operational impacts by cooperating with nature, designing and building resilient infrastructure, and reaching out to our community partners to develop holistic responses,” Rock said.
Responses to climate change in the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic region include natural solutions, such as dune restoration or sustaining coastal marshes and vegetation, Rock said. Man-made solutions are used, as well.
“Navy engineers construct berms and floodwalls to prevent erosion, retrofit critical infrastructure with new building techniques, and build new facilities with future climate protection already built-in,” he said. “The Navy engages communities, non-profit organizations and academic institutions to increase understanding of climate risks and develop cooperative adaptation strategies for communities and our bases.”
Over the last 100 years, average sea level — as measured by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency tide gauge that’s been in place for a century at Naval Station Norfolk — has risen 18 inches. According to NOAA projections, it is expected to rise between 1-3 feet by 2050.
