N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

NOAA Strategies for Coastal Inundation

Presentation to the Climate Working Group of the Science Advisory Board

July 31, 2012

Margaret A. Davidson, ChairPaul M. Scholz, Project Lead

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N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

• The Value of NOAA Inundation Products and Services, 2012• Sea-level Rise Needs Assessment, 2011• Current Practices in Coastal Inundation Mapping, white paper,

2011• Draft Vision and Strategic Vision Framework, 2010• Storm Surge Roadmap, 2010• NOAA’s Role in the Monitoring and Prediction of Long-Term

Sea-Level Rise, white paper, 2009• A Vision for NOAA’s Coast, Estuary, River Information Services

(CERIS), 2009

Key Accomplishments

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N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

Why Coastal Inundation?

Last Updated: 5/18/2012 3

• Increased risk and vulnerability on the coasts– >50% of U.S. population live within 50 miles of the coast– 60 percent of GDP generated in coastal counties– Aging infrastructure, expensive to upgrade/replace– Rise in LOSSES of at least $1B insured damages per event

• Local & regional efforts essential– Coastal inundation differs according to local geomorphology

and hydrology– Policies and mandates are most often issued by towns,

cities, counties rather than by state or federal agencies

N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

• Coasts and Climate Resilience Societal Challenge– “Where’s the water going to be and when?”

• Topic refined by NOAA to address cross-line office execution issues related to coasts and community resilience– Storm surge– Tsunami– River flooding/fresh water inflow– Sea-level rise

• NOAA coastal inundation activities also support climate but have primary missions

Coastal Inundation and Climate

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N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

Executive Working Group • Margaret Davidson, OCRM (Chair)• Leon Cammen, Sea Grant• Gary Carter, OHD• Richard Edwing, CO-OPS• Wayne Higgins, CPC• Tom Karl, NCDC• Rick Rosen, CPO

Project Lead• Paul Scholz , NOS - CSC

Advisors (representative examples)• IOOS, NMFS S&T, NCDC, GFDL, NIDIS,

FEMA-Mitigation, ACOE-IWS, DOI-USGS, DOE, EPA, ASFPM, AMS-Director of Policy Program

Addressing Coastal Inundation

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Draft Summary Schedule, 2012• Terms of reference approved (July)• Scope and boundary conditions for

requirements plan determined (July)• Requirements plan drafted (Sept)• Draft plan circulated to advisors and

stakeholders (Oct)• Plan reviewed and evaluated in light

of FY13 appropriations (TBD)• Progress Monitored, evaluated (on-

going)

N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

• Total water level issues across NOAA• Impact-oriented

– Focused on coastal inundation impacts, regardless of origin of water

– Recognizing phenomena have different modeling, information, data needs

• NOAA and the Integrators– Working across climate issues to meet user demands– Strategies for engaging external partners and customers– Reduce internal firewalls

Boundary and Scope of Coastal Inundation Challenge

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N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O NIntegrating Solutions: Cascading Hazards

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How high is the water going to

go?When is going to

get here?

Should I stay or should I go?What else

am I facing?

N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

• Community approach toward modeling– to include local and global, as well as academia,

private sector, governmental, and nongovernmental interests

• Strategies for engaging communities in risk assessment and risk evaluation

Issues and Strategies: Input from CWG

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N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

BACKUP INFORMATION

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N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

NOAA Coastal Inundation Components

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N A T I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D A T M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

Key Cross Phenomenon Needs

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• Data needs– All four programs need bathymetric and topographic data and water level

observations

• Modeling and Coupling– Models in the four programs need to be coupled and/or combined, where

the science allows, to the Earth System Modeling Framework

• Display software– NOAA inundation products should have a common look and feel– All four programs need capable and user friendly mapping and associated

software– Use standard GIS formats and methods

• Outreach/Customer Support– Dissemination methods and services need to be similar, utilizing social science

methods