A final report titled “Municipal adaptation to sea-level rise: City of Satellite Beach, Florida” was submitted to the City of Satellite Beach in July 2010.  The report describes the methods used to assess the City’s vulnerability to sea-level rise and the initial steps in planning to mitigate submergence. 

MELBOURNE – The City of Satellite Beach and Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program convened their second public forum to inform residents of the City of Satellite Beach and Space Coast on the progress made towards completing a Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) grant awarded to the City earlier this summer by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

The forum was attended by 50+ residents who stayed through the entire 11/2 hour program. The forum began with a few introductory remarks by Mr. Bob Day of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, who noted the other partners in the CRE project and including: Space Coast Climate Change Initiative, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, and RWParkinson Consulting, Inc.

The first speaker was Mr. Jeremy Martinich, a member of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Change Division, who began by describing the National Estuary Program goal and objectives.  The CRE program is designed to pass funding on to projects that partner with the local NEP.  Jeremy then described the agency’s perspective on climate change and the need for implementing adaptation plans now.

Finally, he summarized several Climate Ready Estuary projects being undertaken at other National Estuary Program locations. His presentation can be viewed here.

This overview of a federal climate change program was then followed by a summary of work completed by the City of Satellite Beach CRE Project Team.  The presentation was given by Dr. Randall W. Parkinson, a member of the project team.  Dr. Parkinson said the project consisted of three tasks: (1) public outreach and education, (2) assessment of City vulnerability to rising seas, and (3) formulation and implementation of an Adaptive Management Plan to help the City prepare.  The first two tasks have been completed and the CRE project team has now begun to focus on the third and final project task; the management plan.

Dr. Parkinson’s presentation included maps illustrating the extent of City flooding caused by a sea-level rise of between +1 to +6 ft, current sea-level rise projections to the year 2100, and a summary of the process by which an Adaptive Management Plan will be formulated. This process will include collaboration with the City’s “sea-level rise” subcommittee of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Board.  Both committees are composed of volunteers from the City.

In his concluding slides, Dr. Parkinson indicated about 5% of the City would be submerged by a +2 ft rise in sea level, currently forecasted to occur about 50 years from now – or the year 2060. The next +2 ft rise in sea level will inundate an additional 20% of the City.  By initiating an adaptive management plan now, Dr. Parkinson noted, the City will be in a much better position to make subsequent modifications as new scientific information becomes available. To begin the planning process only after portions of the City’s infrastructure and facilities are compromised by sea-level rise will likely result in a more costly and less effective plan according to Dr. Parkinson.

To view his presentation, go here.

During the subsequent 45 minutes, Ms. Laura Canady, Community Development Director for the City, read aloud questions submitted by members of the audience. These were answered by the two speakers and other members of the project team as appropriate.

The forum ended by 9:00 pm after a resounding round of applause by and for everyone who had participated in the forum.  The next public forum will take place mid-summer, 2010, at which the Adaptive Management Plan will be the focus. Updates for this event will be posted on this site.

MELBOURNE – The City of Satellite Beach and Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program conducted its first public meeting as part of a grant they were awarded earlier this summer through the EPA’s Climate Ready Estuaries Program.  The goal of this EPA program is to build local ability to adapt to climate change.

The September Forum was organized as a means of introducing Space Coast residents to project details, including the scope of work that will be undertaken once the project gets underway later this year.

The project consists of three major tasks:

• (1) assessing City vulnerability to rising sea level
• (2) formulating appropriate new policies to be incorporated into the City’s Comprehensive Plan
• (3) ensuring residents are kept informed of project progress throughout the duration.

A summary of each speaker’s presentation and links to their power point presentation are provided in the following sections.

• Bob Day

Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program
Topic: The EPA’s Climate Ready Estuaries Program

The US Environmental Protection Agency has been actively involved in climate change issues for many years. Recently, the EPA established the Climate Ready Estuaries Climate program, a partnership between the EPA and the National Estuary Programs to address the effects of climate change in coastal areas. Part of this partnership is providing assistance to NEPs to identify climate change vulnerabilities, develop adaptation plans and initiate actions to implement these plans.

With assistance from EPA, the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, in partnership with the City of Satellite Beach and several other participants, will be working to identify the impacts of sea level rise on the City,  to develop goals, objectives and policies addressing climate change/sea level rise for inclusion in the City’s Comprehensive Growth Management Plan and to educate the residents of Satellite Beach about climate change/sea level rise and its impacts within the Indian River Lagoon region.

• Dr.Randall Parkinson

The Space Coast Climate Change Initiative
Topic: The Scientific basis for forecasting accelerated rates of rising sea level

Dr. Parkinson provided a detailed summary of recent observations of accelerated ice sheet melting in Antarctica, Greenland, and the Arctic. This melting has exceeded predictions and has required climate scientists to revise their predictions of sea-level rise as recently reported by the IPCC (2007).  Parkinson argued existing policies and practices must be revised if Florida is to effectively respond to rising sea level. Vulnerability assessments must be conducted for each coastal municipality using recently acquired LIDAR topographic surveys, followed by changes to local comprehensive plans to minimize risk to property and residents, and limit economic loss.

To view Dr. Parkinson’s presentation press here.

• Tara McCue

East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
Topic: Regional planning for sea-level rise

East Central Florida Regional Planning Council’s presentation focused on how, on a regional level, the council is striving to plan for sea level rise and its implications as well as support ongoing research at local universities.  The East Central Florida Regional Planning Council is working to adopt policies to address sea level rise and climate change, and hope that these policies filter down to the local level. It is important to note that the policies addressed in this presentation are ideas and strategies the council is working to address and are not current policies.  The presentation also focused on a previous study the council conducting for the EPA in 2003/2004 identifying areas that may be affected by sea level rise.

To view Ms. McCue’s presentation press here.

• Laura Canady

City of Satellite Beach
Topic: The City of Satellite Beach’s Climate Ready Estuaries Project

Ms. Canady provided an overview of the City’s Climate Ready Estuaries project, which was sought to help the City investigate the potential effects of climate change and sea level rise on infrastructure and resources.  If the investigation suggests the City is vulnerable to rising sea level, goals, objectives and policies will then be developed to address climate change and sea level rise. These will then be incorporated into the City’s Comprehensive Growth Management Plan.

To view Ms. Canady’s presentation press here.

On Thursday, June 25th, the SCCCI held its second public forum at the Town of Melbourne Beach Community Center. Dr. Randall W. Parkinson (short bio)   addressed a capacity crowd regarding the threats of rising sea level to Florida's Space Coast residents.

Dr. Parkinson began by carefully describing the scientific basis behind sea-level rise projections of 3 to 5 feet this century. Dr. Parkinson then argued existing management and regulatory policies must be revised to reflect rising sea level, coastal erosion, and the probability of more frequent and severe storms. At present, he stated, most planning documents at all levels of government assume sea level and shorelines are stable and that coastal erosion can be addressed by construction of shore protection projects (i.e., beach nourishment, sea walls). Dr. Parkinson believes the new reality of sea-level rise and extreme weather due to climate change requires a new style of planning and management to protect resources and reduce risk to humans. While this may continue to include engineered shore protection projects (i.e., beach nourishment) over the short term (i.e., next decade), our focus should now be on forecasting future landscape change and developing sustainable plans to address long term planning and management issues. Equally as important, planners, manager, and elected officials must have access to science and scientists to ensure their decisions are based upon the best available information.

Finally, Dr. Parkinson proposed a few solutions towards a successful adaptation to rising sea level. These include:

• Discontinue (re) building in vulnerable areas
• Wean coastal communities off beach re-nourishment
• Prohibit the installation of shore proection structures.
• Begin planning for managed withdrawal by identifying well-defined corridors for inland/upland migration of urban and natural habitat

Dr. Parkinson concluded that while there is still uncertainty regarding the details of rising sea level and extreme weather, comprehensive plans and associated development decisions are being made today which commit public and private investment in real estate and associated infrastructure with a design life of 30 yrs to 100 yrs. Many of these investments are therefore on a collision course with the consequences of climate change. He cautioned the resulting impacts will be significant if not immediately addressed.

Dr. Parkinson has published a companion paper that summarizes much of what he presented during this forum on adapting to rising sea level. A copy of that paper can be acquired here.  

A question and answer session followed the one hour presentation. To view the power point presentation, go to rising sea-level presentation .

About 60% of the attendees completed a survey   and the survey results   are now available

The event was well publicized through informative stories and related coverage in local papers. This included a Florida Today guest column written by Dr. Parkinson   in which he noted the link between the global consumption of fossil fuels and greenhouse warming was reported nearly 30 years ago.

Florida Today also published a front-page story describing a recent EPA grant awarded to, among others, the SCCCI to study the effects of rising sea level on the City of Satellite Beach.

During the week of the forum, the Florida Today Editorial Board   wrote an Opinion piece in support of the SCCCI mission and encouraged reader's to attend the sea-level forum

The entire event was video-taped and will eventually be made available for distribution as a DVD.   For more information on this event, please contact us.

The Space Coast Climate Change Initiative held a Climate Change Forum on Monday, February 9, 2009. The Forum was convened to elevate discussion of climate change to a level which will encourage action by elected officials, city managers, and residents of the Space Coast. The event featured two speakers:

Dr. Harold Wanless
University of Miami & Miami-Dade County Ad-Hoc Science Committee. The Science of Climate Change & Sea-Level Rise   Read abstract »

Peter Harlem, M.S.
Florida International University & Miami-Dade County Ad-Hoc Science Committee. Miami-Dade Adaptation & Mitigation Response   Read abstract »

Nearly 150 people   (View photo)   attended the Climate Change Forum, the first of several events to be organized by the SCCCI during 2009. Dr. Wanless (View photo)   provided a detailed account of the changes to our climate now clearly linked to the emission of greenhouse gasses. Upon describing the causes of climate change, he then described how these changes translate to rising sea level. Dr. Wanless concluded by providing several site-specific examples of how south Florida will look as sea level rises in the coming century. (View presentation)

Peter Harlem (View photo), who has been modeling the effects of sea-level rise on behalf of Miami-Dade County, described how these models are constructed. He began by discussing how scientists use LIDAR to produce detailed topographic maps of the coastal zone. These maps can then be flooded to emulate rising sea level. When linked with available GIS files, the vulnerability of infrastructure, housing, and so on can be quantified. Mr. Harlem concluded by providing several models depicting rising sea level along the east-central Florida Coast. (View presentation)

More than half of the attendees of the Climate Change Forum completed a questioner that was distributed to everyone upon entering the lecture hall (View survey questions). The results suggest most attendees were moderately familiar with the details of climate change, agree the change is real and happing now, and would support local government actions designed to quantify the effects of climate change on the Space Coast. The survey also indicated the SCCCI could do more to help people understand what can be done to manage the effects of climate change. This opinion has not gone unnoticed and will be one focus of discussion during the March meeting of the East-Central Florida Climate Change Task Force. (View survey results).

Members of the East-Central Florida Climate Change Task Force meet periodically to plan the SCCCI activities. These plans and actions will be posted as soon as they are unveiled. Calendared items will also be posted in the News and Events block of the website.