Module overview
Understanding changes in sea level is of the utmost importance, as it: (1) shapes the coastlines; (2) affects the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people living in the world’s coastal regions, and (3) is a key indicator of climate change. Sea-level rise is one of the most certain implications of climate change, and one of the biggest challenges we face. It will cause significant and costly impacts on our coasts in the 21st century and beyond.
In this course we will look at why understanding of sea level change is important and how we messure sea level. We will then examine the three drivers of sea level change, e.g., (i) mean sea level; (ii) astronomical tides; and (iii) storm surges, waves and extremes. We will look at how changes in sea level shape the coast (morphological processes). We will discuss coastal engineering and management strategies for dealing with sea level changes.