Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Fire Island National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise
Pendleton EA, Williams SJ, Thieler ER. 2004. Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Fire Island National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise. Department of the Interior. National Park Service
A coastal vulnerability index (CVI) was used to map the relative vulnerability of the coast to future sea-level rise within Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS), New York. The CVI ranks the following in terms of their physical contribution to sea-level rise-related coastal change: geomorphology, regional coastal slope, rate of relative sea-level rise, shoreline change rates, mean tidal range and mean wave height. The rankings for each variable were combined and an index value calculated for 1-minute grid cells covering the park. The CVI highlights those regions where the physical effects of sea-level rise might be the greatest. This approach combines the coastal system's susceptibility to change with its natural ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, yielding a quantitative, although relative, measure of the park's natural vulnerability to the effects of sea-level rise. Fire Island consists of stable and washover dominated portions of barrier beach backed by lagoons, tidal wetlands and marsh. The areas most vulnerable to sea-level rise are those with the highest historic occurrence of overwash and the highest rates of shoreline change. Implementation of large-scale beach nourishment and other coastal engineering alternatives being considered for Fire Island could alter the CVI computed here. The CVI provides an objective technique for evaluation and long-term planning by scientists and park managers.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Pendleton, Elizabeth; Williams, S.; Thieler, E.
- Date of Issue
- 2004
- Publisher
- Department of the Interior
- Units
- FIIS , HIST
- Keywords
- Assessment, Coast, Coastal, coastal vulnerability, Data, ehistory, Fire Island, Fire Island National Seashore, Geologic, Geology, History, National seashore, Sea, Sea-level, variables, vulnerability