research: climate change
sea level rise on georgia's coast

For year one of a three year Coastal Incentive Grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the River Basin Center modeled one meter sea level rise (SLR) on the Georgia coast and identified areas of vulnerability. We defined the Georgia coast by the six counties: Chatham, Bryan, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn, and Camden. We modeled SLR using the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) version 5.0.2 and data from the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI), National Elevation Dataset (NED), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tidal gauges. SLAMM simulates the dominant processes affecting long-term wetland migration by incorporating an array of factors (e.g. historical SLR trends, tidal data, soil erosion/accretion rates, etc.) into the modeling process. For more information on SLAMM, please visit: http://www.warrenpinnacle.com/prof/SLAMM/

The three tables below contain links to online static and animated maps visualizing the Georgia coast under a predicted one meter SLR scenario. Printable, higher resolution versions are available for download in PDF format. Animations of predicted SLR effect on land area and habitat change are presented in Table 1. The relative vulnerability of the coast, as well as specific features (e.g. urban areas) are presented in Table 2. In Table 3, we present aerial images with predicted inundation areas for one meter SLR. Land cover change statistics and metadata are available for downloading below the three tables.

Table 1 – Habitat Change

Table 2 – Vulnerable Areas

*All CVI maps are derived from the reclassified Craft et al. (2009) SLAMM outputs for 1m SLR (not listed).

Table 3 – Aerial Overlays

Statistics

SLAMM Land Cover Change Statistics

Metadata

SLAMM Analysis Metadata

CVI Analysis Metadata

References

Craft, C., J. Clough, J. Ehman, S. Joye, R. Park, S. Pennings, H. Guo, and M. Machmuller. 2009. Forecasting the effects of accelerated sea-level rise on tidal marsh ecosystem services. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7:73-78.

Acknowledgements

This report was prepared by the River Basin Center under grant award # NA08NOS4190461 from the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of OCRM or NOAA.

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University of Georgia -  Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology