Extreme events in the coastal zone – a multidisciplinary approach for better preparedness

The overarching scientific questions to be addressed in this project are: To what extent does climate change alter the occurrence of extreme events, including storms, storm surges as well as heavy precipitation, and the severity of their impacts in the coastal zone; how can improved modelling lead to better preparedness, help mitigate consequences to society, and to understand key uncertainties; and what is the most effective method of communicating these risks to society?

Coastal activities include a wide range of features including renewable energy
generation, infrastructure related to offshore activities and coastal cities we will address the increasing exposure of the coastal zone to extreme events in the near- and longer term future and aims to enhance the use of climate information in building preparedness. In the project, we will (together with the reference group) identify a subset of critical coastal activities to serve as case studies and to demonstrate the wider societal impact of the proposed research. By using a modelling chain comprised of a global Earth-system model, a regional Earth
System model, a detailed physical impact model and a socio-economic impact model the uncertainties of the resulting risks will be estimated. Key aspects of each component in the modelling chain will be improved to better represent features that are relevant for coastal extremes.

The project is funded by FORMAS (SE).