Year: 2020
Project(s):
Relevance
Sea-level rise (SLR) is a ubiquitous stressor and negatively impacts nearly all aspects of coastal ecosystems and communities. To adequately adapt to these changes, it is vital that coastal stewards of the built and natural environments have the tools, products and services needed to understand and address changing conditions as accurately as possible. These resources come in a variety of formats and levels of accessibility, making it difficult for coastal stewards to find and utilize them.
Response
A partnership spanning local, state, regional and federal agencies, organizations, non-profits and researchers worked together to support the transition and translation of SLR information into coastal decision-making. The Northern Gulf of Mexico Sentinel Site Cooperative, a Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant-supported program, conducted trainings, developed extension and outreach products, conducted research projects and successfully obtained funding to fill SLR needs and gaps.
Results
The cooperative increased accurate consideration of SLR among Gulf municipal, state and federal entities for planning, restoration and infrastructure investments. An illustrative example is when the Jackson County Utility Authority used the cooperative-developed risk-tolerance approach to determine if they should plan for 6 feet of SLR in an upcoming critical infrastructure project. They would have considered much less SLR without this approach, which was built on the years of work from the cooperative.
Recap
The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium-supported Northern Gulf of Mexico Sentinel Site Cooperative’s development of research synthesis and skills building around communicating the complex science of sea-level rise, along with relationship building, advanced the way sea-level rise is considered and addressed. (2020)