Floating Ports as Support for Port Relocation Measures on Sea Level Rise

Abstract

Ports are one of the structures where the effects of global warming are most severe and intense in atmospheric, oceanic, and geographical terms. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s assessment reports, although it is possible to slow down global warming by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is not foreseen to stop global warming and sea level rise (SLR) in any scenario. The rising sea level, an inevitable consequence of global warming, is a clear threat to conventional port facilities. In summary, SLR triggered by climate change, which is today's hot topic, may cause conventional port infrastructures to be flooded and lose their functionality. To cope with this threat, port facility planning, and design stages must be carried out by referring to the updated threshold values in Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios defined by the Working Groups of the IPCC. However, the uncertainty about the scale, timing, and location of SLR makes definitive solution-oriented approaches more prominent. One of these approaches is floating port structures. This study aims to reveal the role of floating port structures in the implementation of the relocation measure emphasized in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) for conventional ports under the threat of SLR. Initially, in this study, regions with higher SLR risk were identified by considering SSP scenarios contributed by Sixth Phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) data. Afterwards, the dynamic downscaling model was used to determine the regions with higher regional sea level rise (RSLR) risk and the Marine Traffic database was used to determine the ports in these regions. Thus, it is evaluated whether floating ports can be a suitable alternative in the relocation decision of ports under SLR risk. It is expected that maritime transport will be maintained at adequate security and operational levels by revealing the pros and cons of floating ports.