Integrated Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Observations for Resilience Planning in Hampton Roads, Virginia

Jon Derek Loftis,Larry Atkinson,Ben Hamlington,Navid Tahvildari,Mark Bushnell,Thomas R Allen,David Forrest,Molly Mitchell,Teresa Updyke,David Bekaert

doi:10.4031/mtsj.52.2.8

Abstract

AbstractBuilding flood resilience in coastal communities requires a precise understanding of the temporal and spatial scales of inundation and the ability to detect and predict changes in flooding. In Hampton Roads, the Intergovernmental Pilot Project's Scientific Advisory Committee recommended an integrated network of ocean, earth, and atmospheric data collection from both private and public sector organizations that engage in active scientific monitoring and observing. Since its establishment, the network has grown to include monitoring of water levels, land subsidence, wave measurements, current measurements, and atmospheric conditions. High-resolution land elevation and land cover data sets have also been developed. These products have been incorporated into a number of portals and integrated tools to help support resilience planning. Significant challenges to building the network included establishing consistent data standards across organizations to allow for the integration of the data into multiple, unique products and funding the expansion of the network components. Recommendations to the network development in Hampton Roads include the need to continue to support and expand the publicly available network of sensors; enhance integration between ocean, earth, and atmospheric networks; and improve shallow water bathymetry data used in spatial flooding models.

Highlights

The Hampton Roads, Virginia, area has experienced increasing vulnerability to flooding due to high rates of relative sea level rise (Ezer & Atkinson, 2014) and a long history of human waterfront settlement
Flood management strategy has focused on reducing vulnerabilities by addressing impacted infrastructure while maintaining the status quo
Incorporating predictions of near-term and future flooding with mitigating strategies into resiliency planning requires a precise understanding of the temporal and spatial scales of current flooding, coastal dynamics, and precipitation patterns (Boon et al, 2018). This level of detail allows for an inventory of infrastructure currently at risk, the development of flood early warning systems and high-resolution hydrodynamic models, and improved predictions of future risk

Summary

Introduction

The Hampton Roads, Virginia, area has experienced increasing vulnerability to flooding due to high rates of relative sea level rise (Ezer & Atkinson, 2014) and a long history of human waterfront settlement. Incorporating predictions of near-term and future flooding with mitigating strategies into resiliency planning requires a precise understanding of the temporal and spatial scales of current flooding, coastal dynamics, and precipitation patterns (Boon et al, 2018). This level of detail allows for an inventory of infrastructure currently at risk, the development of flood early warning systems (reducing current vulnerabilities) and high-resolution hydrodynamic models (increasing our resilience to future storm surge and sea level rise), and improved predictions of future risk

Objectives

Conclusion