Natural hazards in Australia : sea level and coastal extremes

McInnes, Kathleen L. and White, Christopher J. and Haigh, Ivan D. and Hemer, Mark A. and Hoeke, Ron K. and Holbrook, Neil J. and Kiem, Anthony S. and Oliver, Eric C. J. and Ranasinghe, Roshanka and Walsh, Kevin J. E. and Westra, Seth and Cox, Ron (2016) Natural hazards in Australia : sea level and coastal extremes. Climatic Change, 139 (1). pp. 69-83. ISSN 0165-0009 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1647-8)

[thumbnail of McInnes-etal-CC-2016-Natural-hazards-in-Australia-sea-level-and-coastal-extremes]
Preview
Text. Filename: McInnes_etal_CC_2016_Natural_hazards_in_Australia_sea_level_and_coastal_extremes.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript

Download (1MB)| Preview

Abstract

The Australian coastal zone encompasses tropical, sub- and extra-tropical climates and accommodates about 80 % of Australia’s population. Sea level extremes and their physical impacts in the coastal zone arise from a complex set of atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial processes that interact on a range of spatial and temporal scales and will be modified by a changing climate, including sea level rise. This review details significant progress over recent years in understanding the causes of past and projections of future changes in sea level and coastal extremes, yet a number of research questions, knowledge gaps and challenges remain. These include efforts to improve knowledge on past sea level extremes, integrate a wider range of processes in projections of future changes to sea level extremes, and focus efforts on understanding long-term coastline response from the combination of contributing factors.