Greenhouse effects and sea level rise Titus, J.G., Park, R.A., Leatherman, S.P., Weggel, J.R., Greene, M.S., Mausel, P.W., Brown, S., Gaunt, G., Trehan, M., Yohe, G. 1991. Coastal Management, Volume 19: 171-204.
The cost of holding back the sea Cost benefit analysis Site U.S. shorelines; 5 regions Developed land Infrastructure, homes/buildings Undeveloped land wetlands
Methods remote sensing (Landsat imagery) and USGS contour maps Interpolate to find elevation, location of wetlands model the behavior of several projected rates of sea level rise 2100 land value estimates Real estate agents Average cost of wetland protection infrastructure
Findings One meter of sea level rise = 270-350 billion $ Based on these projections, analysis suggests protection of shoreline
Criticisms Remote sensing/interpolation accuracy Only one method of shoreline protection calculated Real cost of wetland loss hard to calculate Which model of sea level rise is ‘most’ right?