Coastal cities are threatened by rising sea levels and stronger storms due to climate change. These hazards have motivated cities to consider adaptations via large infrastructure projects, e.g. bridges, breakwaters in Nagoya, storm surge barriers near Houston and New York City, and the emerald tutu in Boston. However, while numerous studies have predicted the benefits of these adaptations in reducing flooding, much less is known about how they may interact with ships, especially ship crashes. All of these cities are also major ports, and cargo ships continue to grow to and beyond existing infrastructure. Ship crashes have become more noticeable as “more volatile weather caused by climate change and ever-larger container ships mean the risk of losses may be rising.”
As cities (defined broadly to include the cities themselves, but also regional and national governments and agencies, e.g. USACE) consider large adaptations, they often are limited by knowledge gaps related to their technical performance. NC State and Nagoya researchers have the expertise and tools to advance knowledge and improve resilience of coastal adaptation infrastructure, but a seed grant is needed to initiate collaborations across our complementary skillsets.
JC Dietrich, T Nakamura, G Haikal, JE San Juan, Y Cho, T Tomita. “Coastal City Resilience: Infrastructure Adaptation for Ship Impact Mitigation in a Changing Climate.” NC State University, Office of Global Engagement, Nagoya University Collaborative Seed Grants, 2024/07/10, $7,000 and ¥1,000,000 (Dietrich: $2,334).