Impacts of Extreme Climate Events on Urban Coasts

Extreme climate events associated with substantial human and financial impacts have been occurring with increasing frequency over the last decade, a trend that is expected to continue under future climate change.

Urban coastal settings are especially vulnerable to such events, given the combination of relatively dense populations and hazards from the sea as well as the sky.

This workshop - sponsored by the Coastal Zone Community of Partners, Group on Earth Observations, and the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (a NOAA RISA project) and organized by Professor Alan Blumberg of Stevens and Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig of Columbia University/NASA-GISS - brings together academic scientists, leading engineers, industry researchers, and government decision makers to achieve the following objectives: to review the state-of-the-art understanding of extreme events in a changing climate; to  learn about techniques for communicating about extreme climate events and the potential risks to urban coasts with stakeholders and the public at large; to identify the most urgent challenges (institutional or otherwise) that hinder the application of practical solutions; and to share experiences about obstacles and opportunities in planning for extreme climate event impacts on coastal cities.

The workshop runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26 and Wednesday, June 27.

Space is limited. If you are interested in attending, please respond to Dr. Linda Sohl at les14@columbia.edu.