Leading engineer calls for sea defence realism
London, 27 January. Today the GWPF publishes a new briefing paper by Dr Hessel Voortman, titled Sea-Level Rise: Evidence and Engineering.
Dr Voortman is a coastal engineer with over 25 years of experience in feasibility studies, design, and execution of hydraulic engineering projects.
Key observations included:
- Coastal infrastructure is designed around local relative sea level and a target design life, not global or national averages.
- Observed sea-level records are noisy and easily misread; tides, tidal cycles, wind, land motion and human activity can easily be mistaken for climate-driven change.
- Sea-level projections carry large long-term uncertainty. Recent research indicates they are running higher than observations, meaning designs based on them are likely to exceed their intended lifespan.
- Stress-test sea levels are for policy resilience, not engineering design. Using them as design levels inflates economic and social costs, and delays infrastructure renewal.
- Effective coastal adaptation comes from science, policy and engineering working together. Science must continue improving local projections and their consistency with observations, while policy should provide flexible frameworks that support timely renewal of critical coastal infrastructure. Engineers use the input of science and work within the frameworks set by policies.
The report was launched at an event in London, a recording of which can be found here:
Hessel Voortman, paper author said:
“In decision-making on coastal adaptation, it is important to have all information on the table. Only then can we strike a balance between the short-term cost of our adaptation scheme and the uncertain long-term benefits of it.”
Harry Wilkinson, head of policy at the GWPF said:
“Hessel has a pragmatic message that scientific authorities, policymakers and engineers should take on board. Appropriate coastal engineering requires a flexible balancing of considerations, and getting it right is vital for coastal communities.”
Read the full report here – Sea-level Rise: Evidence and Engineering (pdf)
