Hazards and Resilience and Climate Change

King tides return to Washington shores

December 12, 2024

The highest tides of the year return to Washington state this weekend, with areas like Shelton and Olympia expecting high tides over 16 feet.

King tides, extreme-high tides that occur when Earth experiences increased gravitational pull from the moon and sun, are an annual yet dramatic feature of Washington winters. Alone, they can cause flooding conditions in low-lying areas. Combined with other factors–like high winds and wave action, especially during coastal storms–flooding can become more ...

12
DEC

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Federal funding will build capacity in Washington coastal Tribes and communities to address hazards due to climate change

August 22, 2024

Coastal Tribes and communities in Washington are on the front lines of climate change. Many are already grappling with associated coastal hazards, including sea level rise and flooding. However, all too often, these communities lack the capacity to adequately address the increasing climate risks that they face.

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) and the Climate Impacts Group (CIG) — both based at the University of Washington College of the Environment — collectively received $8.1 million in ...

22
AUG

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New report shares Northwest coastal Tribes’ needs and barriers in adapting to climate change

August 14, 2024

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) co-led with University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians a new report sharing Northwest coastal tribes’ needs and barriers as they work to adapt to climate change. The report compiles findings from six Tribal listening sessions where Tribal members were invited to share their experiences around climate change adaptation in their communities.

The report, “Climate adaptation barriers and needs experienced by Northwest coastal Tribes: ...

14
AUG

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Washington Sea Grant will lead collaborative research to model southwest estuaries and advance climate resilience in coastal communities

August 12, 2024

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is excited to have a project selected for funding through the Climate and Fisheries Adaptation (CAFA) program, a partnership between NOAA Research Climate Program Office and the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology.

The WSG project aims to build on the foundation laid by the Willapa-Grays Harbor Estuary Collaborative (Collaborative). Launched in April 2022 and facilitated by WSG, the Collaborative holds the long-term mission of increasing the resilience ...

12
AUG

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New modeling tool shows impacts of sea level rise, coastal flooding to Whatcom County

February 27, 2024

Created by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and supported by Washington Sea Grant, the Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS) will soon be available for use across Washington state

From rising seas to eroding shorelines and more frequent, intense storms, the hazards faced by coastal communities are only projected to grow. Recognizing these threats, planners and managers around Washington are assessing the vulnerability of their communities and planning for impacts – in particular, the impacts ...

27
FEB

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WSG receives $1.59 million to boost Puget Sound habitat

March 6, 2023

The two WSG-led projects selected for funding will focus on sea level rise vulnerability and managing invasive European green crab

Two projects led by Washington Sea Grant (WSG) will receive a total of $1.59 million through the Puget Sound National Estuary Program’s Habitat Strategic Initiative, a partnership between Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Department of Natural Resources. The WSG-led projects will focus on sea level rise vulnerability ...

6
MAR

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Drone videos show height of tsunami based on UW modeling

An evacuation route in Westport, Washington gets a “tsunami eye” view

October 20, 2022

It started with a question: How can emergency managers and educators make tsunami evacuation maps and routes easier to remember for coastal communities?

That’s when Washington Sea Grant Coastal Hazards Specialist Carrie Garrison-Laney came up with an idea.

“Some people are visual in terms of how they understand things,” she said.

“Being able to see video of how high a tsunami could be on a familiar landscape is a ...

20
OCT

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Monitoring the Damage in the Heat Wave’s Wake

From the Autumn 2022 Sea Star

Washington Sea Grant rapidly provided funding to two projects to survey the impacts of the historic June 2021 heat wave on intertidal marine life

By Samantha Larson, WSG Science Writer

In June 2021, the peak of an unprecedented heat wave coincided with extremely low tides in the Salish Sea, wreaking havoc on intertidal ecosystems. As a “heat dome” settled above the Pacific Northwest for several days and the temperatures climbed well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, many ...

15
SEP

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Sea Levels are Rising in Washington. What will the Shorelines of the Future be like?

July 22, 2022

A new report from the Washington Coastal Resilience Project evaluates the trade-offs between various strategies to manage the impacts of sea level rise

As sea levels continue to rise, coastal hazards such as flooding and erosion will become increasingly common. According to recent assessments, over 14,000 homes and structures in Washington State — representing a current value of over 8 billion dollars ...

22
JUL

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How can we better prepare for natural hazards on our coasts? Inter-organizational collaboration to assist local efforts may be key

March 24, 2022

A newly completed project lays the foundation for a team to help Washington’s coastal communities be better prepared for floods, erosion and other coastal hazards

Floods. Erosion. Sea level rise. Tsunamis. All of these hazards threaten Washington State’s coasts — with potentially dire consequences. Although there have been many efforts and investments to respond to disaster events, geographically isolated communities on the state’s Pacific coast often lack sufficient capacity to undertake comprehensive planning efforts to ...

24
MAR

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WSG Receives Funding to Build Coastal Resilience in the Columbia River Estuary

November 29, 2021

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded $259,888 from the National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) to the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership and partners, including Washington Sea Grant, for a project to develop community-based hazards and habitat resilience planning in the Columbia River Estuary.

With this funding, WSG will conduct outreach and adaptation planning workshops to identify and prioritize site-specific project concepts to strengthen ecological and community resilience. The project ...

29
NOV

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Remembering Crystal Dingler, Mayor of Ocean Shores

November 15, 2021

We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Crystal Dingler, who was mayor of Ocean Shores, Washington. Dingler partnered with Washington Sea Grant on many projects, especially on initiatives geared toward building greater economic resilience in Grays Harbor County.

Read more about Mayor Dingler in The Daily World and KXRO.

15
NOV

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Research, education hub on ‘coastal resiliency’ will focus on earthquakes, coastal erosion and climate change

September 7, 2021

The National Science Foundation has funded a multi-institutional team including Washington Sea Grant to work on increasing resiliency among Pacific Northwest coastal communities.

Led by Oregon State University and the University of Washington, the new Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub, or Cascadia CoPes Hub, will serve coastal communities in Northern California, Oregon and Washington. The hub’s multidisciplinary approach will span geoscience, social science, public policy and community partnerships.

The Pacific Northwest coastline is at significant risk ...

7
SEP

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Impacts from the Summer 2021 Heatwave on Washington Shellfish

July 21, 2021

The record-breaking heat that hit the Pacific Northwest from June 23 to 28, 2021, caused harm to many intertidal shellfish and invertebrate species on Washington beaches.

On many beaches, species such as cockles, varnish clams, butter clams, and native littleneck clams—normally buried out of sight—popped to the surface of the substrate in large numbers. Manila clams were also impacted in some areas. Surfaced clams were observed to be gaping, a sign of stress, or had already died from the ...

21
JUL

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