Sea-level rise in Denmark: paleo context, recent projections and policy implications

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelfagfællebedømt

Dokumenter

  • Fulltext

    Forlagets udgivne version, 14,3 MB, PDF-dokument

We present the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) sea-level projections for four Danish cities (Aarhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg and Hirtshals) under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) family of climate scenarios. These sea-level changes projected over the next century are up to an order of magnitude larger than those observed over the previous century. At these cities, year 2150 sea-level changes of between 29 and 55 cm are projected under the very low emissions scenario (SSP1-1.9), whilst changes of between 99 and 123 cm are projected under the very high emissions scenario (SSP5-8.5). These differences highlight the potentially significant impact of remaining opportunities for climate change mitigation. Due to this increase in mean sea level, the mean recurrence time between historically extreme events is expected to decrease. Under the very high emissions scenario, the historical 100-year storm flood event will become a 1-to 5-year event at most Danish harbours by 2100. There is considerable uncertainty associated with these sea-level projections, primarily driven by uncertainty in the future evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet and future sterodynamic changes in ocean volume. The AR6 characterises collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet as a low-probability but high-impact event that could cause several metres of sea-level rise around Denmark by 2150. In climate adaptation policy, the scientific landscape is shifting fast. There has been a tremendous proliferation of diverse sea-level projections in recent years, with the most relevant planning target for Denmark increas-ing c. 50 cm in the past two decades. Translating sea-level rise projections into planning targets requires value judgments about acceptable sea-level risk that depend on local geography, planning timeline and climate pathway. This highlights the need for an overarching national sea-level adaptation plan to ensure municipal plans conform to risk and action standards.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer8315
TidsskriftGEUS Bulletin
Vol/bind49
Antal sider16
ISSN2597-2162
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2022

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
This work is supported by the Geocenter Denmark project ‘Sea-level rise and coastal flooding in Denmark: past, future, and policy’, with Geocen-ter partners at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, the Department of Geoscience at Aarhus University and the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, GEUS - Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. All rights reserved.

Antal downloads er baseret på statistik fra Google Scholar og www.ku.dk


Ingen data tilgængelig

ID: 340118359