The rate of sea-level rise governs which mitigation, adaptation or transformation measures are appropriate as each measure has a limitation in the maximum rate of (sea-level) change it can facilitate. Understanding when and why to navigate between mitigation, adaptation and transformation measures is therefore essential in designing future sustainable and flourishing coastal communities worldwide.
SLIKC’s ambition is:
- to increase societal awareness and involvement and to act as an expertise platform for public, governmental and non-governmental organisations that require knowledge on the impact of future sea-level rise and related mitigation, adaptation and transformation measures
- to further develop knowledge of sea-level rise impact by initiating new research lines as well as application and design projects, preferably in collaboration with local and regional stakeholders.
IPCC sea-level scenarios show that sea-level rise will not stop in 2100. We need to understand how resilient coastal and floodplain communities are and how to mitigate, adapt or transform the land, cities and infrastructures for scenarios beyond 2100 even though the current sea-level and climate research is not clear about the potential maximum future sea level we may expect.
SLIKC includes researchers from various disciplines from in- and outside TU Delft. It integrates expertise from coastal and river engineering, hydrology, water management, geology, climate sciences, architecture and social sciences to provide a holistic and integrated approach to formulate and address the extremely complex questions related to the impact of sea-level rise on both the Netherlands and worldwide.
Sea-level rise will affect the physical, social, economic and political coherency of countries, cities, communities and infrastructure at national, regional and local scales. It may result in flooding as well as in salinization of fresh water resources, that will be exacerbated by changing rainfall patterns and river discharges as a result of climate change. Ensuring safety from flooding requires different measures than ensuring sufficient fresh water for domestic and agriculture purposes. Ideally, integrated measures will mitigate a multiple effects of sea-level rise.
SLIKC warrants academic independence. Research and project (e.g. citizen science) results will be fully accessible for all interested parties and civilians.