More than half of the American public lives within 50 miles of a beach, but as sea levels rise, the coastal habitats that protect the communities are increasingly at risk, according to the Texas A&M University Corpus Christi’s latest release.
Dr. David Yoskowitz, Associate Director and Endowed Chair for Socio-economics at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI), has joined a team of NOAA researchers to better understand the socio-economic impact rising sea levels could have on coastal communities.
The NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science is funding the $1.2 million project, led by Dr. Scott C. Hagen, Professor and director of the Louisiana State University Center for Coastal Resiliency. Other collaborators include the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, the University of Central Florida, and the University of South Carolina.
The work is the latest in a series of projects HRI has undertaken to help better understand the impacts of sea level rise in the Gulf of Mexico.
Yoskowitz’s research will allow him to view how future storm surges may affect the economy and social fabric of coastal communities when protective marshes are impacted by sea level rise.