Danish attitudes and reactions to the threat of sea-level rise

TY - JOUR

T1 - Danish attitudes and reactions to the threat of sea-level rise

AU - Fenger, Jes

AU - Buch, Erik

AU - Jakobsen, Per Roed

AU - Vestergaard, Peter

N1 - Author Keywords: Denmark; coastal erosion; beach-nourishment; coastal ecosystems; water resources; city planning KeyWords Plus: VERTICAL ACCRETION; SALT-MARSH; NETHERLANDS

PY - 2008

Y1 - 2008

N2 - The Danish coastline has continually changed since the last ice age with relative subsidence in the south and uplift in the north. The result is a low-lying country with raised beaches and wide marine forelands in the north and an archipelago in the south. The coastline is relatively long (7400 km) for an area of 42,000 km(2). Eighty percent of the population of 5.33 million (1 January 2000) live in municipalities with a coastline. Vulnerable low-lying areas contain 60,000 to 70,000 properties. These areas are mainly raised sea floor, marshes, and reclaimed areas. On the basis of present vertical movements and projected global accelerated sea-level rise (ASLR) it is estimated that relative sea level will increase by 33-46 cm within the next 100 years-notably in the southwestern part of Denmark. Increased storm intensity may enhance the impacts of this change in water level. Dikes protect about 1100 km of the coastline and hard structures about 700 km. Soft solutions, especially beach nourishment, are increasingly used. So far direct planning for sea-level rise above the current secular rise has been modest and purely qualitative. The same applies to most new and upgraded coastal infrastructure, where the approach has largely been a "wait and see" attitude. Economical evaluations have been either unofficial or absent.More attention has been paid to the impacts on coastal ecosystems, especially saltmarshes and sand dunes. Here the choice of action will depend on attitudes to and weighing of economic, sociological, and biological interests and options. The general strategy appears to be toward the preservation of a natural coastline, if necessary at the cost of land loss.

AB - The Danish coastline has continually changed since the last ice age with relative subsidence in the south and uplift in the north. The result is a low-lying country with raised beaches and wide marine forelands in the north and an archipelago in the south. The coastline is relatively long (7400 km) for an area of 42,000 km(2). Eighty percent of the population of 5.33 million (1 January 2000) live in municipalities with a coastline. Vulnerable low-lying areas contain 60,000 to 70,000 properties. These areas are mainly raised sea floor, marshes, and reclaimed areas. On the basis of present vertical movements and projected global accelerated sea-level rise (ASLR) it is estimated that relative sea level will increase by 33-46 cm within the next 100 years-notably in the southwestern part of Denmark. Increased storm intensity may enhance the impacts of this change in water level. Dikes protect about 1100 km of the coastline and hard structures about 700 km. Soft solutions, especially beach nourishment, are increasingly used. So far direct planning for sea-level rise above the current secular rise has been modest and purely qualitative. The same applies to most new and upgraded coastal infrastructure, where the approach has largely been a "wait and see" attitude. Economical evaluations have been either unofficial or absent.More attention has been paid to the impacts on coastal ecosystems, especially saltmarshes and sand dunes. Here the choice of action will depend on attitudes to and weighing of economic, sociological, and biological interests and options. The general strategy appears to be toward the preservation of a natural coastline, if necessary at the cost of land loss.

U2 - 10.2112/07A-0012.1

DO - 10.2112/07A-0012.1

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0749-0208

VL - 24

SP - 394

EP - 402

JO - Journal of Coastal Research

JF - Journal of Coastal Research

IS - 2

ER -