On Friday January 28, Manuel Meidinger will defend his thesis entitiled A preliminary vulnerability assessment for Ísafjörður, Iceland: Coastal management-options to reduce impacts of sea-level rise and storm surges.

The defens will take place in room 1-2 at the University Centre, and begins at 15.30. It is open to the public.

The thesis advisor is Dr. Luis Costa from the University of Greifswald, Germany. External reader is Dr. Patricia Manuel from Dalhousie University, Halifax Canada.

Abstract
Climate change science argues that by end of the 21st century global mean sea-level rise may easily exceed 1 m possibly accompanied by an increase in storm intensity. Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its impacts will vary greatly according to scale and geographic region. This study took the recommendations made by the United Nations and the research objectives stated by the Icelandic Ministry of the Environment into account and conducted a preliminary coastal vulnerability assessment for Ísafjörður, located in the Westfjords of Iceland. In this work the economic damages and loss of life were assessed and solutions to deal with the threat of sea-level rise proposed. Results reveal that socio-economic impacts from sea-level rise and storm surges are expected to increase in Ísafjörður, more notably towards the end of the 21st century. Potential mitigation of monetary impact costs by prioritizing interventions on historical buildings were assessed together with quantification of land elevation needs for the construction of new developments. Overall management suggestion to reduce Ísafjörður's economic costs due to impacts of sea-level rise and storm surge related risks is to steer future (and constrain current) developments in the prone areas.

Manuel Meidinger has an undergraduate degree in Geography from Free University of Berlin. He is originally from and currently resides in Berlin, Germany.

Schedule for upcoming presentations:

 

February 1
Jonathan Eberlein: The Scarcity and Vulnerability of Surfing Recourses - An Analysis of the Value of Surfing from a Social Economic Perspective in Matosinhos, Portugal
Jamie Landry: Community-Based Coastal Resource Management as a Contributor to Sustainability-Seeking Communities: A Case Study for Ísafjörður, Iceland

 

February 2
Joshua Macintosh: Public Coastal Access in Nova Scotia's Coastal Strategy

 

February 3
Lindsay Church: A Case Study on Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland: Is EarthCheck community standard an effective sustainable tourism marketing tool?