Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
Please note that all times are shown in the time zone of the conference. The current conference time is: 24th Aug 2026, 01:51:10am WEST
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Daily Overview |
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Climate Change Adaptation 4 Location: B004 Session Chair: Katharina Ziegler, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research | |
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Defending the Coasts: Seawalls, Typhoons, and Adapting to Sea-Level Rise 1: Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, USA; 2: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), China, People's Republic of; 3: National University of Singapore Constructed primarily to defend coastal economies from severe storms and sea surges, seawalls have served as an effective protective measure across the world for thousands of years. In the past decade, as climate change has intensified projections of stronger, more frequent cyclones as well as significantly rising sea levels, seawalls have become even more critical for sustaining coastal economies. Many countries are already planning expansions of seawall infrastructure in preparation for future sea level rise. This study examines the current role of seawalls in protecting China's coastal economies from typhoon impacts during 2015-2024. Our results have shown that increasing the share of coastlines protected by seawalls has significantly reduced the negative impacts of typhoons, high waves, and rising sea levels on coastal economies, as reflected by changes in nightlight intensity. These impacts mostly arise from reduced disruptions to industrial, residential, and transportation activities, and are concentrated in districts that are not directly coastal but are the most economically active within each coastal city, implying that the defensive effects of seawalls spillover beyond directly protected coastal districts. We also find that seawall maintenance significantly improves protective effectiveness, while co-location with offshore mangroves can reduce the protective benefits. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of seawalls in strengthening coastal resilience to extreme climate events and underscore their relevance under future climate change. | |