Water level rise map
Pro Research Analysisby 
Searched over 200M research papers
Mapping Water Level Rise: Techniques and Implications
Importance of Elevation Data in Sea-Level Rise Assessments
Elevation data is crucial for assessing the impacts of sea-level rise and coastal flooding. The quality of this data significantly influences the accuracy of models predicting potential impacts. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) such as SRTM, ASTER GDEM, and others are commonly used for these assessments. However, the inherent vertical uncertainty in these models can limit their effectiveness for fine-scale mapping and short-term planning horizons. High-resolution DEMs, like those derived from airborne lidar, offer better accuracy but are not always freely available.
Regional Vulnerability Mapping Using High-Resolution Data
In the San Francisco Bay region, high-resolution elevation data was used to create detailed maps of areas vulnerable to inundation. These maps, which incorporate various factors such as astronomical tides, storm surges, and long-term sea-level rise, highlight the increasing risk of flooding in wetlands and developed areas. Similarly, in California, models predict that with 1 meter of sea-level rise, groundwater flooding could extend 50-130 meters inland, particularly affecting low-lying coastal communities.
National and Global Assessments of Inundation Risks
National assessments, such as those conducted in New Zealand, use a combination of high-resolution LIDAR data and corrected SRTM data to map land exposure to extreme sea levels and relative sea level rise (RSLR). These assessments reveal that even small increments in sea level can significantly increase the area of land at risk of inundation. On a global scale, new DEMs like CoastalDEM, which utilize neural networks to reduce errors, have tripled previous estimates of populations vulnerable to sea-level rise, indicating that up to 630 million people could be affected by annual flood levels by 2100 under high emissions scenarios.
Impacts on Inland Water Levels and Agriculture
Inland water levels are also rising, as observed in global lakes and reservoirs. Satellite data from ICESat and ICESat-2 show that 77.56% of monitored lakes and reservoirs have experienced rising water levels from 2003 to 2021, with significant increases in regions like the Tibetan Plateau and the Mississippi River basin. In the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, sea-level rise is expected to shift water level contours inland by up to 50 km, exacerbating flooding and impacting rice production across multiple cropping seasons.
Challenges and Recommendations for Future Mapping
One of the main challenges in sea-level rise vulnerability mapping is the lack of comprehensive standards for estimating errors in LIDAR data. This inconsistency can lead to misleading calculations of uncertainty. To improve the accuracy of these maps, it is essential to develop standardized methods for error estimation and to integrate high-resolution DEMs into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for better spatial analysis. Additionally, policies must consider the non-stationarity of extreme events, as areas currently experiencing rare high water levels may see these events become more frequent by mid-century.
Conclusion
Accurate mapping of water level rise is essential for effective planning and adaptation to climate change. While high-resolution elevation data and advanced modeling techniques offer improved accuracy, challenges remain in standardizing error estimation and integrating various data sources. Continued advancements in DEM technology and comprehensive national and global assessments are crucial for understanding and mitigating the impacts of rising water levels on vulnerable communities and ecosystems.
Sources and full results
Most relevant research papers on this topic