Managing coastal environments under climate change: pathways to adaptation

This paper deals with the question of how to manage vulnerable coastal systems so as to make them sustainable under present and future climates. This is interpreted in terms of the coastal functionality, mainly natural services and support for socio-economic activities. From here we discuss how to adapt for long term trends and for short terms episodic events using the DPSIR framework. The analysis is presented for coastal archetypes from Spain, Ireland and Romania, sweeping a range of meteo-oceanographic and socio-economic pressures, resulting in a wide range of fluxes among them those related to sediment. The analysis emphasizes the variables that provide a higher level of robustness. That means mean sea level for physical factors and population density for human factors. For each of the studied cases high and low sustainability practices, based on stakeholders preferences, are considered and discussed. This allows proposing alternatives and carrying out an integrated assessment in the last section of the paper. This assessment permits building a sequence of interventions called adaptation pathway that enhances the natural resilience of the studied coastal systems and therefore increases their sustainability under present and future conditions.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Measured parental height in Turner syndrome—a valuable but underused diagnostic tool

Early diagnosis of Turner syndrome (TS) is necessary to facilitate appropriate management, including growth promotion. Not all girls with TS have overt short stature, and comparison with parental height (Ht) is needed for appropriate evaluation. We examined both the prevalence and diagnostic sensitivity of measured parental Ht in a dedicated TS clinic between 1989 and 2013. Lower end of parental target range (LTR) was calculated as mid-parental Ht (correction factor 12.5 cm minus 8.5 cm) and converted to standard deviation scores (SDS) using UK 1990 data, then compared with patient Ht SDS at first accurate measurement aged > 1 year. Information was available in 172 girls of whom 142 (82.6%) were short at first measurement. However, both parents had been measured in only 94 girls (54.6%). In 92 of these girls age at measurement was 6.93 ± 3.9 years, Ht SDS vs LTR SDS − 2.63 ± 0.94 vs − 1.77 ± 0.81 (p < 0.001), Ht SDS < LTR in 78/92 (85%). Eleven of the remaining 14 girls were < 5 years, while karyotype was 45,X/46,XX in 2 and 45,X/47,XXX in 3. Conclusion: This study confirms the sensitivity of evaluating height status against parental height but shows that the latter is not being consistently measured

An Introduction to the \u27Oceans and Society: Blue Planet\u27 Initiative

We live on a blue planet, and Earth’s waters benefit many sectors of society. The future of our blue planet is increasingly reliant on the services delivered by marine, coastal and inland waters and on the advancement of effective, evidence-based decisions on sustainable development. ‘Oceans and Society: Blue Planet’ is an initiative of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) that aims to ensure the sustained development and use of ocean and coastal observations for the benefit of society. The initiative works to advance and exploit synergies among the many observational programmes devoted to ocean and coastal waters; to improve engagement with a variety of stakeholders for enhancing the timeliness, quality and range of information delivered; and to raise awareness of the societal benefits of ocean observations at the public and policy levels. This paper summarises the role of the initiative, current activities and considerations for future directions

Navigating the Future V: Marine Science for a Sustainable Future

Navigating the Future is a publication series produced by the European Marine Board providing future perspectives on marine science and technology in Europe. Navigating the Future V (NFV) highlights new knowledge obtained since Navigating the Future IV1 (2013). It is set within the framework of the 2015 Paris Agreement2 and builds on the scientific basis and recommendations of the IPCC reports3. NFV gives recommendations on the science required during the next decade to deliver the ocean we need to support a sustainable future. This will be important for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development4 (2021 – 2030), the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals5 and the European Commission’s next framework programme, Horizon Europe6 (2021 - 2027). There is a growing need to strengthen the links between marine science, society and policy since we cannot properly manage what we do not know. In recent years, the ocean and seas have received new prominence in international agendas. To secure a safe planet a priority is the management of the ocean as a “common good for humanity”, which requires smarter observations to assess of the state of the ocean and predictions about how it may change in the future. The ocean is a three-dimensional space that needs to be managed over time (thus four-dimensional), and there is a need for management and conservation practices that integrate the structure and function of marine ecosystems into these four dimensions (Chapter 2). This includes understanding the dynamic spatial and temporal interplay between ocean physics, chemistry and biology. Multiple stressors including climate change, pollution and over-fishing affect the ocean and we need to better understand and predict their interactions and identify tipping points to decide on management priorities (Chapter 3). This should integrate our understanding of land-ocean-atmosphere processes and approaches to reducing impacts. An improved science base is also needed to help predict and minimize the impact of extreme events such as storm surges, heat waves, dynamic sea-floor processes and tsunamis (Chapter 4). New technologies, data handling and modelling approaches will help us to observe, understand and manage our use of the fourdimensional ocean and the effect of multiple stressors (Chapter 5). Addressing these issues requires a strategic, collective and holistic approach and we need to build a community of sustainability scientists that are able to provide evidence-based support to policy makers within the context of major societal challenges (Chapter 6). We outline new frontiers, knowledge gaps and recommendations needed to manage the ocean as a common good and to develop solutions for a sustainable future (Chapter 7). The governance of sustainability should be at the core of the marine research agenda through co-production and collaboration with stakeholders to identify priorities. There is need for a fully integrated scientific assessment of resilience strategies, associated trade-offs and underlying ethical concepts for the ocean, which should be incorporated into decision support frameworks that involve stakeholders from the outset. To allow the collection, processing and access to all data, a key priority is the development of a business model that ensures the long-term economic sustainability of ocean observations

Assessment of recreation activity and its application to integrated management and spatial planning for Cork Harbour, Ireland

The coastal environment is commonly the location for multiple human activities, of which recreation is just one. The coastal and marine sector has experienced nascent growth and this trend is likely to continue into the foreseeable future; the projected growth of the sector will impact coastal and marine resources, whilst also placing demands on those tasked with planning and managing the coastal environment. In Ireland, this presents particular challenges for coastal local authorities, as the principal planning consent body. In order to address these emerging challenges an innovative working partnership was developed between the research community and local authority to examine marine recreation in Cork Harbour, situated on the southern coast of Ireland. A programme of work was devised to identify data gaps in terms of: baseline information; user attitudes and perceptions towards existing management framework and facilities for recreation; interactions between different user groups; and, spatial distribution of recreational activities. The results of the assessment provided an improved understanding of the current coastal recreational situation, have value as input to spatial planning and contribute to the development of an integrated management plan for Cork Harbour.Coastal and marine recreation Inventory Stakeholder Planning Integrated management

Computational Modeling of Environmental Processes: A

Numerous research projects are currently being conducted to establish a link between global climate change and the risks to coastal and marine environments. As part of a wider European 5 Project, HIPOCAS, an attempt is being made to establish this link for the Irish and Celtic waters. To facilitate this a wind hindcast was conducted for this region for subsequent integration with a wave model. This paper outlines the experiences of using the computational models selected for this project and the necessity of evaluating the reliability of the atmospheric model before integrating it into the wave model

Strengthening coastal adaptation planning through scenario analysis: A beneficial but incomplete solution

Adaptation to climate change is an increasing priority for coastal management. European Union and Member State adaptation policies and strategies have been promulgated but associated with minimal delivery of adaptation interventions and tangible gains in resilience. Generic stages of adaptation and barriers to adaptation have been identified; various tools or instruments have potential to strengthen adaptation delivery. Scenario analysis is one tool which provides a description of alternate possible future states and has been used to support adaptation planning. This work aims to assess how readily those engaged in coastal management decision-making are able to develop and utilise scenarios of change for adaptation and whether it represents a ‘best practice’ approach for adaptation planning. The scenario analysis facilitated many aspects of the adaptation process, which ultimately led to a tractable adaptation strategy being produced. However, pathways for integrated approaches to co-deliver adaptation were less evident. The planning horizon, much beyond usual governmental budget and project cycles, the need for trade-offs and embedded institutional constraints meant that a majority of those who had started out on the scenario analysis became disengaged by its conclusion. The analysis undertaken concurs with theoretical work which projects a tail-off of the benefits of scenario analysis at the later stages of the adaptation cycle. The work concludes that scenario analysis offers the potential to overcome key barriers to adaptation progress. However, the gains may be limited as the institutional drivers for longer-term pro-active planning may be weak compared to present day roles, responsibilities and competitive pressures