Sea-level trends along freshwater and seawater mixing in the uruguayan Rio de la Plata estuary and Atlantic Ocean coast

Sea level is rising worldwide with local differences due to global and regional drivers. This article analyses yearly freshwater and sea level trends and fluctuations during the mixing of fresh- and sea-water along the Uruguayan coast of the Rio de la Plata River estuary and the Atlantic coast from 1961 to 2014. The global and regional drivers as well as local co-variables are described, classified in nine discrete classes and inter-correlated. Despite the observed increasing trends, local sea level rises (SLR) are not well correlated with global SLR except at the estuarine-ocean boundary (Punta del Este station). Freshwater inflow, which variability often coincides with Oceanic El Niño-La Niña (ONI-ENSO) events, is the first descriptor of sea level fluctuations and outliers all along the coast, particularly at Punta del Este. Local SLR roughly follows the overall global trend with periods of acceleration and stabilization often coinciding with ENSO event

Challenges to climate change adaptation in coastal small towns: examples from Ghana, Uruguay, Finland, Denmark, and Alaska

The ability of a coastal settlement to adapt to climate change is largely dependent upon access to a range of resources, which many coastal towns and small cities lack. Coastal small towns of less than 10,000 are therefore at a significant disadvantage compared to larger settlements when it comes to adaptation. One way to begin to overcome this disadvantage is to compare coastal small towns in order to identify efficiencies and support knowledge sharing. In this article we present and analyse five case studies of coastal small towns: Fuvemeh, Ghana; Kiyú, Uruguay; Hanko, Finland; Lemvig, Denmark; and Nome, Alaska, USA. A number of key outcomes and lessons were identified which highlights the need for a formal network of international coastal small towns to encourage and develop knowledge sharing practices going forward. A further lesson is the importance of using a range of indicators in order to establish the regional/national importance of a town. Basing this solely on population size can result in an erroneous interpretation of the significance (and therefore adaptive capacity) of a coastal small town. Finally, despite many barriers to adaptation in coastal small towns, being small offers some potential advantages, such as the possibility of being able to form a community consensus more easily, using 3D visualisations for adaptation planning, and having managed realignment as a realistic management option. It is imperative that climate change resilience in coastal small towns is increased by focussing on overcoming barriers and developing appropriate adaptation approaches by governments, non-governmental organisations, business, and researchers