ART Technical Reports & Memos

The ART program developed integrated Bay Area Sea Level Rise and Shoreline Analysis maps needed to support consistent sea level rise assessment and adaptation around the region. Central among these tools is the ART Bay Shoreline Flood Explorer.

Regional products include:

• County specific sea level rise and extreme tide matrices that depict locally-relevant water levels and illustrate the “One Map, Many Futures” concept
• Inundation mapping for ten scenarios that capture over 90 combinations of future sea levels and extreme tide conditions
• Overtopping potential maps for all ten scenarios that depict where the Bay may overtop the shoreline. Coupled with the inundation maps, the overtopping potential maps help in identifying the shoreline locations and flow paths that could lead to inland flooding
• Maps and data downloads available

Projects conducted by the ART Program evaluate current and future flooding that is either temporary or permanent.

This memo provides a top-level overview of common terms associated with flooding, including:

• Temporary flooding
• Permanent inundation
• Coastal flooding
• Riverine flooding
• Climate impacts
• Climate scenarios
• Flood scenarios

This 2015 study focused on using regional sea level rise and storm surge inundation maps to conduct high-level shoreline assessments for a portion of Alameda County, including consideration of sea level rise scenarios ranging from 6 to 6 0 inches, and storm surge events from the 1-year extreme tide event to the 500-year coastal storm surge event.

The analyses presented in this report show that, as sea levels rise, shoreline assets will become increasingly exposed to extreme tide levels, and will no longer provide the same level of flood protection as they do today.

The datasets and information provided in this report can inform design and operational strategies, assist in managing climate change-related risks, and help identify trigger points for implementing adaptation strategies to increase the likelihood that a consistent level of flood protection can be provided over the coming decades and into the next century.

This study presents detailed daily and extreme tide information for the entirety of the Bay shoreline. This data set will support floodplain management efforts; shoreline vulnerability and risk analyses; shoreline engineering, design, and permitting; ecological studies; and appropriate sea level rise adaptation planning.

The goal of this study is to provide data that support a wide-range of planning efforts around the Bay, particularly as communities seek to understand — and begin to adapt to — rising sea levels.

This 2016 report presents a broad assessment of Contra Costa County’s shoreline exposure to flooding or inundation from SLR scenarios of 0 to 66 inches and extreme tide events from the 1-year to the 500-year extreme tide event.

The analyses presented in this report show that as sea levels rise shoreline assets will become increasingly exposed to extreme tide levels and will no longer provide the same level of flood protection that they do today.

The data sets and information provided in this report can inform design and operational strategies, assist in managing climate change-related risks, and help identify trigger points for implementing adaptation strategies to increase the likelihood that a consistent level of flood protection can be provided over the coming decades and into the next century.

In the San Francisco Bay area, flooding is one of the most severe threats to daily life. There are more than 45 communities situated near the bay shoreline, with a significant number of people, homes, businesses and critical infrastructure within the low-lying areas that surround the bay. Nearly all of the Bay Area’s 8.7 million residents would be impacted in some manner during an extreme storm event.

The purpose of this 2016 study is to illustrate how the bay responds to the complex and unique climatic forces that produce extreme storms and coastal flooding in the Bay Area. This study also illustrates how no single historic extreme storm event has produced the highest bay water levels on record at every location along the complex bay shoreline.

To fully understand and characterize local flood hazards, multiple historic storm events must be analyzed. It is therefore important to understand the types of storms that impact the Bay Area, and how these storms have impacted different regions of the bay.

This 2016 report presents an assessment of San Mateo County’s shoreline exposure to flooding or inundation from sea level rise scenarios of 0 to 66 inches and extreme tide events from the 1-year to the 100-year extreme tide event.

The analyses presented in this report show that, as sea levels rise, the San Mateo County bay shore and flood protection infrastructure will become increasingly exposed to extreme tide levels and will no longer provide the same level of flood protection that they do today. Such shifts in the frequency of extreme tide levels will have important design implications for flood protection infrastructure and for the resilience and persistence of valuable shoreline habitats.

This report also shows the location and timing of shoreline infrastructure overtopping, providing information on when and where these shoreline protection structures could fail and lead to flooding. The data sets and information provided in this report can inform design and operational strategies, assist in managing climate-change-related risks, and help identify trigger points for implementing adaptation strategies. These efforts will increase the likelihood of achieving a consistent level of flood protection for San Mateo’s bay shore communities over the coming decades and into the next century.