preprints.org > environmental and earth sciences > oceanography > doi: 10.20944/preprints202401.0619.v1

Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 5 January 2024 / Approved: 8 January 2024 / Online: 8 January 2024 (10:03:10 CET)

California and most other coastlines around the world are being impacted by both long-term sea-level rise and short-term extreme events. Because of California’s long and intensively developed coastline, it is an important area for evaluating responses to these challenges. The predominant historic approach to coastal erosion in California and globally has been the construction of hard coastal armoring such as seawalls and rock revetments. The concept of living shorelines – defined as using natural elements like plants, sand or rocks to stabilize the coastline – has been widely proposed as a soft or green response to coastal erosion and flooding. These approaches have very limited application in high-energy environments, however, such as California’s 1,100-mile-long outer coast and are not realistic solutions for protection from wave attack at high tides or long-term sea-level rise. Each of the state’s coastal communities need to identify their most vulnerable areas, develop adaptation plans, and plan eventual relocation strategies in response to an accelerating sea-level rise.

living shorelines, coastal protection, shoreline erosion,

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Oceanography

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