Announcing the Final Examination of Mr. Levi Watson for the degree of Master of Arts in History
This thesis examines the effects of climate change on coastal cultural heritage sites in Florida and explores climate adaptation strategies at two sites on Florida’s Atlantic coast. Current climate change models indicate the planet may see as much as 1.1 meters, or four feet, of global average sea level rise by the year 2100. As seas rise, problems such as coastal erosion, tidal flooding, and storm surge will increase, requiring site managers to intervene by using adaptation techniques to improve resilience and guard against the loss of cultural heritage monuments. This project uses GIS mapping software, publicly available elevation and tide data, and publicly available sea level rise projection tools to evaluate areas vulnerable to sea level rise and the associated effects at Fort Clinch on Amelia Island in northeast Florida and Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse on south Florida’s Atlantic coast. These two cultural heritage sites include both protected natural areas as well as examples of built environment that hold cultural significance for a number of stakeholder groups. While these two sites share similarities, climate change adaptation will look different at each. At Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse nature-based adaptation solutions like the current living shoreline project can provide a low-impact way to control erosion and improve resiliency at the site. Because of the coastal dynamics of Amelia Island, however, this type of adaptation project would not be effective at Fort Clinch. In the case of Fort Clinch several natural and anthropogenic factors contribute to an ever-present erosion problem which will worsen as sea levels rise. Sea level rise modeling tools like those used in this project are particularly useful in identifying vulnerabilities at a site, but the types of adaptation techniques that are appropriate at a particular site are largely determined by the coastal dynamics of the area.
Committee in Charge: Connie Lester (Chair), Scot French, Caroline Cheong
Contact Dr. Connie Lester (Connie.Lester@ucf.edu) for Zoom details.
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