Updating California’s Sea Level Rise Guidance

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT!

Draft State of California Sea Level Rise Guidance: 2024 Science and Policy Update.

Please visit the Ocean Protection Council’s (OPC’s) Guidance webpage for information on how to submit public comments by the March 4 deadline.

Beginning in August 2022, OST convened an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional Task Force of scientific experts, policymakers, and boundary spanners to update California’s sea level rise guidance based on recent scientific advancements. Scientific experts on the Task Force synthesized the best available and most recent advancements in sea level rise science to update California’s current statewide sea level rise projections and flooding projections. Based on those updated projections, OPC developed policy and planning recommendations for how to prepare for sea level rise in the Golden State. The updated science and policy recommendations on sea level rise for California can be found in the draft State of California Sea Level Rise Guidance: 2024 Science and Policy Update.

Public engagement

The 2024 update to the State of California Sea Level Rise Guidance is currently available for public comment and review until March 4, 2024.

OPC and OSTheld a public webinar on Monday, February 5, 2024. The recording is available here.

Additionally, four virtual regional workshops were held between February 13 and 16. These workshops provided a public opportunity for participants to discuss regional applications of the Guidance.

In 2017, OST convened an OPC Science Advisory Team Working Group to update California’s sea level rise projections, which were presented in the Rising Seas in California report. The technical findings from the 2017 report were used by OPC as a basis to develop the 2018 Update of the State of California Sea Level Rise Guidance (2018 policy document), which provided policy direction for state resource agencies to plan for future sea level rise. In the 2018 policy document, OPC committed to updating this guidance every 5 years to keep pace with advancements in sea level rise science.

Susheel Adusumilli, University of California, San Diego
Patrick Barnard, United States Geological Survey
Daniel Cayan, University of California, San Diego
Laura Engeman, California Sea Grant & University of California, San Diego
Gary Griggs, University of California, Santa Cruz
Benjamin Hamlington, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Kristina Hill, University of California, Berkeley
Felix Landerer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Phil Thompson, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Jenn Eckerle, Ocean Protection Council
Justine Kimball, Ocean Protection Council
Ella McDougall, Ocean Protection Council

Liz Whiteman, Ocean Science Trust
Monica LeFlore, Ocean Science Trust
Dominique Kone, Ocean Science Trust