Combined Effect of Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Land Subsidence – Identification of Critical Transportation Infrastructure At-Risk in Coastal SPTC Region: Part II - Texas

Coastal Texas along with many other regions are facing numerous geologically, and climate change impacts jeopardizing their coast. Subsidence, which can occur naturally or be human-made, is chiefly the result of the extraction of both water and petroleum resources in coastal Texas. In many areas of the coast, the extraction of groundwater to support a large and increasing population is the most significant cause of subsidence. Within Texas, the highest rates of subsidence are in Harris and Galveston counties. Sea level rise is the result of climate change. Sea level rise is occurring across the globe. The combined impacts of sea-level rise and subsidence are jeopardizing not only the geography of coastal Texas but also its population. As land subsides and the sea level rises along coastal Texas not only will the population be in jeopardy but also the infrastructure in place to serve it. The transportation infrastructure in coastal Texas provides essential routes for daily tasks, logistical services, the mobility of community, and evacuation during natural disasters for estimated populations of 6 to nearly 8 million in this report's study area. This report provides estimates of the impacts that subsidence and sea-level rise would have on the transportation infrastructure in Coastal Texas. Open-source data made available by national-level agencies were processed using ArcGIS to develop surfaces and intersect those surfaces with transportation data. These processes and their results are detailed in the report. The processed data were used to identify trends that subsidence and sea-level rise will have on the transportation infrastructure.

• Record URL:
  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/526c7a98e4b023d8f09390ed/t/5e0a62fbc0dd7e72d5c17f9a/1577739006420/SPTC17.1-10+Part+II+Tewari+121019.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Louisiana Tech University, Ruston

  College of Engineering, P.O. Box 10348
  Ruston, LA  United States  71272-0046

  Southern Plains Transportation Center

  University of Oklahoma
  201 Stephenson Pkwy, Suite 4200
  Norman, OK  United States  73019

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Tewari, Sanjay
• Publication Date: 2019-11-30

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Glossary; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 36p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Climate change; Coasts; Floods; Forecasting; Infrastructure; Risk assessment; Sea level; Subsidence (Geology)
• Identifier Terms: ArcGIS
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Subject Areas: Environment; Geotechnology; Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01727647
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: SPTC17.1-10-2-F
• Contract Numbers: DTRT13-G-UTC36
• Files: UTC, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 21 2020 9:48AM