Sea level is rising due to the increasing volume of ocean water and subsiding land near the coast.

Hampton Roads is an urban area seeking solutions to the effects of climate change and sea level rise. Old Dominion University is a major research university in this urban coastal environment that can help provide leadership and solutions. Some facts: * local relative sea level is rising +4.43 mm/year (+1.45 ft/century, 1.7 inches per decade, * the opening of the Arctic Ocean to shipping will affect Hampton Roads economy, * new harmful species (e.g. ticks, mosquitoes, ballast water pathogens) are migrating to our region.

Researchers at ODU and regional policymakers seem to agree: * climate change and sea level rise (CC/SLR) is a challenge for this region and the university does have a distinct and important role in meeting that challenge, especially as it applies to an urban coastal environment. * this can be a productive area of research and education for faculty and students. * through this initiative, the university can play a positive role in the region, nation and world.

Old Dominion University's Climate Change Sea Level Rise Initiative considers various aspects of this problem from the point of view of oceanography, coastal engineering, city management, business, insurance, public perception and politics.


Larry Atkinson, Professor of Oceanography
Samuel L. and Fay M. Slover Chair in Oceanography

Tal Ezer, Professor of Oceanography

Chesapeake Bay Historical Temperature Data

Hurricane and Climate Change Collaboration with the
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL)