Coastal Resilience to Extreme Weather and Climate: A Case Study of Applications on Long Island New York

The New York State Resilience Institute for Storms and Emergencies (NYS RISE) was established by the NYS Governor to speed up the translation of weather and climate research to resilience applications. We present examples in which NYS RISE research is used by policymakers and the public to make the communities and infrastructure more resilient to coastal storms and climate change on Long Island. In one example, we show how sea-level rise projections from climate models are incorporated in the cost-benefit analysis of the reconstruction of a sewage treatment plant along the shore (the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant). In the second example, we show how forecasting products from numerical weather prediction models are used with a storm surge model to provide customized coastal flooding guidance suitable for state and county emergency management agencies. New needs of research on storm surges and climate change are identified and discussed for these two applications.