On Thursday, April 26, research geologist Curt Storlazzi of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center gave a public lecture on “The Role of U.S. Coral Reefs in Coastal Protection—Rigorously valuing flood reduction benefits to inform coastal zone management decisions.”
Public lecture on coral reefs as coastal protection
Coral reefs provide a first line of defense against flooding by storm waves. Storlazzi and colleagues have identified characteristics—like the width of a reef and the roughness of its surface—that determine how well reefs function as a physical defense. USGS can provide information to guide restoration of coral reefs at a scale (10s of meters) that is useful to managers, thus helping to reduce risk and increase the resiliency of coastal communities. The lecture will take place at the USGS Menlo Park campus at 7 p.m.
Watch the recorded public lecture.