Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

USGS Research Geologist Patrick Barnard and Oceanographers Dan Hoover and Alex Snyder of the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center are featured in a short film by Kikim Media titled “Our Beautiful Planet – Saving Our Shores”. The video focuses on coastal hazards from current and future sea-level rise.

"This isn’t just the next generation’s problem or our grandkids' problem," said Barnard in the film. "It’s happening today. We see sea-level rise impacts across the world, and the more sea-level rise there is, the more people will be vulnerable."

The film highlights the USGS Coastal Storm Monitoring System (CoSMoS), a powerful tool developed by Barnard and colleagues to help give coastal communities a detailed picture of the hazards that lie ahead.

“While storms may happen infrequently, that’s when the real societal impacts occur," Barnard added. "We can deal with the slow incremental change of sea-level rise through adaptation. But if we’re still built in this very narrow [coastal] margin, when these storms events come, we’re going to overtop those margins. So it behooves us as a civilization to help protect [coastal] communities right now."

Watch “Our Beautiful Planet – Saving Our Shores” now!