Creation of a Flood Risk Web application for New Brunswick's coastal zone using LiDAR data and future sea level rise prediction

The New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government (ELG) is updating its existing inland and coastal flood maps to replace those created in the early 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s under the Flood Damage Reduction... [ view full abstract ]

The New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government (ELG) is updating its existing inland and coastal flood maps to replace those created in the early 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s under the Flood Damage Reduction Program. With the emergence of changing climate, these maps are limited by a lack of climate change influence and do not factor in sea-level rise.  The Government of New Brunswick (GNB) is also collecting province wide LiDAR.  Using this accurate digital elevation model and sea level rise predications due to climate change, ELG is creating inundation and depth of water grids for most of New Brunswick’s coastal areas.  The resulting data will be incorporated into a web application to be used by GNB and the public along coastal NB.  ELG contracted a climatologist to research the future water levels due to climate change induced sea level rise, crustal subsidence and storm surge.  The province’s coastline was divided into 14 zones with associated tables containing predicted water levels for years 2010, 2030, 2050 and 2100 with return periods of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100.   Using these frequencies, a web app will be created to investigate coastal areas of NB and select different water levels based on these climate change scenarios.  This will also allow decisions makers and the public to best plan for development within the coastal zone.  In addition, this work represents the author's Capstone project for completion of a Masters degree in Geographic Information Systems from Penn State University.