Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for Coastal Military Installations: Design and Planning Principles for Naval Facilities Engineering Command

Abstract

Climate change has become a major focus of the Department of Defense (DOD), and each service is required to look at adaptation from an operational and logistical perspective. Resiliency within installations in the United States is imperative in order to preserve operational readiness and shore security. This thesis explores climate change, related effects, and sea level rise projections within the United States. The Department of Navy (DON) is the primary service of focus, since the U.S. Navy is the primary service along our coasts and our guardian of the seas. The thesis transitions into the major qualitative section, in which three primary adaptive design principles- Protect, Adapt, Retreat are examined. Each principle is reviewed for the technical benefits and concerns of the system, as well as cost, time, maintenance, environmental impacts, and built robustness factors that influence military operational and physical readiness. The thesis also demonstrates that the best design or planning strategy may include a combination of the adaptation strategies. The thesis transitions into an evaluation framework that is comprised of: first presenting how to conduct an installation risk and vulnerability assessment, second the demonstration of the design and planning evaluation framework, and lastly how can design or planning strategies be implemented into action. In conclusion, the thesis demonstrates how the evaluation framework can be used by Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) to guide policy and funding decisions.