EXTREMENESS

Extreme North Sea-storm floods and their effects.: Trans-disciplinal assessment of different risk management options

Prof. Dr. Beate M.W. Ratter, Dr. Jürgen Schaper
Duration: 2016 - 2019

Funded by BMBF. Planning and design of coastal defenses and protection requires information about the probabilities of very severe storm tides and the possible changes that may occur in the course of anthropogenic climate change. EXTREMENESS focuses on so called “Black Swans” in the Region of Emden, i.e. events that are highly unlikely but are potentially linked with extreme consequences. As a case study and to develop methodology, for the most severe cases an impact assessment for the city of Emden will be made by analyzing consequences of failures in the coastal defense system. This will be done in conjunction with a Stakeholder-Science Collaboration Forum established within the project and serves as a basis for development of adaptation options and evaluation criteria. The final outcome will be a reflexive multi-criteria evaluation in which linkages between societal and environmental conditions, infrastructure and economy are considered and the different roles of stakeholders, communication needs and the needs for adaptive management are conveyed.