Approximately one-fourth of all National Park Service (NPS) sites are situated on or near the coast. These parks protect a diverse array of ecosystems and habitats, historic and cultural sites, recreational areas, and facilities and infrastructure. From the submerged reefs of Biscayne National Park to the elevated span of the Golden Gate Bridge, coastal parks are experiencing effects from sea level rise. Sea level rise increases coastal erosion and flooding and the NPS seeks to respond to these impacts in ways that avoid or mitigate impacts to park resources and safe visitor access. Parks need the best available sea level rise and storm surge projections to inform management, planning, and decision making. Explore this ArcGIS StoryMap to learn more about sea level change in national parks.
Explore sea level rise scenarios
The U.S. Sea Level Change website and the Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change are coordinated efforts across Federal Agencies to provide current data, information and resources related to sea level change. The NPS recognizes these efforts as leading sources of information for guiding park planning and decision making, including as part of scenario planning for climate adaptation.The 2022 Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States report [PDF] and associated datasets serve as the foundation of our current best available sea level rise projections. This report provides sea level rise projections by decade (through 2150) and scenario (high, intermediate high, intermediate, intermediate low) to provide a range of potential conditions. While all scenarios should be considered, the NPS typically recommends informing decisions with the intermediate high and high scenarios.
- Visit the U.S. Sea Level Change homepage
- Learn about sea level 101
- View past, present, and future sea level rise impacts for U.S. coastlines using the National Sea Level Explorer
View interactive sea level rise projections
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides an interactive sea level rise viewer based off the 2022 dataset. The viewer illustrates projected flooding associated with projected sea level rise scenarios through 2100 in 1ft increments for up to 10ft of sea level rise. The viewer also allows the user to select "local scenarios" to explore site-specific conditions. Data related to water depth, connectivity, flood frequency, high tide flooding, wetland loss and migration, socio-economic vulnerability, and mapping confidence is also available in this tool.
Please note the NPS Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Projections report published in 2017 no longer provides the most up-to-date information. The report is provided here for archival purposes only.
More about sea level change from around the NPS
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- Locations: Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore
- Offices: San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
Limantour Beach is wide. Bookended by ocean on one side and grassy dunes on the other, its sandy expanse provides a habitat for many organisms that rely on the rich ecosystem between land and sea. The western snowy plover, a small brown and white shorebird, is one species that finds refuge in the sand. Over time, human activity and development have degraded many beaches like Limantour, and biologists have seen those impacts through the eyes of the snowy plovers.
- Locations: Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, National Capital Parks-East
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, National Capital Inventory & Monitoring Network, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate
Faced with threats like sea level rise and erosion, the freshwater tidal wetlands at Kenilworth Marsh and Kingman Lake may have challenges ahead. Scientists with the Inventory and Monitoring Program collected and analyzed marsh elevation data to determine how the ecosystems are weathering these changes.
- Locations: Assateague Island National Seashore, Cape Cod National Seashore, Fire Island National Seashore, Gateway National Recreation Area
Coastal national parks have long been a living laboratory for shoreline scientists to study how storms and other processes like erosion and littoral drift affect the coast and the structures perched along the water. Learn more about the science of shifting shorelines.
Newsletter highlighting the activities of the Southeast Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network
- Point Reyes National Seashore
Western Snowy Plovers Could Face Multiple Threats from Climate Change
- Locations: Point Reyes National Seashore
A study at Point Reyes National Seashore finds habitat loss from sea level rise isn’t the only significant climate-related impact on these at-risk shorebirds.
Explore this StoryMap to learn about Nature-Based Solutions and how they can support coastal areas. Read case studies of how Nature-Based Solutions can support national parks and international communities facing climate change. And for more information on nature-based solutions, access a list of relevant resources at the end of the StoryMap.
Explore this StoryMap to learn about Blue Carbon and how restoring coastal and marine ecosystems can significantly increase the area’s capacity for carbon storage. Learn more about how blue carbon is factored into the carbon market and how it is measured in park units. Read about the Herring River Restoration Project and how the project will contribute to storing blue carbon.
- Locations: Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Harbor seals are year-round residents of San Francisco Bay Area waters. But they don't just stay in the water. They also need safe places to come ashore to rest, shed their fur, and raise their young. They “haul out” in several coves, lagoons, and estuaries along the coast, and at many sites within the San Francisco Bay.
- Acadia National Park
Monitoring Sea Level Rise
- Locations: Acadia National Park
What do the highest tides of the year tell us about future sea levels, storms, and vulnerability of coastal locations? We monitor the highest tides of the year (sometimes called “king tides”) because they represent the “average” high tides of the future and their potential impacts on park resources. Resource managers use the data to understand the vulnerability of locations in the park to storms and floods and make decisions about park management.
- Locations: Point Reyes National Seashore
- Offices: San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
The female elephant seal is ready. It’s early January in Point Reyes, and she’s been hauled out on Drakes Beach for a few days. She’s waiting to give birth. The seal mom’s choice to birth her pup on Drakes Beach this year might have been motivated partially by the treacherous conditions at another beach spot, the Point Reyes Headlands. Little does she know, climate change is the driving cause behind beaches becoming less hospitable for elephant seals.
Tags:
sea level rise
Last updated: February 13, 2025