While climate change is often reported in terms of slow variations in mean temperatures or water levels, its coastal impacts are often experienced as extremes. This Special Issue will explore the drivers and impacts of coastal extremes in the context of our changing climate.

This Special Issue calls for papers that examine the evidence for changes in the frequency, severity and impacts of coastal extremes. Recent advances in measurement and modelling can inform our understanding of the effects of our changing climate on coastal processes, including tipping points and feedback loops. These processes often collide with human values, creating hazards and risks that will escalate over time. While extreme events make outsized contributions to coastal hazards, many communities are also grappling with the increasingly damaging impacts of hazards arising from less rare environmental conditions. This Special Issue will also provide an opportunity to re-evaluate our assumptions regarding community responses to the cumulative impacts of coastal hazards, extreme and otherwise. This is particularly important in cases where communities have proven to be far more resilient than previously anticipated.

This Special Issue particularly welcomes papers that explore the above topics by cutting across traditional disciplinary boundaries, providing valuable insights to inform our future responses and improve our collective resilience to extreme events at the coast.

Submission deadline: 31st March 2025

Lead Guest Editor: 

Colin Whittaker; University of Auckland, New Zealand

Guest Editors: 

Karin Bryan; University of Waikato and University of Auckland, New Zealand

Hannah Power; University of Newcastle, Australia

Alejandra Rodriguez Enriquez; University of South Florida, USA