Problems of environmental management on Russia’s coasts in the context of global sea level rise

Abstract

Abstract This study addresses some issues related to environmental management on Russia’s coasts in the context of ongoing global warming and subsequent sea-level rise. The attention to this problem is drawn due to the great extent of Russia’s coastline and high economic potential of certain coastal zones, inundation of which would be detrimental for the economy and the population dwelling there. The research seeks to answer the question as to how seriously global warming contributes to sea-level rise in Russia’s seas and whether or not highly developed coastal zones may be threatened. The study is primarily aimed at identification of statistical correlation between sea-surface temperatures, influenced by global warming, and variations in sea topography that can possibly lead to inundations. As a secondary goal, the areas exhibiting highest sea-level rise rates in the modern period are revealed. The results obtained show that most of the economically developed coastal zones are unlikely to face serious risks of inundation in the near future, however certain areas do need close attention, among them being the seacoasts of Kaliningrad Oblast due to high rates of mean sea-level rise and northeastern coasts of the Sea of Azov due to possible intensification of surge effects. Based on the findings, measures to deal with the potential inundation risks are discussed.