Sea Level Conference 2017: Collaboration is essential

More than 350 participants from 42 nations attended the five-day WCRP/IOC Sea Level 2017 Conference at Columbia University in July this year, discussing evidence indicating that sea-level rise represents a major challenge for coastal societies. Amongst them was Roderik van de Wal, who investigates the dynamics of ice sheets and sea level at the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht (IMAU) at Utrecht University.

A broad stakeholder community

Scientists need to work more closely with a broad stakeholder community to enhance understanding of sea-level change, and to project its regional mean and extreme states, says Van der Wal. This is essential for assessing sea-level rise impacts, as well as for enhancing climate mitigation and adaptation measures over the short-, medium- and long-term.

Key results and future directions

A major outcome of the conference was a conference statement summarizing key results and future directions for sea level research. Among the participants Dutch scientists from Future Deltas participated and contributed to the organization of this conference. The conference is  part of a 10-year program on sea level change and coastal impacts. More information on this program and the outcome of the conference can be found at the conference website.