PROTECT; WP7 Regional sea-level change & implications

The overarching scientific objective of PROTECT is to assess and project changes in the land-based cryosphere with quantified uncertainties, to produce robust global, regional and local projections of SLR on a wide range of timescales.

Strong interaction

The project will place particular emphasis on the low-probability, high impact scenarios of greatest interest to coastal planning stakeholders. A novelty in PROTECT is the strong interaction between these stakeholders and the sea-level scientists (ranging from glaciologists to coastal impact specialists) to identify relevant risks and opportunities from global to local scales and enhance European competitiveness in the provision of climate services.

PROTECT will produce sea-level projections and their associated uncertainties on a range of time scales, to support coastal adaptation planning and mitigation policies. Users and stakeholders will co-design the research, forming a closed loop of research and impact.  To reach its objectives, PROTECT deploys a range of expertise and methodologies: (i) a transdisciplinary approach for co-design and co-construction of SLR scenarios, (ii) satellite Earth Observation of polar and mountainous regions, (iii) stand-alone and coupled numerical models of atmosphere, ocean, ice sheets and glaciers, and (iv) improved numerical and statistical approaches to compute probability distributions of sea-level changes and assess coastal impacts.

More information

Work packages: Structure of the work
Explanatory video: How can we predict sea level rise in the future?