Deployment of an AWAC off the east coast of St Vincent, 2018-2019

The eastern Caribbean islands encompass some of the most vulnerable coastlines in terms of sea level rise and exposure to tropical cyclones (hurricanes), waves and storm surges. The climate in the Caribbean is already changing and sea level rise impacts are being observed. Governments in the Caribbean islands, many of which may be regarded as Small Island Developing States, recognise that climate change and sea level rise are serious threats to the sustainable development and economic growth of their countries and urgent actions are required to increase climate resilience and make informed decisions about how to adapt to future climate change (Caribbean Marine Climate Change Report Card, 2017; IPCC, 2014). Although the level of vulnerability will vary from island to island, it is expected that practically all SIDS will be adversely affected by sea level rise. Islands typically have a windward coast, which is exposed to coastal erosion by storm and swell waves from the Atlantic Ocean, but there are limited in situ data on wave conditions in the nearshore zone. In this report, we present results from deployment of a wave and current meter deployment over two 2-month periods off the east coast of the island of Saint Vincent (the main island of the state of Saint Vincent and Grenadines). The work presented here is a contribution to a wide range of ongoing activities under the Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Programme in the Caribbean, falling within the NOC-led project “Climate Change Impact Assessment: Ocean Modelling and Monitoring for the Caribbean CME states”, 2018-2020