San Elijo Lagoon and Sea Level Rise

Projected future global mean sea level rise is causing wetlands resource managers to begin looking at wetlands in a new light. This project hopes to answer some of those questions and to create discussion regarding the value of wetlands in California by examining the San Elijo Lagoon in San Diego County. There is still discussion regarding what models to use when examining future potential sea level rise. Discussion continues regarding how vegetative habitats will adjust to the physical changes that may be encountered as the rate of global mean sea level increases to due to anthropogenic global warming. A difficult question that all wetlands managers are dealing with is assessing the value of the habitat that they manage. This paper examines the issues regarding global mean sea level rise models and how to interpret them. GIS tools are presented for evaluating the areas of a wetland at greatest risk from simple inundation. Finally, this paper looks at the benefits associated with averting potential impacts from global mean sea level rise