Sea-level rise and archaeological site destruction: An example from the southeastern United States using DINAA (Digital Index of North American Archaeology)

Abstract

The impact of changing climate on terrestrial and underwater archaeological sites, historic buildings, and cultural landscapes can be examined through quantitatively-based analyses encompassing large data samples and broad geographic and temporal scales. The Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA) is a multi-institutional collaboration that allows researchers online access to linked heritage data from multiple sources and data sets. The effects of sea-level rise and concomitant human population relocation is examined using a sample from nine states encompassing much of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States. A 1 m rise in sea-level will result in the loss of over >13,000 recorded historic and prehistoric archaeological sites, as well as over 1000 locations currently eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), encompassing archaeological sites, standing structures, and other cultural properties. These numbers increase substantially with each additional 1 m rise in sea level, with >32,000 archaeological sites and >2400 NRHP properties lost should a 5 m rise occur. Many more unrecorded archaeological and historic sites will also be lost as large areas of the landscape are flooded. The displacement of millions of people due to rising seas will cause additional impacts where these populations resettle. Sea level rise will thus result in the loss of much of the record of human habitation of the coastal margin in the Southeast within the next one to two centuries, and the numbers indicate the magnitude of the impact on the archaeological record globally. Construction of large linked data sets is essential to developing procedures for sampling, triage, and mitigation of these impacts.

Coastal heritage, global climate change, public engagement, and citizen science

“…In 2015, the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN), a statewide organization established in 2005 to help protect Florida's archaeological sites through education and outreach, began a new effort to engage the public and monitor at-risk heritage in Florida (33,34). After 10 years of working with the public, increased awareness of global warming and SLR caused FPAN to consider how to address the climate emergency through education and outreach, assistance to local governments, and assistance to Florida's Division of Historical Resources (35,36).…”

Fish- and Shellmiddens from Galicia (Northwest Spain): Reflections upon a Neglected Coastal Cultural Heritage from the Iberian Peninsula

“…Other countries within the North Atlantic region are developing their own projects aiming at an evaluation and monitoring of the destructive processes that affect their coastal archaeological heritage. Without the need to be exhaustive, this would be the case of projects such as ALERT (Archéologie, Littoral et Rechauffement Terrestre) centered on the French Atlantic coast (Daire et al 2012), CARRA (Coastal Archaeological Resources Risk Assessment) in Newfoundland and Labrador (Bell andRobinson 2014-2019), or different risk assessments on U.S. coasts (see Reeder-Myers 2015; Anderson et al 2017). These initiatives allow the categorizing of sites according to their vulnerability and have led, or eventually will lead, to a call for policy awareness and the development of specific management procedures.…”

Characterisation of Terrain Variations of an Underwater Ancient Town in Qiandao Lake

“…Underwater archaeology is of great importance in the study of the evolution of society and the culture of human beings over long periods [1][2][3][4][5]. However, underwater cultural materials and heritage sites in a complex and hostile underwater environment are threatened by physical, chemical, and biological factors such as dissolved oxygen, various ions, and water flow [6][7][8]. Moreover, underwater archaeological sites are inadvertently or deliberately damaged due to human activities such as dredging and clearing, deep trawling, and other fishing activities [9].…”