It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It is a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

== Historical Resources and Groups ==
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ==
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

== Historical Maps ==
See also [[GIS Resources]]. The following maps are known to exist:
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

== Recreational and Residential Buildup ==
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

== The Portland Gale ==
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

Climate Change

2014-10-20T13:04:17Z

SPR:

One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield.

At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

== Web Sites ==
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

== Research Articles ==
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

== Books ==
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

== News and other Press ==
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-10-20T12:56:28Z

SPR: /* Organizational Discussion */

Agencies and Organizations

2014-10-20T12:56:12Z

SPR:

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of involved parties.

In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation. For example, if a municipality like Marshfield decides to pursue the building of a new coastal structure as part of its adapation plan, then each of several Town bodies are required to evaluate the project's plan and its funding in a certain order. In parallel, a series of state and federal bodies will have authority over the permitting of the project. However, which bodies are involved at each level depends on the details of the project. Project planning and execution can be made more efficient if the "chain of command" is well understood and the bodies whose legal authority represent the tightest bottlenecks for the particular project can be identified and brought into active partnership at an early stage. Similar advantages can be leveraged from both private and government organizations who do not have legal authority over a project, but who may be able to provide other forms of aid such as grant funding, research studies, a voice for public opinion, logistical support, and well-experienced advice.

== Government ==
=== Town of Marshfield ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-selectmen.htm Board of Selectmen] and [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-administration-home.htm Town Administrator]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-coastadv-homepage.htm Coastal Advisory Committee]. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-waterways.htm Waterways Committee]
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-open-space.htm Open Space Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-cpc.htm Community Preservation Committee]
*[http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-planning-board.htm Planning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-home.htm Planning Department, and Town Planner]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-public-works.htm Board of Public Works], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works.htm Department of Public Works, and DPW Superintendent]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works-engineering-home.htm Engineering Division]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-conservation-commission.htm Conservation Commission and Conservation Agent]
* Emergency Services
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-fire.htm Fire Department]
** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/index Police Department]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Emmanage/index Emergency Management]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_harbor/index Harbor Master]
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-beach-commission.htm Beach Commission] and [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Beaches/index Beach Administrator]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-zba.htm Zoning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-building.htm Building Department, and Building Commissioner]

=== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://192.185.141.13/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study%2007-18-2013%5B1%5D.pdf actual report] (83 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013

=== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ===
* [http://www.mass.gov/eea/ Energy and Environmental Affairs]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/ Office of Coastal Zone Management]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ Department of Environmental Protection] (MassDEP)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]

=== Federal===
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

==Private ==
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
* Union of Concerned Scientists [http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/northeast-climate-impacts.html Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment] (2007)

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-10-20T12:50:20Z

SPR: /* Cultural Discussion */

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-10-20T12:46:54Z

SPR: /* Organizational Discussion */

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-10-20T12:43:17Z

SPR:

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-09-28T04:46:17Z

SPR: /* Technical Discussion */

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-09-28T04:45:15Z

SPR: /* Technical Discussion */

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-09-28T04:41:51Z

SPR: typos

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-09-28T04:41:00Z

SPR: big re-org to push most content to subpages

Climate Change

2014-09-28T04:39:30Z

SPR: creating page

One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

== Web Sites ==
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

== Research Articles ==
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

== Books ==
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

== News and other Press ==
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.

Flood Insurance

2014-09-28T04:36:08Z

SPR: creating page

Historical Marshfield

2014-09-28T04:19:38Z

SPR: creating page

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

== Historical Resources and Groups ==
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ==
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

== Historical Maps ==
See also [[GIS Resources]]. The following maps are known to exist:
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

== Recreational and Residential Buildup ==
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

== The Portland Gale ==
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

Adaptation Strategies

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This page will list a selection of adapation stratgies focussing on the problem of sea level rise and possibly other climate change issues. Sea level rise adaptation measures are generally classified in to four categories:
;Do nothing: not really a strategy, but must be studied as an option for comparing the relative cost of other strategies.
;Protection: shielding land uses from sea level rise impacts. Typically, but not exclusively, this involves engineering solutions such as sea walls, breakwaters, sacrifical dunes, or beach nourishment.
;Accomodation: adjusting land uses to enable living with sea level rise impacts. Examples include floodproofing or raising existing structures, stormwater improvements, and building code changes.
;Retreat: relocating land uses away from sea level rise impacts. "Retreat" is a jargon term whose definition is somewhat different from its everyday meaning, which many people interpret as meaning a forced evacuation or abandonment of property. Because of this common confusion in communicating about sea level rise adaptation, some experts prefer to use a different word than "retreat" here, but "retreat" nevertheless remains the standard terminology. Examples of retreat include public acquisition of undeveloped land, zoning changes, property buy-back grants, and conservation easements.

Until this page is more fully developed, the [http://www.coastalwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page Coastal Wiki] is a good reference which is maintained by experts.

== News and other Press ==
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

Climate Change

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One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

== Web Sites ==
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

== Research Articles ==
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

== Books ==
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

== News and other Press ==
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

Agencies and Organizations

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Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation. For example, if a municipality like Marshfield decides to pursue the building of a new coastal structure as part of its adapation plan, then each of several Town bodies are required to evaluate the project's plan and its funding in a certain order, while a series of state and federal bodies will have authority over the permitting of the project, but which bodies are involved at each level depends on the details of the project. Project planning and execution can be made more efficient if the "chain of command" is well understood and the bodies whose legal authority represent the tightest bottlenecks for the particular project can be identified and brought into active partnership at an early stage. Similar advantages can be leveraged from both private and government organizations who do not have legal authority over a project, but who may be able to provide other forms of aid such as grant funding, research studies, a voice for public opinion, logistical support, and well-experienced advice.

== Government ==
=== Town of Marshfield ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-selectmen.htm Board of Selectmen] and [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-administration-home.htm Town Administrator]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-coastadv-homepage.htm Coastal Advisory Committee]. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-waterways.htm Waterways Committee]
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-open-space.htm Open Space Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-cpc.htm Community Preservation Committee]
*[http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-planning-board.htm Planning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-home.htm Planning Department, and Town Planner]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-public-works.htm Board of Public Works], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works.htm Department of Public Works, and DPW Superintendent]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works-engineering-home.htm Engineering Division]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-conservation-commission.htm Conservation Commission and Conservation Agent]
* Emergency Services
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-fire.htm Fire Department]
** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/index Police Department]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Emmanage/index Emergency Management]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_harbor/index Harbor Master]
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-beach-commission.htm Beach Commission] and [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Beaches/index Beach Administrator]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-zba.htm Zoning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-building.htm Building Department, and Building Commissioner]

=== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://192.185.141.13/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study%2007-18-2013%5B1%5D.pdf actual report] (83 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013

=== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ===
* [http://www.mass.gov/eea/ Energy and Environmental Affairs]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/ Office of Coastal Zone Management]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ Department of Environmental Protection] (MassDEP)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]

=== Federal===
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

==Private ==
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
* Union of Concerned Scientists [http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/northeast-climate-impacts.html Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment] (2007)

GIS Resources

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Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

Agencies and Organizations

2014-09-28T02:46:03Z

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Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation. For example, if a municipality like Marshfield decides to pursue the building of a new coastal structure as part of its adapation plan, then each of several Town bodies are required to evaluate the project's plan and its funding in a certain order, while a series of state and federal bodies will have authority over the permitting of the project, but which bodies are involved at each level depends on the details of the project. Project planning and execution can be made more efficient if the "chain of command" is well understood and the bodies whose legal authority represent the tightest bottlenecks for the particular project can be identified and brought into active partnership at an early stage. Similar advantages can be leveraged from both private and government organizations who do not have legal authority over a project, but who may be able to provide other forms of aid such as grant funding, research studies, a voice for public opinion, logistical support, and well-experienced advice.

== Government ==
=== Town of Marshfield ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-selectmen.htm Board of Selectmen] and [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-administration-home.htm Town Administrator]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-coastadv-homepage.htm Coastal Advisory Committee]. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-waterways.htm Waterways Committee]
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-open-space.htm Open Space Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-cpc.htm Community Preservation Committee]
*[http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-planning-board.htm Planning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-home.htm Planning Department, and Town Planner]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-public-works.htm Board of Public Works], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works.htm Department of Public Works, and DPW Superintendent]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works-engineering-home.htm Engineering Division]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-conservation-commission.htm Conservation Commission and Conservation Agent]
* Emergency Services
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-fire.htm Fire Department]
** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/index Police Department]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Emmanage/index Emergency Management]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_harbor/index Harbor Master]
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-beach-commission.htm Beach Commission] and [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Beaches/index Beach Administrator]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-zba.htm Zoning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-building.htm Building Department, and Building Commissioner]

=== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://192.185.141.13/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study%2007-18-2013%5B1%5D.pdf actual report] (83 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013

=== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ===
* [http://www.mass.gov/eea/ Energy and Environmental Affairs]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/ Office of Coastal Zone Management]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ Department of Environmental Protection] (MassDEP)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]

=== Federal===
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

===Private ==
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
* Union of Concerned Scientists [http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/northeast-climate-impacts.html Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment] (2007)

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-09-28T02:17:04Z

SPR: Beginning to separate out main discussion onto separate pages.

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== [[Agencies and Organizations]] ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
==== Town of Marshfield ====
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-selectmen.htm Board of Selectmen] and [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-administration-home.htm Town Administrator]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-coastadv-homepage.htm Coastal Advisory Committee]. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-waterways.htm Waterways Committee]
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-open-space.htm Open Space Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-cpc.htm Community Preservation Committee]
*[http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-planning-board.htm Planning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-home.htm Planning Department, and Town Planner]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-public-works.htm Board of Public Works], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works.htm Department of Public Works, and DPW Superintendent]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works-engineering-home.htm Engineering Division]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-conservation-commission.htm Conservation Commission and Conservation Agent]
* Emergency Services
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-fire.htm Fire Department]
** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/index Police Department]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Emmanage/index Emergency Management]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_harbor/index Harbor Master]
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-beach-commission.htm Beach Commission] and [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Beaches/index Beach Administrator]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-zba.htm Zoning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-building.htm Building Department, and Building Commissioner]

==== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ====
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://192.185.141.13/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study%2007-18-2013%5B1%5D.pdf actual report] (83 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013

==== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ====
* [http://www.mass.gov/eea/ Energy and Environmental Affairs]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/ Office of Coastal Zone Management]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ Department of Environmental Protection] (MassDEP)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]

==== Federal====
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
* Union of Concerned Scientists [http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/northeast-climate-impacts.html Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment] (2007)

== Technical Discussion ==

=== [[GIS Resources]] ===
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== [[Adaptation Strategies]] ==

== [[Climate Change]] and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== [[Historical Marshfield]] ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== [[Flood Insurance | NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that]] ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
* Until such time as a listing of references for helping understand NFIP is developed in this space, the

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-06-05T17:28:23Z

SPR: /* Town of Marshfield */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
==== Town of Marshfield ====
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-selectmen.htm Board of Selectmen] and [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-administration-home.htm Town Administrator]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-coastadv-homepage.htm Coastal Advisory Committee]. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-waterways.htm Waterways Committee]
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-open-space.htm Open Space Committee]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-cpc.htm Community Preservation Committee]
*[http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-planning-board.htm Planning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-home.htm Planning Department, and Town Planner]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-public-works.htm Board of Public Works], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works.htm Department of Public Works, and DPW Superintendent]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-public-works-engineering-home.htm Engineering Division]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-conservation-commission.htm Conservation Commission and Conservation Agent]
* Emergency Services
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-fire.htm Fire Department]
** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/index Police Department]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Emmanage/index Emergency Management]
*** [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_harbor/index Harbor Master]
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-beach-commission.htm Beach Commission] and [http://www.marshfieldpolice.org/Pages/MarshfieldPD_Beaches/index Beach Administrator]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-zba.htm Zoning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-building.htm Building Department, and Building Commissioner]

==== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ====
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://192.185.141.13/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study%2007-18-2013%5B1%5D.pdf actual report] (83 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013

==== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ====
* [http://www.mass.gov/eea/ Energy and Environmental Affairs]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/ Office of Coastal Zone Management]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ Department of Environmental Protection] (MassDEP)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]

==== Federal====
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
* Union of Concerned Scientists [http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/northeast-climate-impacts.html Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment] (2007)

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-06-05T16:05:56Z

SPR: /* Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
==== Town of Marshfield ====
* Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** Waterways Committee
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
*[http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-planning-board.htm Planning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-home.htm Planning Department, and Town Planner]
* Board of Public Works, Department of Public Works
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-conservation-commission.htm Conservation Commission and Conservation Agent]

==== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ====
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://192.185.141.13/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study%2007-18-2013%5B1%5D.pdf actual report] (83 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013

==== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ====
* [http://www.mass.gov/eea/ Energy and Environmental Affairs]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/ Office of Coastal Zone Management]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ Department of Environmental Protection] (MassDEP)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]

==== Federal====
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
* Union of Concerned Scientists [http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/northeast-climate-impacts.html Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment] (2007)

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-06-05T16:02:44Z

SPR: /* Town of Marshfield */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
==== Town of Marshfield ====
* Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** Waterways Committee
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
*[http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-planning-board.htm Planning Board], [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-home.htm Planning Department, and Town Planner]
* Board of Public Works, Department of Public Works
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-conservation-commission.htm Conservation Commission and Conservation Agent]

==== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ====
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
==== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ====
* [http://www.mass.gov/eea/ Energy and Environmental Affairs]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/ Office of Coastal Zone Management]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ Department of Environmental Protection] (MassDEP)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]

==== Federal====
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
* Union of Concerned Scientists [http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/northeast-climate-impacts.html Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment] (2007)

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-06-05T15:38:04Z

SPR: UCS link

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
==== Town of Marshfield ====
* Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen
* Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
* [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
* Waterways Committee
* DPW and BPW
* Planning Office and Planning Board
* Conservation Commission and Agent
==== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ====
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
==== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ====
* [http://www.mass.gov/eea/ Energy and Environmental Affairs]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/ Office of Coastal Zone Management]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ Department of Environmental Protection] (MassDEP)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]

==== Federal====
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
* Union of Concerned Scientists [http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/northeast-climate-impacts.html Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment] (2007)

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-06-05T15:32:30Z

SPR: /* Commonwealth of Massachusetts */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
==== Town of Marshfield ====
* Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen
* Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
* [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
* Waterways Committee
* DPW and BPW
* Planning Office and Planning Board
* Conservation Commission and Agent
==== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ====
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
==== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ====
* [http://www.mass.gov/eea/ Energy and Environmental Affairs]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/ Office of Coastal Zone Management]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ Department of Environmental Protection] (MassDEP)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]

==== Federal====
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-06-05T15:29:59Z

SPR: /* Government */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
==== Town of Marshfield ====
* Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen
* Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
* [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
* Waterways Committee
* DPW and BPW
* Planning Office and Planning Board
* Conservation Commission and Agent
==== Regional (South Shore or Plymouth County) ====
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
==== Commonwealth of Massachusetts ====
* Energy and Environmental Affairs
** Office of Coastal Zone Management
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/ StormSmart Coasts program]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/shoreline-change/ Shoreline Change Project] and [http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/czm_shorelines.php Shoreline Change Browser]. (For best results, please understand the information on the Project page before using the Browser.)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/coastal-hazards-commission/ Coastal Hazards Commission] and their report, [http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/stormsmart/chc-final-report-2007.pdf Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts], May 2007
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/coasts-and-oceans/coastal-erosion-commission.html Coastal Erosion Commission]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-report.html Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report] and a very short [http://www.mass.gov/eea/waste-mgnt-recycling/air-quality/green-house-gas-and-climate-change/climate-change-adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-in-ma.html summary].
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/ MassDEP]
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/ Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program] (MassBays)
** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/ Department of Fish & Game]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/ Division of Fisheries & Wildlife] (MassWildlife)
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/ Division of Marine Fisheries]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/wetlands-restoration/ Division of Ecological Restoration wetlands projects]
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/fba/ Office of Fishing & Boating Access]
* [http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/councilscabinetsandcommissions/seaport/ Seaport Advisory Council]
==== Federal====
* ACE
* EPA
* FEMA
* NOAA
* NWS
* NASA-GISS
* FWS
** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-02-28T16:51:42Z

SPR: /* Historical Maps */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
* Town of Marshfield (Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen)
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** Waterways Committee
** DPW
** Conservation Commission
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
*** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
*State
** CZM
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ StormSmart Coasts - Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
** DEP
* Federal
** ACE
** EPA
** FEMA
** NOAA
** NWS
** NASA-GISS
** FWS
*** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1879 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-02-28T16:37:44Z

SPR: /* Historical Maps */ added 1870-era map reference

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
* Town of Marshfield (Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen)
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** Waterways Committee
** DPW
** Conservation Commission
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
*** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
*State
** CZM
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ StormSmart Coasts - Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
** DEP
* Federal
** ACE
** EPA
** FEMA
** NOAA
** NWS
** NASA-GISS
** FWS
*** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* circa 1878 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (for example, in lobby of Marshfield Orthodontics office)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-02-28T16:29:26Z

SPR: /* Climate Change and Adaptation */ intro statement

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
* Town of Marshfield (Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen)
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** Waterways Committee
** DPW
** Conservation Commission
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
*** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
*State
** CZM
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ StormSmart Coasts - Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
** DEP
* Federal
** ACE
** EPA
** FEMA
** NOAA
** NWS
** NASA-GISS
** FWS
*** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
One of the principle drivers (but not the only one) of the need for adaptation measures in coastal communities is climate change. Therefore, a solid grasp of the scientific understanding and explanation of climate change is necessary for making educated judgments about coastal adaptation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the information most readily available to the public on this subject is of a quality that ranges from unusably oversimplified to outright bogus, although the communication skill of the media outlets or political pundits reporting the information may give it the illusion of reliability. Much of this media reporting also couches the reporting of climate change science within a political "pro versus con" narrative which is absent in the science itself, but presumably makes the story more entertaining for its readers. (Incidentally, media reports of both the "pro" and "con" variety are equally subject to the lack of reliability cited above.) The Coastal Advisory Committee hopes to be able to sort through and present some of the available content on climate change and adaptation measures which is reliable, accessible, and relevant for residents of coastal communities like Marshfield. At present, this content is just the loosely organized set of references below, but should be refined and expanded with explanatory language as time goes on.

=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-02-28T15:38:32Z

SPR: /* GIS Resources */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
* Town of Marshfield (Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen)
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** Waterways Committee
** DPW
** Conservation Commission
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
*** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
*State
** CZM
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ StormSmart Coasts - Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
** DEP
* Federal
** ACE
** EPA
** FEMA
** NOAA
** NWS
** NASA-GISS
** FWS
*** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QuantumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-02-28T15:37:57Z

SPR: /* GIS Resources */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
* Town of Marshfield (Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen)
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** Waterways Committee
** DPW
** Conservation Commission
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
*** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
*State
** CZM
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ StormSmart Coasts - Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
** DEP
* Federal
** ACE
** EPA
** FEMA
** NOAA
** NWS
** NASA-GISS
** FWS
*** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information Systems, or GIS, is a set of technological tools for placing data layers on maps. Basic skills in and access to GIS tools are essential to any research-based approach to coastal adaptation. The following set of links may help people get a start in casual GIS usage, although professional level applications of GIS often require expertise derived from extensive training and fairly powerful computers running expensive, specialized software.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QunatumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-02-28T15:02:16Z

SPR: /* Agencies and Organizations */ intro commentary

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

Management of coastal risks involves a complex set of public agencies and private partners. The following is a partial list of some of the involved parties. In the future, this list will be expanded with commentary on the roles of each of these bodies and how they relate to each other in regards to managing coastal adaptation.

=== Government ===
* Town of Marshfield (Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen)
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** Waterways Committee
** DPW
** Conservation Commission
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
*** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
*State
** CZM
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ StormSmart Coasts - Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
** DEP
* Federal
** ACE
** EPA
** FEMA
** NOAA
** NWS
** NASA-GISS
** FWS
*** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35

== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information System: data layers on maps.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QunatumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

CAC Work Plan

2014-02-28T14:55:00Z

SPR:

The Marshfield Coastal Advisory voted on 21 Nov 2013 to adopt the below document as its "work plan" for meeting the objectives set out it in its mission statement. The plan consists of a mapping of the [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/Coastal%20Advisory/Coastal_Advisory_Committee_Problem_and_Charge.pdf objective statements] of the mission document on to the four phases of the ''[https://www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/publications/adaptation What Will Adaptation Cost?]'' economic framework for coastal infrastructure developed by Eastern Research Group, Inc. for NOAA in June 2013, along with action statements and an outcomes listing for each objective item.

== Work Plan ==

;Overarching Goal: Proactively promote a research-based approach to making local decisions about various sea level rise adaptation strategies that include but not be limited to: flood-proofing, beach nourishment, armoring sea walls, tactical retreat and land acquisition.

===Phase I: Understanding Our Baseline (Winter 2013- Winter 2014)===
:1. Educate citizens (including CAC) on sea level rise predictions, adaptation strategies, impacts to natural resources and the potential costs associated with taking no action. This should include establishing and maintaining a web site, organizing seminars and presentations by outside experts. ''Actions'':
::A. Established website on town’s website http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-coastadv-homepage.htm
::B. Established wiki reference page: http://jlab.mit.edu/coastal/
::C. Conducted seawall inspection (8/1/13)
::D. Learned from experts on coastal geomorphology and Green Harbor Marsh (8/29/13)
::E. Educational Forum (Winter 2014) Where’s Our Beach?: A Public Forum on the Impacts of Sea Level Rise and Climate Change on Marshfield’s Coastal Resources and Villages

===Phase II: Assessing Our Options (Spring 2014-Summer 2014)===
:2. Identify Federal, State and privately funded grant opportunities to study and plan for adaptation to sea level rise.
:3. Work with Planning, Conservation and DPW staff on long range planning for the coastal zone in an effort to obtain projections on sea level rise; to determine what areas in the coastal zone will be subject to inundation of flood waters. ''Actions'':
::A. Commented on Town’s draft Master Plan (11/13)
:4. Promote communication and collaboration among various Town boards, committees and departments on coastal management issues. ''Actions'':
::A. Attended Waterways Comm. meetings and commented on work plan
::B. Established steering comm. comprised of members of CAC, Waterways, and Energy to design educational forum
:5. Work with neighboring South Shore communities on regional solutions for coastal infrastructure management.
:6. Develop various bench mark indicators to measure sea level rise, coastal storm frequency and intensity.
:7. Meet with the Board of Selectmen twice a year to discuss progress made on meeting the committee’s objectives listed above and to solicit feedback on coastal management alternatives and recommendations.
:8. Meet with town staff from Planning, Conservation and DPW twice a year to discuss progress made on meeting the committee’s objectives and to coordinate and communicate efforts in managing the Town’s coastal zone.
:9. Advise the Capital Budget Committee and Advisory Board on coastal infrastructure management expenditures recommended by the Board of Public Works.

===Phase III: Assessing Costs and Benefits of Taking Action (Fall 2014- Winter 2015)===
:10. Evaluate the costs and benefits of various adaptation measures.
:11. Perform a cost benefit analysis that analyzes the cost of new seawalls with revetments vs flood proofing structures.

===Phase IV: Making Recommendations (Spring-Summer 2015)===
:12. Develop policies that will help to minimize the Town’s exposure to coastal storms in an effort to protect public safety, infrastructure, natural resources and private property.
:13. Work with State legislators to support new legislation that will: (a) Provide funding sources for coastal infrastructure management and (b) provide flexibility in spending money for repairs/replacements, when needed, such as a revolving fund.

CAC Work Plan

2014-02-28T14:51:05Z

SPR: Added content by wikifying Ben's November draft

The Marshfield Coastal Advisory voted on 21 Nov 2013 to adopt the below document as its "work plan" for meeting the objectives set out it in its mission statement. The plan consists of a mapping of the objective statements of the mission document on to the four phases of the ''[https://www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/publications/adaptation What Will Adaptation Cost?]'' economic framework for coastal infrastructure developed by Eastern Research Group, Inc. for NOAA in June 2013, along with action statements and an outcomes listing for each objective item.

== Work Plan ==

;Overarching Goal: Proactively promote a research-based approach to making local decisions about various sea level rise adaptation strategies that include but not be limited to: flood-proofing, beach nourishment, armoring sea walls, tactical retreat and land acquisition.

===Phase I: Understanding Our Baseline (Winter 2013- Winter 2014)===
:1. Educate citizens (including CAC) on sea level rise predictions, adaptation strategies, impacts to natural resources and the potential costs associated with taking no action. This should include establishing and maintaining a web site, organizing seminars and presentations by outside experts. ''Actions'':
::A. Established website on town’s website http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-coastadv-homepage.htm
::B. Established wiki reference page: http://jlab.mit.edu/coastal/
::C. Conducted seawall inspection (8/1/13)
::D. Learned from experts on coastal geomorphology and Green Harbor Marsh (8/29/13)
::E. Educational Forum (Winter 2014) Where’s Our Beach?: A Public Forum on the Impacts of Sea Level Rise and Climate Change on Marshfield’s Coastal Resources and Villages

===Phase II: Assessing Our Options (Spring 2014-Summer 2014)===
:2. Identify Federal, State and privately funded grant opportunities to study and plan for adaptation to sea level rise.
:3. Work with Planning, Conservation and DPW staff on long range planning for the coastal zone in an effort to obtain projections on sea level rise; to determine what areas in the coastal zone will be subject to inundation of flood waters. ''Actions'':
::A. Commented on Town’s draft Master Plan (11/13)
:4. Promote communication and collaboration among various Town boards, committees and departments on coastal management issues. ''Actions'':
::A. Attended Waterways Comm. meetings and commented on work plan
::B. Established steering comm. comprised of members of CAC, Waterways, and Energy to design educational forum
:5. Work with neighboring South Shore communities on regional solutions for coastal infrastructure management.
:6. Develop various bench mark indicators to measure sea level rise, coastal storm frequency and intensity.
:7. Meet with the Board of Selectmen twice a year to discuss progress made on meeting the committee’s objectives listed above and to solicit feedback on coastal management alternatives and recommendations.
:8. Meet with town staff from Planning, Conservation and DPW twice a year to discuss progress made on meeting the committee’s objectives and to coordinate and communicate efforts in managing the Town’s coastal zone.
:9. Advise the Capital Budget Committee and Advisory Board on coastal infrastructure management expenditures recommended by the Board of Public Works.

===Phase III: Assessing Costs and Benefits of Taking Action (Fall 2014- Winter 2015)===
:10. Evaluate the costs and benefits of various adaptation measures.
:11. Perform a cost benefit analysis that analyzes the cost of new seawalls with revetments vs flood proofing structures.

===Phase IV: Making Recommendations (Spring-Summer 2015)===
:12. Develop policies that will help to minimize the Town’s exposure to coastal storms in an effort to protect public safety, infrastructure, natural resources and private property.
:13. Work with State legislators to support new legislation that will: (a) Provide funding sources for coastal infrastructure management and (b) provide flexibility in spending money for repairs/replacements, when needed, such as a revolving fund.

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-02-08T16:58:20Z

SPR: /* The Portland Gale */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

=== Government ===
* Town of Marshfield (Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen)
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** Waterways Committee
** DPW
** Conservation Commission
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
*** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
*State
** CZM
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ StormSmart Coasts - Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
** DEP
* Federal
** ACE
** EPA
** FEMA
** NOAA
** NWS
** NASA-GISS
** FWS
*** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information System: data layers on maps.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QunatumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to a question which confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-02-08T16:57:58Z

SPR: /* The Portland Gale */

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

=== Government ===
* Town of Marshfield (Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen)
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** Waterways Committee
** DPW
** Conservation Commission
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
*** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
*State
** CZM
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ StormSmart Coasts - Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
** DEP
* Federal
** ACE
** EPA
** FEMA
** NOAA
** NWS
** NASA-GISS
** FWS
*** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information System: data layers on maps.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QunatumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). "The Portland Gale" is the answer to the question that confuses many new Marshfield and Scituate residents: "Why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield?"
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].

Marshfield Coastal Adaptation Annotated Bibliography

2014-02-08T16:52:37Z

SPR: updated links to DBR, MCCC, and link to 2005 article on DBeach dunes

'''''This website is still in active development.'''''

This website is an annotated bibliography for tracking interesting research articles, news coverage, references, and online resources relevant to issues of climate change adaptation in the coastal community of Marshfield, Massahcusettes, USA. Much of it will likely be useful for other communities in a similar situation.

The information here has been gathered and edited by the members of the Town of Marshfield's Coastal Advisory Committee, which reports to the Town's Board of Selectmen. The site is hosted by committee member Dr. Sean P. Robinson, with thanks to the Helena Foundation Junior Physics Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This bibliography represents a partial response to those line items in the Committee's mission statement which pertain to educating the public on the complicated issues of climate change and adaptation. It also summarizes the Committee members' efforts to advance their own knowledge of adaptation strategies to sea level rise and related climate change phenomena in coastal communities like Marshfield.

This website is very much a work in progress. (''Page started October 2013''.)

== Agencies and Organizations ==

=== Government ===
* Town of Marshfield (Town Admin, Town Planner, Board of Selectmen)
** Coastal Advisory Committee. See [[CAC Work Plan]].
** [http://marshfieldenergy.org/ Energy Committee]
** Waterways Committee
** DPW
** Conservation Commission
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Coastal%20Adaptation%20Planning%20Report%2012-31-11.pdf South Shore Coastal Hazards Adaptation Study]
** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/Collateral/Documents/English-US/planning/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20meeting%205-16-13.pdf Sea Level Rise Study Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, MA Presentation Slides] (Kleinfelder) 16 May 2013 and the [http://50.116.92.219/~marsh/Marshfield/SeaLevel-Rise-Study/South%20Shore%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Study.pdf actual report] (27 MB PDF file)
*** [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/4aaaca72-8075-4405-bcee-20183bde5798/news-notices-detail.htm Press release about the study presentation]
*** [http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/news/x1379224900/Towns-tackle-sea-level-rise#axzz2V4Khx78S Towns tackle sea level rise] Marshfield Mariner 23 May 2013
*State
** CZM
*** [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/seawall-inventory/ StormSmart Coasts - Inventories of Seawalls and Other Coastal Structures]
** DEP
* Federal
** ACE
** EPA
** FEMA
** NOAA
** NWS
** NASA-GISS
** FWS
*** See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Barrier_Resources_Act Coastal Barrier Resources Act] web page: http://www.fws.gov/cbra/

=== Private ===
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition]
* [http://www.duxburybeach.com/reservation.htm Duxbury Beach Reservation]
** [http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40774(176)35 Sacrificial Dune Role in Coastal Barrier Protection], Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005: pp. 344-353. doi: 10.1061/40774(176)35
== GIS Resources ==
Geographical Information System: data layers on maps.
*[http://fctpermit.com/gis/marshfield/index.asp Marshfield Online GIS]
* [http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/it-serv-and-support/application-serv/office-of-geographic-information-massgis/municipal-gis/learn-about-gis/ MassGIS], Massachusetts GIS services.
* The 600 pound gorilla of the GIS software world is ArcGIS. The personal use version is around $100/year. The fully powered version is typically licensed by institutions for an order of magnitude more dollars than the personal version. [http://www.qgis.org/ QunatumGIS] is a free, open source alternative.
**[http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/ArcGIS_tutorials/00qn0000013t000000/ ArcGIS tutorials]
**[http://web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~dromano/classes/gis/files/Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf Getting Started with ArcGIS]

== Climate Change and Adaptation ==
=== Web Sites ===
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_pol/positions/climate_change2008.shtml American Geophysical Union Position Statement on "Human Impacts on Climate"]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm "The Discovery of Global Warming"], a history by the American Physical Society. See also the [http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm AIP positon statement] on climate change.
* [http://climatechange.umaine.edu/ University of Maine Climate Change Institute]
**[http://climatechange.umaine.edu/graduate/igert Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change IGERT Program], also http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/
** [http://a2c2igert.umaine.edu/people/ A2C2 people]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtW9jXiMmE Mo Correll]'s work on abrupt climate change in Atlantic tidal marshes.
* [http://cci-reanalyzer.org/Reanalyzer/index_tseries.php The Climate Reanalyzer] Run your own maps and visualizations!
* The [http://climatechangenationalforum.org/about-the-national-forum/ Clilmate Change National Forum], a "new journalistic endeavor" which "will be to provide a public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change and share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change especially relevant to policymaking."
*[http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php Global Warming and Climate Change Myths]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas Younger Dryas] (Wikipedia), a commonly cited example of "abrupt climate change", in contrast to "gradual climate change", such as the long slow warming trend since the end of the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. The Younger Dryas event lasted about 1300 years (12.8--11.5 thousand years ago) and mostly affected high northern latitudes. It was a temporary return to glacial conditions. It is remarkable in that the transition from interglacial to glacial conditions appears to have occurred over less than 10 years.
* [http://www.coastalengineering.org/ www.coastalengineering.org] Coastal Engineering Resources link page
* [http://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/changing-shorelines-erosion WHOI Changing Shorelines & Erosion]

=== Research Articles ===
*[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nclimate1944.pdf Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms], Nature Climate Change Letters 14 July 2013 (paid access), 7 pages. Plus [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nclimate1944-s1.pdf supplementary information], 45 pages. Also, [http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/news.html media coverage].
*[http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2412 Protection of Coastal Infrastructure under Rising Flood Risk], Joint Program Report Series, 2013, 23 pages.

=== Books ===
* [http://hightideonmainstreet.com/ High Tide on Main Street], by John Englander, 2nd Ed, 2013,

=== News and other Press ===
*[http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x407168080/Marshfield-receives-1-25-million-seawall-grant?zc_p=1 Marshfield receives $1.25 million seawall grant] Marshfield Mariner, 14 January 2014
*[http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/08/19/coastal-areas-told-prepare-for-rising-seas/8PnIENBQski5W88fElLQ8O/story.html Sandy task force says spend now for future storms] Boston Globe, 20 August 2013.
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/22/130722fa_fact_seabrook The Beach Builders: Can the Jersey Shore be saved?] The New Yorker, 22 July 2013.
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/26/state-state-reports-president-obamas-plan-cut-carbon-pollution-and-prepare-consequen White House 2013 clean energy bill promotional materials] and [http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan extended climate/energy infographic]. It speaks more about the prevention side of climate change than the adaptation side, but there are some interesting notes on adaptation, too. It's not a lot of detail in terms of being useful for policy advising, but it could be useful in our public education efforts. Note the state-specific links at the end. The Massachusetts report is only 2 pages.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/maine-lobsters-climate-change_n_3535773.html Maine Lobsters Threatened By Climate Change, Says New Campaign ] Huffington Post (AP) 2 July 2013.
* [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/04/27/environmental-concerns-not-taste-should-govern-movement-chappaquiddick-home/DszV0AgbAbPdiB1YE0HSxO/story.html Chappaquiddick mansion: Man vs. sea vs. neighbors] Boston Globe 28 April 2013.
* [http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/22/plum-island-beach-armoring Plum Island Homeowners Ignore State Regulations, Shore Up Homes] WBUR 22 March 2013.
* [http://www.pacificlegal.org/PLF-client-Vicki-Luhrs-wins-the-right-to-save-her-home-from-erosion ''Luhrs v. Whatcom County''] (March 2011) Press release from the Pacific Legal Foundation regarding a 2011 Washington State legal case where an individual homeowner successfully fought for the legal ability to build a stone revetment to secure the eroding coastal bluff at property edge, against the wishes of the county permitting bodies. Legal argument based on Washington State Constitution and statute.

== Historical Marshfield ==

It seems that people have not always built their homes in the vulnerable coastal areas of Marshfield. It's a relatively recent thing, where "recent" is less than about 150 years. But, exactly when and why did this start? Understanding the answer to this question would help with two areas of relevance to coastal adaptation today:
# decipher what the "natural" profile of Marshfield's coastal areas might look like without coastal protection structures and land development, and
# bring some perspective in judging which adaptation strategies are "reasonable" in the big picture that extends beyond the limited scope of experience of today's residents.

=== Historical Resources and Groups ===
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-boards-historical-commission.htm Town of Marshfield Historical Commission]
* [http://www.marshfieldhistoricalsociety.com/ Marshfield Historical Society]
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/ marshfield.net] history page
* [http://marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com/visit-marshfield/marshfield-history/ Marshfield Chamber of Commerce] history page

=== General Histories and Contemporaneous Descriptions ===
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=gohBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Memorials+of+Marshfield:+And+Guide+Book+to+Its+Localities+at+Green+Harbor+Marica+Abiah+Thomas%E2%80%BA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TJ-fUYXFHJiv4AO-qYHoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&f=false Memorials of Marshfield: And Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor] (free ebook) by Marcia Abiah Thomas, 1854, 108 pages.
*Excerpt from [http://www.capecodhistory.us/Mass1890/Marshfield1890.htm Massachusetts Gazetteer] by Nason and Varney (1890)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=Xos-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Lysander+Salmon+Richards%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7LL6UejMEIHC4APXn4HwDQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false History of Marshfield, Vol 1] (free ebook) by Lysander Salmon Richards, 1901, 242 pages. See especially the end of Chapter LV.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=P4RDuQAACAAJ&dq=Memorials%20of%20Marshfield%3A%20And%20Guide%20Book%20to%20Its%20Localities%20at%20Green%20Harbor%20Marica%20Abiah%20Thomas%E2%80%BA&source=gbs_similarbooks History of Marshfield, Vol 2] by Lysander Salmon Richards, 252 pages.
* [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/SE-Mass/mrs.pdf Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Marshfield] (1981)
* [http://www.marshfield.net/History/intro.html Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krusell (1990).
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=RVlQ3RuFW34C Images of America: Marshfield] (book) by Cynthia Hagar Krussell and John J. Galluzzo (2007).
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshfieldhistoricalphotos/with/413994744 Marshfield Historical Photos] on Flickr!

=== Historical Maps ===
* 1776 Boston and Vicinity, not very accurate (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1781 Nautical Chart of Plymouth Bay (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1838 Map of Marshfield, showing dwellings and roads (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* 1857 Map of Plymouth County (Harvard Geospatial Library)
* circa 1900 "historic 15-minute USGS topographic map of the Duxbury, Massachusetts quadrangle. The survey date (ground condition) of this map is 1885, the edition date is September, 1893 and this map was reprinted in 1931" (Harvard Geospatial Library) So, supposedly 1885, but it shows the river mouth north of Humarock, which dates it after 1898.

=== Recreational and Residential Buildup ===
* Several of the above listed general histories contain scattered references to a rapid build-out of real estate in what had previously been the mostly undeveloped coastal areas of Marshfield (now called Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, and Brant Rock; extending partly into the existing villages of Green Harbor and Rexhame) over several decades starting in the 1860s in support of a tourism industry centered on the then-new concept of the sea side resort. Hotels, casinos, and related attractions concentrated around what is now the Brant Rock Esplanade, with the remainder of the build-out seeming to have consisted largely of residential structures intended for a seasonal population rather than permanent homes. Presumably, these beginnings of Marshfield as a tourist destination were part of the larger Victorian trends of keeping a second home near the beach as an upper class status symbol and the emergence of "going to the beach" as a novel recreational activity. It is also likely not unrelated to the arrival of the railroad in Marshfield circa 1870. However, rigorous historical analysis of these guesses is presently lacking. Likewise, there is little historical anlaysis of what brought the era of the Brant Rock hotels to an end, or what socioeconomic dynamics drove the eventual transition to more year-round occupation of the coastal areas.
* [http://www.thefairviewinn.com/history.html The Fairview Inn history page] claims that the building originally at the Fairview site was one of six Brant Rock inns built in the 1860s and 1870s.

=== The Portland Gale ===
The "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Gale Portland Gale]" is the popular name of a major storm which brought much loss of life and property to coastal Massachusetts in late November, 1898. In Marshfield, it is most notable for having changed the mouth of the North and South Rivers, so that they meet and empty into the sea at the north end of the Humarock peninsula, rather than at the south end (now Rexhame Beach). The Portland Gale is the answer to the question that confuses many Marshfield and Scituate residents: why is Humarock part of Scituate when it is only connected to Marshfield.
* "Warnings Ignored! The Story of the Portland Gale, November, 1898" (book) by F. Freitas and D. Ball (1995).
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/ A summary and photo feature of the storm and its effect on ships] from "Haze Gray & Underway", a historical website about ships and navies.
* [http://www.hazegray.org/features/1898gale/gale10.jpg Image of the shipwreck Mertis H. Perry] after the Portland Gale, near Brant Rock.

== NFIP, FIRMs, FEMA, and all that ==

Coastal adaptation planning focuses primarily on issues several years or decades into the community's future. However, vulnerable coastal communities are already threatened today in a variety of ways. Managing the complex physical challenges of climate change requires that it be understood together with a similarly complex web of economic pressures and governmental regulations from the local to federal level. One example of this is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The affordability or otherwise of flood insurance for homes and business in flood-prone areas can have a major effect on determining what type of community can be sustained in those areas. As such, a topical understanding of NFIP is important for coastal adaptation planners. Resources to aid that understanding are documented here. On the other hand, the management of municipal NFIP procedures for a particular mapping cycle, such as FIRM appeals or CRS certification, while critical to the immediate needs of coastal communities, is not itself part of long-term adaptation planning. Timely response to these immediate needs should be addressed through a separate dedicated effort. In Marshfield, NFIP response is handled by the central administration in Town Hall, notably aided by the commendable efforts of the [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org Marshfield Citizens Coastal Coalition] citizen advocacy group.

=== General NFIP resources ===
*

=== 2013 Mapping Cycle ===
==== News Coverage ====
* [http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/topstories/x606648111/FEMA-flood-maps-online-as-neighborhoods-approach-appeals?zc_p=0 FEMA flood maps online as neighborhoods approach appeals] Marshfield Mariner 31 July 2013.
* [http://www.capeplymouthbusiness.com/blog/show/256 Flood insurance rates rising] Cape & Plymouth Business 30 July 2013.

==== Maps and Documentation ====
* [http://www.marshfieldcoastalcoalition.org/Marshfield_Citizens_Coastal_Coalition/Downloads.html MCC's pdf 2013 Draft FIRMs downloads]
* [http://www.townofmarshfield.org/government-departments-planning-draftratemaps.htm 2013 Draft FIRMs from Town Marshfield], slightly different form above.
* [http://crsresources.org Community Rating System Resources]. See also the [http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/8768?id=2434 2013 CRS Coordinator's Manual].