IN THE NEWS
Follow the Coastal Resilience team through recent news coverage.
Hawaii’s ‘million-dollar reefs’ need more funding to protect us, study finds
April 19, 2021
Honolulu Star Advertiser
By Mindy Pennybacker
A new study shows U.S. coral reefs provide $1.8 billion in flood-risk benefits to property owners and people’s livelihoods every year, with top value assigned to the reef stretching offshore of Diamond Head, Waikiki and Kakaako.
Coral reefs prevent more than $5.3 billion in potential flood damage for U.S. property owners
April 15, 2021
UC Santa Cruz
By Tim Stephens
Coral reefs provide many services to coastal communities, including critical protection from flood damage. A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the U.S. Geological Survey reveals how valuable coral reefs are in protecting people, structures, and economic activity in the United States from coastal flooding during storms.
Rethinking How Disaster Money is Spent
April 11th, 2021
LA Times
By Michael W. Beck
Federal money to restore coastal areas hit by hurricanes and other disasters doesn’t cover the loss of natural assets like coral reefs. UC Santa Cruz marine scientist Michael Beck says it’s time to change that.
Saving coastlines from climate disasters
April 11th, 2021
LA Times
By Michael W. Beck
Reefs and wetlands are critical to defending coastal cities from sea level rise, stronger waves and increased flooding. Give them an economic value.
Value of US Reefs for Flood Risk Reduction
April 5, 2021
Coastal Resilience Lab
By Jessica Kendall-Bar
Coral reefs in the US prevent flooding to 53,833 people, economic damages by $5.3 billion, and additional flooding of 113 km2 (28,000 acres, 43.6mi2) of land for the 100-year storm. If 1m of reefs are lost, 100-year flooding zones increase by 23%, impacting 62% more people, 90% more property and increasing damages by $5.3 billion.
Can Disasters Save Habitats? UCSC EEB Seminar
January 29th, 2021
UCSC Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
By Michael W. Beck
Mike Beck, AXA Chair in Coastal Resilience at UC Santa Cruz presents on "Can Disasters Save Habitats: The Ecology, Engineering and Financing of Natural Coastal Defenses" for a Seminar with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz
A Race Against Time to Rescue a Reef From Climate Change
December 5th, 2020
The New York Times
By Catrin Einhorn and Christopher Flavelle
In an unusual experiment, a coral reef in Mexico is now insured against hurricanes. A team of locals known as “the Brigade” rushed to repair the devastated corals, piece by piece.
AXA Chair at UC Santa Cruz funds efforts to build coastal resilience naturally
December 1st, 2020
UC Santa Cruz
By Tim Stephens
Marine scientist Michael Beck was awarded the chair to support his work on natural defenses to enhance coastal resilience to flooding, erosion, and sea level rise.
UCSC professor awarded more than $1 million to research coastal resiliency
December 1st 2020
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Hannah Hagemann
AXA, a global insurance company, has awarded UC Santa Cruz marine science Research Professor Michael Beck more than $1 million in funding to further his lab’s research into how reefs and marshes combat sea-level rise and related natural disasters.
Coastal Resilience Lab Approach
December 1st, 2020
Coastal Resilience Lab
By Jessica Kendall-Bar
The Coastal Resilience Lab works to reduce risks to people, property and nature; find out more at at https://coastalresilience.ucsc.edu.
New AXA Chair at UC Santa Cruz to Build Coastal Resilience Naturally
December 1st, 2020
AXA Research Fund
By Tim Stephens
Marine scientist Michael Beck was awarded the chair to support his work on natural defenses to enhance coastal resilience to flooding, erosion, and sea level rise.
Nature-Based Approaches to Urban Shoreline Protection
December 22, 2020
Biohabitats
By Amy Nelson
Expert Q&A: Dr. Michael Beck. His research is strengthening the economic argument for investment in the protection and restoration of coastal ecosystems.
UCSC professor awarded more than $1 million to research coastal resiliency
December 1st, 2020
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Hannah Hagemann
AXA, a global insurance company, has awarded UC Santa Cruz marine science Research Professor Michael Beck more than $1 million in funding to further his lab’s research into how reefs and marshes combat sea-level rise and related natural disasters.
Reducing Caribbean Risk with Mangroves
October 21st, 2020
Coastal Resilience Lab
By Sarah and Michael Beck
This is a video abstract about a report by the UCSC Coastal Resilience Lab along with The Nature Conservancy and the global insurance firm AXA on Caribbean risk: Opportunities for cost effective Mangrove Restoration and Insurance.
Assessing the Value of Natural and Nature-Based Features in Coastal Storm and Flood Risk Reduction
September 29th, 2020
Engineering With Nature Podcast
By US Army Corps of Engineers
An ecologist by training, Dr. Michael W. Beck had been working on more traditional ecological solutions related to marine protected areas until Hurricane Katrina, when he saw that there was a real need for understanding how natural habitats provide coastal resilience. Now his work focuses on figuring out how investing in nature and nature-based solutions can reduce coastal risk and save lives and money.
How Our Reefs Protect Us: Valuing the Benefits of U.S. Reefs
July 20th, 2020
US Geological Survey
By Jessica Kendall-Bar & Michael W. Beck
This video illustrates how scientists quantify coastal flood protections afforded by coral reefs, a main focus of an ongoing, collaborative effort between scientists at USGS and the Coastal Resilience Lab at UCSC. To learn more about this collaboration, please visit: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/how-our-reefs-protect-us-valuing-benefits-us-reefs
Understanding the Protective Value of Nature
July 15th, 2020
National Wildlife Federation
By Borja Reguero, Mike Beck & Curt Storlazzi
A Discussion of the Science Behind the Effectiveness of Natural Infrastructure for Hazard Risk Reduction. Zoom webinar hosted by the National Wildlife Federation.
Can mangrove conservation pay for itself in flood protection?
April 3rd, 2020
Carbon Removal Newsroom
By Nori
Dr. Michael W. Beck, professor at the University of California Santa Cruz, coauthored a new paper in Scientific Reports entitled, "The Global Flood Protection Benefits of Mangroves". Today we dig into how mangroves work against flooding, their carbon sequestration potential, how to quantify their financial benefit, and how that helps make them legible to financial systems.
Protecting mangroves can prevent billions of dollars in global flooding damage every year
March 10th, 2020
The Conversation
By Michael W. Beck & Pelayo Menendez
Hurricanes and tropical storms are estimated to cost the U.S. economy more than US$50 billion yearly in damage from winds and flooding. And as these storms travel across the Atlantic, they also ravage many Caribbean nations...
Researchers put a dollar value on the protection coral reefs provide Hawaii shorelines ... and it’s big
May 4th, 2019
Hawaii News Now
By Ben Gutierrez
Having a nice beach with peaceful waves lapping at the shoreline is often taken for granted in Hawaii. But the reefs also protect the shoreline from larger waves and damage. “If you were standing in Waikiki and you just have little bitty waves lapping up at your feet, but then you look offshore and you can see ten-foot waves or more breaking offshore, well, that’s the reef at work for you,” said Michael Beck...
