Climate Adaptation Data Week Overview

The briefing highlights the challenges of tracking climate impacts on archaeological and historic sites in the U.S., noting that while nationally-registered historic sites are documented, archaeological site data is often confidential. It emphasizes the need for more funding for state offices and the potential for the U.S. to learn from Scotland's coastal archaeology monitoring and citizen science programs.

• Climate change impacts on heritage sites include known threats like erosion, storm surges, and hurricanes, as well as unanticipated effects such as saltwater inundating sites from the bottom up.
• Creating a national database for archaeological sites to track vulnerability is hindered by the fact that specific location information is kept confidential to protect the sites.
• State-level historic preservation offices face funding limitations and rely heavily on surveys conducted for development projects under National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requirements.
• Scotland is recognized for its success in monitoring coastal cultural heritage sites through the Scottish Coastal Archaeology Program and citizen science, providing a model that the Florida Public Archaeology Network is attempting to adapt for the U.S.
• The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is coordinating with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to hold an expert meeting, which is intended as a first step toward an IPCC special report on cultural heritage and climate.

APA

Rockman, M. (2020). Climate Adaptation Data Week Overview. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/041520data

Chicago

Rockman, Marcy. Climate Adaptation Data Week Overview. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2020. https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/041520data.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rockman |first1=Marcy |title=Climate Adaptation Data Week Overview |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=15 April 2020 |url=https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/041520data |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rockman2020climate, author = {Rockman, Marcy}, title = {{Climate Adaptation Data Week Overview}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/041520data}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }