Climate Adaptation Data Week Overview

This briefing summarizes a presentation by Dr. Marcy Rockman on the intersection of cultural heritage and climate change, focusing on the data challenges and recommendations for incorporating historical and cultural considerations into the U.S. climate response.

• Climate adaptation planning for archaeological and heritage sites is hindered by the difficulty of gathering sufficient observations to understand the full scale of climate impacts. While erosion, storm surges, and hurricanes are known threats, some sites experience unanticipated impacts, such as saltwater inundating sites from the bottom up.
• While a database of nationally-registered historic sites exists, creating a similar georeferenced national database for archaeological sites is challenging because location information is kept confidential to protect the sites.
• State-level historic preservation is limited by funding and a reliance on data generated by development projects following NHPA requirements. Additionally, the National Park Service (NPS) struggles to balance the care of identified sites with the search for new sites at risk; Dr. Rockman noted that the funding and staffing gap between cultural and natural resources had not improved based on her experience from 2011-2018.
• Scotland is highlighted as a leader in understanding risks to cultural heritage sites, particularly through the Scottish Coastal Archaeology Program's use of citizen science for monitoring coastal sites. The Florida Public Archaeology Network has worked with Scotland to adapt these practices for use in the United States.
• The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is coordinating with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to hold an expert meeting on cultural heritage and climate change, which is intended as a first step toward an IPCC special report on the topic.

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} }