South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2021 Sea Level Rise Impacts on the City of Cape Coral, Southwest Florida from 2020 to 2050 Jawata Afnan Saba South Dakota State University Follow this and additional works at: https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd Part of the Geographic Information Sciences Commons, and the Physical and Environmental Geography Commons Recommended Citation Saba, Jawata Afnan, "Sea Level Rise Impacts on the City of Cape Coral, Southwest Florida from 2020 to 2050" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5643. https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/5643 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEA LEVEL RISE IMPACTS ON THE CITY OF CAPE CORAL, SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FROM 2020 TO 2050 BY JAWATA AFNAN SABA A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Major in Geography South Dakota State University 2021 ii THESIS ACCEPTANCE PAGE Jawata Afnan Saba This thesis is approved as a creditable and independent investigation by a candidate for the master’s degree and is acceptable for meeting the thesis requirements for this degree. Acceptance of this does not imply that the conclusions reached by the candidate are necessarily the conclusions of the major department. Darrell Napton Advisor Date Robert Watrel Department Head Date Nicole Lounsbery, PhD Director, Graduate School Date iii I dedicate this thesis to my mother. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I look back at the past three years, I feel satisfied and accomplished though the journey was difficult. The success of my thesis largely depends on the support of many people. My sincere gratitude goes to my advisor, Professor (emeritus) Darrell Napton. He not only supported and encouraged me to complete this thesis but also helped me grow up professionally. He spent his precious, retired time advising me and reviewing my thesis. Without your guidance, I would never be what I am today. Without your guidance and advice, this thesis would not be as good as it is today. Once again, my sincere appreciation goes to you for everything you have done for my future success. I thank Dr. Bruce Millett and Dr. Dean Gesch for helping on my committee. I thank you very much, Dr. Millett, for helping me out with the modeling issues. I thank Dr. Robert Watrel for supporting my research by buying necessary software with the department’s funds. I am thankful to all the professors of the Department of Geography and Geospatial Science for their support and inspiration throughout the journey. Several scholarships have offered me financial support to make my journey smooth. I am grateful to EROS scholarship contributors and John Holtry scholarship contributors. I want to acknowledge that your financial support has made my study and research enjoyable. Finally, I am grateful to my parents and my sisters. Without their support and inspiration, I would not be what I am today. I acknowledge my parents’ pain and sacrifice to send me far away from home to accomplish my goals. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 1.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Geography themes ................................................................................................... 2 1.3. Focusing on the problem .......................................................................................... 3 1.4. Thesis statement and objectives ............................................................................... 6 1.4.1. Research objectives .......................................................................................... 8 1.4.2. Research questions ........................................................................................... 8 1.4.3. Hypothesis............................................................................................................. 8 1.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 10 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 10 2.2. Causes of sea level rise .............................................................................................. 10 2.2.1. Ice sheets melting in Greenland and Antarctica ................................................. 10 2.2.2. Glaciers melting .................................................................................................. 12 2.2.3. Thermal expansion .............................................................................................. 13 2.2.4. Subsidence .......................................................................................................... 13 2.3. Impacts of sea level rise (global) ............................................................................... 14 2.4. Impacts of sea level rise on the United States............................................................ 15 2.5. Estimate of the impacts of sea level rise (theories and methods) .............................. 17 2.6. Coastal growth and sea level rise impact ................................................................... 18 2.6.1. Global coastward migration (global) .................................................................. 19 vi 2.6.2. Coastal growth in the U.S. .................................................................................. 19 2.6.3. Coastal Florida growth ........................................................................................ 20 2.7. Taxes, subsidies, and coastal development ................................................................ 20 2.8. Vulnerability .............................................................................................................. 22 2.8.1. Factors of Vulnerability ...................................................................................... 23 2.8.2. Assess vulnerabilities (theories and methods) .................................................... 25 2.9. Resilience ................................................................................................................... 27 2.10. Adapting strategies................................................................................................... 28 2.11. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 3: STUDY AREA .......................................................................................... 31 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 31 3.2. Geographic Location of Cape Coral .......................................................................... 31 3.2. Emergence and growth of Cape Coral ....................................................................... 33 3.2.1. History and development of the city ................................................................... 33 3.2.2. Demography of the city ...................................................................................... 35 3.2.3. Recreational facilities.......................................................................................... 40 3.3. Physical Geography of Cape Coral ............................................................................ 40 3.3.1. Geology ............................................................................................................... 40 3.3.2. Hydrology ........................................................................................................... 41 3.3.3. Groundwater ....................................................................................................... 47 3.3.4. Cape Coral water supply system ......................................................................... 49 3.3.5 Weather and Climate............................................................................................ 50 3.3.6. History of disaster ............................................................................................... 51 3.4. Sea level rise and Cape Coral .................................................................................... 57 3.5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................