Oregon Sea Grant

Increased population and development, more frequent and intense winter storms bringing higher waves, the risk of powerful offshore earthquakes and tsunamis, and the possibility of sea level rise - these factors and more spell challenges for Oregon's coastline and communities.

As coastal residents and their leaders struggle to understand and respond, Oregon Sea Grant focuses on the question of resilience - the ability to plan, adapt and rebound in the face of change.

We support physical and social science research aimed at better understanding ocean and coastal processes and the socio-economic barriers to hazard and climate change preparation. With more than 40 years working with coastal communities, we are uniquely positioned to engage people in productive discussions and activities that help them

• understand the challenges they face
• develop their own strategies for adaptation
• plan for and implement hazard response and mitigation strategies.

Learn more about Sea Grant's involvement in:

Preparing for the Effects of a Changing Coastal Climate

Sea Grant has a national goal to provide “relevant and timely information on climate change adaptation” for coastal areas. Oregon Sea Grant works toward that goal using its unique combination of research, education, public engagement and communication. We  engage and collaborate with people who would use research-based information to understand and make decisions about the changing climate where they live and work. Read more ...

Earthquake and Tsunami Preparedness

Patrick Corcoran, Oregon Sea Grant coastal hazards specialist, focuses on the achievable: Making sure coastal residents and visitors know what to do in an emergency, helping communities develop and implement their own preparedness strategies, and getting the word out up and down the coast. Read more ...

Related Research

Current projects:

• An Integrated Engineering-Economic Vulnerability Assessment Tool to Increase Tsunami Preparedness in Rural Coastal Counties (R/CNH-22). Young Chen, Oregon State University Agricultural & Resource Economics
• Understanding, Forecasting and Communicating the Linkages Between Hypoxia and Ocean Acidification in Oregon's Coastal Ocean (R/ECO-26). Francis Chan, OSU Zoology
• Developing Realistic Metrics of Acidification Stress for Commercially Important Bivalves in Variable Habitats (R/SAQ-19). George Waldbusser, OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS)
• Successful Adaptation: Identifying Effective Process and Outcome Characteristics and Practice-Relevant Metrics (Funding: West Coast Sea Grant programs)
• Hazard Resilient Coastal Communities: National Climate Survey. Joe Cone, Assistant Sea Grant Director and Communications program leader (Funding: NOAA).
• Climate Variability and Community Resilience: Testing a National Model of State-Based Outreach. Joe Cone, Oregon Sea Grant, and Susan White, Maine Sea Grant (Funding: NOAA Sectoral Applications Research Program).

2010-2012 projects:

• Coastal Effects of Tsunamis (R/CNH-20), Harry Yeh, Oregon State University School of Civil and Construction Engineering
• Nearshore Wave Predictions along the Oregon Coast (R/CNH-19), H. Tuba Ozkan-Haller, Oregon State University College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences
• Effects of Hypoxia on Ichthyoplankton and Micronekton Communities off the Oregon Coast (R/ECO-23). Lorenzo Ciannelli, Oregon State University College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences (continuing project from 2008-2010 funding cycle).
• Drivers Of Ecosystem Resilience: Toward A Predictive Understanding Of Hypoxia's Impacts On Nearshore Fisheries And Ecological Communities (R/ECO-24). Francis Chan, Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO)/Oregon State University Department of Zoology
• Modeling Myxozoan Disease in Pacific Salmon: How Will Climate Change Affect Parasite Distribution and Salmon Survival? (R/BT-47). Jerri Bartholomew, Oregon State University Department of Microbiology.

Learn more

• Publications and videos:
  • Climate Change
  • Earthquake and Tsunami Preparedness
  • Coastal Erosion

• Podcast: Communicating Climate Change