08:00

Registration

09:00

Opening Ceremony

Chairs: D. Stammer, R. Nicholls, R. van de Wal

• Conference chairs (15 min)
• Earth Institute, Director (5 min)
• Columbia University (President, Provost) (5 min)
• G. Brasseur, WCRP (10 min)
• V. Ryabinin, IOC (10 min)
• H.E. Ambassador Peter Thomson, President of the 71st UN General Assembly (10 min)
• Prince Albert 2nd (video message, 5 min)

• V. Masson-Delmotte: Sea level change in the 6th IPCC Assessment: a WGI perspective (presentation in .pdf)

10:30

Coffee break

11:00

Opening Session

Chairs: D. Stammer, R. Nicholls, R. van de Wal
Rapporteur: K. Horsburgh

• J. Church: Achievements and challenges in understanding contemporary sea-level change (presentation in .pdf)
• M. Raymo: Paleo sea level (20mn)
• T. Payne: Why is it so difficult to make projections of the contribution of the ice sheets to future sea level rise? (20mn)
• C. Rosenzweig: Coastal cities: Preparing for sea level rise and storms (20mn)
• Discussion (10mn)

12:30

Lunch & press conference

14:00

Oral Session
Session 1 : Paleo sea level data and GIA modelling & Session 2: Millennial-scale ice sheet and sea level interactions

Chairs: N. Gomez, M. Tamisiea
Rapporteur: T. Payne

Invited talks:

• A. Dutton: New perspectives on “old” data: What the earth’s past tells us about future sea-level rise (presentation in.pdf)
• J. Mitrovica: Probing ancient ice Sheet stability using a sea level lens: A geodynamic perspective (20 min)

Contributed talks:

• T. Wilson: GIA in West Antarctica: Improved constraints from crustal motion measurements from the POLENET Antarctic GPS Network (15 min)
• B. Otto-Bliesner: Coupled long-term evolution of climate and the Greenland Ice Sheet during past warm Periods: A comparison for the last interglacial and the Late Pliocene (15 min)
• G. Grant: Mid-Pliocene warm period (3.3-3 ma) sea-level reconstructions from the Wanganui Basin, New Zealand (15 min)

15:30

Coffee break

16:00-17:30

Oral Session
Session 2: Millennial-scale ice sheet and sea level interactions & Session 3: Contemporary contributions from ice sheets and glaciers

Chairs:  T. Payne, J. Church
Rapporteurs: A. Slangen, M. Tamisiea

Invited talks:

• N. Gomez: Insights from coupled modeling on ice, sea level and solid Earth changes in Antarctica (20 min)
• F. Pattyn: Grounding line stability in Antarctic ice sheet models (presentation in .pdf)
• R. Hock: Sea-level contributions from glaciers (presentation in .pdf)

Contributed talks:

• P. Heimbach: A prediction approach for estimating sea level contributions of West Antarctic ice streams via transient model calibration (presentation in .pdf)
• G. Marques: Sensitivity of sub-ice-shelf melting to changes in wind, topographic features and surface heat fluxes (presentation in .pdf)

18:00

Icebreaker Reception
The Venue: The Rotunda, Low Memorial Library

Join us for a welcome reception in the Rotunda of Low Memorial Library.  Built in 1895 by University President Seth Low, the Library is in the United States National Register of Historic Places and is both a National and New York City historic landmark.

09:00

Oral Session 4(a): Contemporary sea level change

Chairs: R. Ponte, C. Domingues
Rapporteur: B. Meyssignac

Invited talks:

• M. Marcos: Drivers of the spatial and temporal variability in sea level extremes (20 min)

Contributed talks:

• J.-F. Legeais: Accurate estimation of regional sea level changes with the ESA CCI sea level essential climate variable (presentation in .pdf)
• M. Menéndez: Examining extreme sea level variations from in-situ tide-gauge records and satellite observations (15 min)
• J. E. Stopa: Wave driven El Nino impacts to water level anomalies in the Pacific
• M. J. Widlansky: Multi-model seasonal sea level forecasts for vulnerable coasts (presentation in .pdf)

10:30

Coffee break

11:00

Poster Session

• Session 1: Paleo sea level data and GIA modeling &
• Session 2: Millennial-scale ice sheet and sea level interactions &
• Session 3: Contemporary contributions from ice sheets and glaciers

12:30

Lunch

14:00

Oral Session 4(b): Contemporary sea level change

Chairs:  J. Benveniste, K. Horsburgh
Rapporteur: R. Ponte,

• K. von Schuckman: The role of ocean heat content on contemporary sea level change (presentation in .pdf)

Contributed talks:

• B. Meyssignac: 20th century observed regional sea-level changes compared to climate model simulations (presentation in .pdf)
• Y. Sasaki: Sea level variability in the western North Pacific during the 20th century (15mn)
• D. Palko: Natural variability of regional sea level in a high resolution global coupled climate model (presentation in .pdf)
• C.W. Hughes: How are open-ocean dynamic sea level signals communicated to the coast? (presentation in .pdf)

15:30

Coffee break

16:00
17:30

Poster Session

• Session 4(a): Contemporary sea level change

09:00

Oral Session 5(a): Coastal Zone

Chairs: G. Le Cozannet, K. McInnes
Rapporteur: J. Hinkel

Invited talks:

• S. Ye: Impact of land subsidence and sea-level rise on coastal cities in China (20 min)
• H. Yokoki: Global distribution of projected sea level changes using multiple climate models and economic assessment of sea level rise (presentation in .pdf)

Contributed talks:

• D. Rao: Computation of extreme sea levels along the Indian coasts due to tropical cyclones in probabilistic climate risk scenario (15 min)
• S. Muis: Mapping of coastal flood hazard at the continental to global-scale (presentation in .pdf)
• I. J. Losada: On the combined use of sea level rise, waves and storm surges in impact assessment and decision making (presentation in .pdf)

10:30

Coffee break

11:00

Poster Session

• Session 5: Coastal Zone

12:30

Lunch

14:00

Oral Session 5(b): Coastal zone

Chairs: J. Church, G. Le Cozannet
Rapporteur: C. Domingues

Invited talks:

• S. J. Hinkel: Sea level information for coastal adaptation decision making  (presentation in .pdf)
• K. Mcinnes: Global to local predictions of sea level, surges and waves (20 min)

Contributed talks:

• M. Esteban: Adapting to sea level rise: Real lessons from examples of land subsidence in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines (presentation in .pdf)
• R. Bindschadler: What SLR stakeholders really want: We asked! (presentation in .pdf)
• F. Sweiss and D. Behar: San Francisco’s approach to Sea Level Rise planning and science (presentation in .pdf)

15:30

Coffee break

16:00-17:00

Panel on "Sea level rise adaptation in Greater New York: The Response to Sandy and Beyond" (presentation in .pdf)

• Members: K. Jacob (Columbia), C. Weisz (W X Y architecture + urban design), J. De Florio (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey)
• Facilitator: R. Nicholls

18:00

Public Outreach Event: Sea Level Rise: Causes, Impacts and Options for Solutions

Perspectives from science and the stakeholder community. This discussion focusses on the causes, impacts and options for solutions on sea level rise features scientists from The Earth Institute and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory as well as members from government, NGOs and the private sector.

• Welcome: P. Schlosser (Associate Director,The Earth Institute, Columbia University)
• Moderator: G. Schmidt (The Earth Institute, Columbia University)
• Presentations/Discussion
• Science: The foundation - featuring scientists from the Earth Institute and its Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
• Stakeholder Panel – including members from government, NGOs and the private sector-
• Closing Remarks

For more detailed information on the program, and to reserve a seat for the Public Outreach Event, please check the Columbia University events calendar

09:00

Oral Session 4(c): Contemporary sea level change

Chairs: B. Meyssignac, R. Ponte
Rapporteur: J. Gregory

Invited talks:

• F. Landerer: Weighing in: Ocean mass changes and their role in understanding sea level (20mn)

Contributed talks:

• A. Proshutinsky: Causes and consequences of decadal sea level changes in the Arctic Ocean in 1954-2016 (presentation in .pdf)
• S. Griffies: Localized rapid warming of West Antarctic subsurface waters by remote winds (15mn)
• E. Charles: Observational constraint on greenhouse gas and aerosol contributions to global ocean heat content changes (presentation in .pdf)
• A. Hu: Role of perturbing ocean initial condition on simulated regional sea level change (15mn)

10:30

Coffee break

11:00

Poster Session

• Session 4(b): Contemporary sea level change

12:30

Lunch

14:00

Oral Session 6(a): Projections

Chair: J. Gregory
Rapporteur: N. Gomez

Invited talks:

• B. Kopp: Probabilistic projections of sea level change (presentation in .pdf)
• A. Slangen: Regional sea-level change projections: Current state and applications (presentation in .pdf)

Contributed talks:

• X. Zhang: High resolution sea level projections in the 21st century (15 min)
• M. Palmer: Towards CMIP5-based multi-century regional sea level projections (presentation in .pdf)
• S. Nowicki: Overview of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6) (presentation in .pdf)

15:30

Coffee break

16:00-17:30

Poster Session

• Session 6: Projections

19:00-22:00

Dinner cruise aboard the Hornblower Infinity, leaving from 353 West Street, Pier 40, NYC. With views of the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge, the tour includes a three-course meal, wine, beer, and live DJ for after-dinner dancing.

NOTE: Participants joining the cruise dinner should be at the dock (specific details will be sent later by email)  by 18:30hr

08:30

Oral Session 6(b): Projections

Chairs: A. Slangen
Rapporteur: K. McInnes

Invited talks:

• J. Gregory: The characteristics and uncertainties of sea level change due to ocean climate change (presentation in .pdf)
• R. Winkelmann: Projecting the long-term sea-level contribution from Antarctica (20 min)

Contributed talks:

• J. Krasting: Enhanced Atlantic sea-level rise under high carbon emission rates (presentation in .pdf)
• S. Price: Antarctic ocean-ice shelf interactions in high-resolution, global simulations using the Accelerated Climate Model For Energy (ACME) (presentation in .pdf)
• H. Goelzer: Results of the Greenland Ice Sheet Model Initialisation Experiments ISMIP6 – initMIP-Greenland (presentation in .pdf)
• C. Boening: On the application of science systems engineering and uncertainty quantification for ice sheet science and sea level projections (presentation in .pdf)
• M. Terada: Western boundary sea-level: A theory, rule of thumb, and application to climate models (presentation in .pdf)

10:30

Coffee break

11:00

Closing Session

Chairs: D. Stammer, R. Nicholls, R. van de Wal

• Panel Discussion: Sea-Level Information Requirements to Support Coastal Management
  M. Rahman, M. Snoussi, A. Shareef, K. Horsburgh, P. Teatini, D. de Gusmao-Sorensen, K. White. A. Cazenave

• Conference Statement (Chairs)

• Discussion

• Poster Awards (M. Patterson)

• Summary of conference (Conference Chairs)

13:00

Closing the meeting