Our Work

Coastal Resilience

Mycoast

Projects

Impacts

Group of people walking along East Matunuck Beach during a shoreline tour exploring coastal dynamics and Rhode Island’s shoreline access law.

About

Rhode Island’s 400-mile coastline is rapidly changing from erosion caused by storms, rising sea levels, and development.

In order for coastal communities to be resilient, it is important that they are prepared to address and adapt to ever-changing economic, social, and environmental conditions unique to the coastal landscape.

Our coastal specialists work to provide training and resources for professionals to apply the best available science and information to help coastal cities and communities adapt to a rapidly changing landscape.

Mission

To build vibrant waterfront communities resilient to a changing climate.

Focus Areas

Climate Adaptation

Issues that affect how coastal communities to plan for and adapt to climate-related hazards and extreme weather events.

Coastal Ecosystems

Issues that relate to development and activity that impact coastal wetlands, beach systems, salt ponds, and Narragansett Bay.

Waterfront sustainability

Issues that impact the present and future use of our waterfront such as pollution, marine transportation, marine debris, and maritime heritage.

Charlestown Breachway Restoration Proceeds with $8.4 Million in Funding

Charlestown Breachway permanent repairs and dune restoration to begin this fall with state funding.

Warren Project to Build Coastal and Flood Resilience

An NSF-funded project to study Warren’s groundwater, flooding, and related issues and propose mitigation efforts got underway in August.

An Armchair Tour of Oakland Beach

Pavement has been removed, stormwater is being filtered, and native plants are thriving, but flooding still poses a challenge at Oakland Beach.

Sea Grant Investment Spurs Cutting-Edge Technology for Plastic Pollution Research

Rhode Island Sea Grant-funded research investigating microplastics in Narragansett Bay helped attract funding for new tools, like URI’s advanced LDIR spectrometer, to support ongoing research.

Rising Sea Squeezes Conimicut Point

Conimicut Point walk highlights resilience efforts, remaining challenges for this Warwick community.

Sea Grant’s Vital Role in Advancing Rhode Island’s Coastal Hazard Resilience

Rhode Island Sea Grant helps communities prepare for coastal hazards with advanced modeling and mapping tools—now used statewide to support emergency response, planning, and resilience to rising seas and stronger storms.

Sea Grant Law Clinic Examines Who Owns the Shoreline as Coastal Change Shifts Property Boundaries

Sea Grant Law Fellows spent the summer researching how Rhode Island could interpret avulsion to determine future property ownership along the coast.

Behind the Scenes of Flood Buyouts in Rhode Island

Property owners seek information, consolation even as voluntary flood buyout programs promise relief.

Microplastic Hot Spots in Narragansett Bay Driven by Urban Runoff and Wind, New Study Finds

New Sea Grant-funded research shows microplastics concentrate in northern Narragansett Bay, driven by river runoff, wind, and seasons—providing insights that could shape smarter pollution management.

Artificial Reef Model Shows Promise for Reducing Erosion on Block Island

A URI study shows an artificial reef could cut wave energy by 85% and erosion by 70% at Crescent Beach, helping protect Block Island’s fragile link. Supported by RI Sea Grant, the work guides nature-based solutions for coastal resilience.

Meet Our Team

Casey Tremper

Coastal Project Manager
Tel: (401) 874-6493
Email: casey_tremper@uri.edu

Eliza Berry

Coastal Project Manager
Email: eliza.berry@uri.edu

Share Your Photographs

MyCoast: Rhode Island is a portal to collect and analyze pictures and data relating to coastal events.

Information collected through this site is used to visualize the impact of coastal hazards and to enhance awareness among decision-makers and stakeholders, and provide information for researchers.

Click Here

Current Projects

Resilience Training

LEARN MORE

PREP-RI is a state-funded project that supports developing and providing coastal resiliency training to municipal staff, volunteer board members, and decision-makers increasingly tasked with implementing coastal resiliency policies and practices that can better protect communities from flooding and erosion associated with storms and sea level rise.

Sea Grant helped to develop in-person training as well as webinar-based education and access to online support tools.

Find more information at
Prep-RI.org

Common Fence Point

LEARN MORE

Rhode Island Sea Grant is partnering with the Common Fence Point Preparedness Committee (CFPPC), a volunteer group of neighbors, formed in July 2019 with the vision that Common Fence Point (CFP) is prepared for and resilient to acute hazards such as flooding from intense storms and extreme tides as well as impacts of long-term climate change such as sea level rise.

BEACH SAMP

(Shoreline Special Area Management Plan)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projects that sea level in Newport, R.I., could rise up to 7 feet over 1990 levels by 2100.

This could mean that within the lifetime of people born today, Rhode Island’s ocean water may rise enough to swallow local waterfronts as we know them now. Natural hazards, such as Superstorm Sandy, have also inflicted significant damage to residences and infrastructure along the state’s coast.

To address challenges from a changing shoreline, the R.I. Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP) is focused on improving understanding of how fast erosion is occurring and what areas and infrastructure are at risk of flooding during storms or from future sea level rise. This plan will improve state policies to better address the impacts of shoreline change.

For more information

Impacts

Rhode Island Sea Grant has helped coastal communities better prepare and adapt to coastal hazards and a changing climate through a variety of trainings and digital tools.

You can find our accomplishments and impacts over the years by visiting the National Sea Grant archive.

National Sea Grant Archive

To find a complete list of our research impacts and accomplishments, visit the National Sea Grant’s website to search by program, year, and topic.

Click Here

STORMTOOLS

Are You at Risk?

Find your address in this digital map to assess if your business or home is vulnerable to flooding from storm surge and sea level rise.

* Currently, STORMTOOLS shows coastal flooding but DOES NOT show freshwater flooding from rainfall or rivers and DOES NOT show flooding entering streets through stormwater drains.

Click Here