Coastal Heritage in an Age of Rising Sea Levels

Dissemination of insights and lessons from and for the Florida Gulf Coast and beyond

View of Sarasota Bay from College Hall (the 1926 Charles Ringling Mansion) at New College of Florida

Sarasota is located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico; New College of Florida sits on the shores of Sarasota Bay. The sea is a key feature of the regional landscape, shaping its history and offering so much to many. Since the late 19th century, the sea level has been rising and now accelerating. The Anthropocene is bringing dramatic climate changes, including more frequent and intense hurricanes, greater rain downpours, and more dangerous storm surge. These are challenges to infrastructure and social activities. In Fall 2017, Hurricane Irma threatened Sarasota; the storm moved to the east but the damage was considerable: there is a folklore in Sarasota that the community is safe from hurricanes. This is historically inaccurate; I wrote up a critique of the myth of Sarasota being safe from hurricanes: Climatic Amnesias: Sarasota and Its Stormy Folklore and the efforts with the Florida Public Archaeology Network's Tidally United are described in Heritage as Social Action: Sarasota/Manatee in an Age of Rising Sea Levels (Baram and Moates 2019, available at https://www.academia.edu/39034304/Heritage_as_Social_Action_Sarasota_Manatee_in_an_Age_of_Rising_Sea_Levels). The time for warning about climate change, particularly rising sea levels, is over and it is time for action. My approach is preparation for the transformations of our coastal zones, particularly for coastal material heritage.