Natural And Environmental Risks In Marine And Coastal Areas

The thin coastal zone has always been attractive for humanity, in-spite of the higher potential risk and exposure to extreme events than the mainland. The hurricanes, storm surges, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, whirlwinds and other phenomena and their causes in the marine and coastal areas will be studied. These events affect endangered areas of various spatial scales, with different duration times and with a spectrum of strength and the consequences. The environmental threats like urban pollution, oil transport and effusion of dangerous substances via the sea additionally expose to risk marine and coastal areas. In contrast to occasional natural phenomena, continuous influence of anthropogenic activities have resulted with the present climate change — the global temperature increase, leading to climate instability, with a prospective for the further increase in the future. While the present knowledge about the potentially dangerous phenomena in some scientific branches enables reliable forecasting, in others, it allows only a global estimate of the risk. The information about the potential natural risk is publicly available at the web sites of associated services through national and international organizations, while environmental risk, although widely studied is less covered. Nevertheless, the society needs a better education and higher public awareness about the natural and environmental risk.