Digital solutions for flood resilience: How technology is transforming climate adaptation

As sea levels rise and ocean temperatures warm, coastal communities and marine ecosystems are facing increased risk of flooding and pollution. This intensifying risk is taking both a human and economic toll. In the U.S. alone, the total cost of flooding is estimated to be between $179 and $496 billion each year.

Digital technology gives us new ways to understand and adapt to the challenges of a changing climate. At Xylem, we’re working with top researchers and disaster response teams to bring smart solutions that provide critical insights and help communities build resilience. Meet three innovators leveraging digital technologies to make a real impact.

Measuring ice melt in Greenland to predict sea level rise

The Greenland ice sheet, with a vast surface area nearly the size of Mexico, is the largest contributor to global sea level rise. In recent decades, the ice sheet in southwest Greenland has experienced rapid ice melt and retreat.

In 2021, a team of researchers from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Brown University and other leading institutions shed new light on how meltwater impacts the downhill slide of glacial ice, increasing and accelerating the amount of ice calved into the ocean.

The scientists conducted their study using data gathered during earlier groundbreaking research expeditions in Greenland which featured helicopters, floating drifters plunging into holes in the ice, and all-night sessions operating a sonic boogie board under endless daylight.

The research team leveraged Xylem’s SonTek-M9 acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) used to collect glacial river flow data. Findings from these expeditions have been used to improve climate change models, enhancing predictions of future sea level rise.

This video by NASA gives an up-close look at how researchers in the field in Greenland used technology, ingenuity and pure grit to gather critical climate data in the face of some of the world’s most extreme conditions. Read more about the Greenland research expeditions.

Harnessing data to advance flood resilience in Dominica

Dominica, an island in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, has faced growing climate challenges in recent years. Known as one of the most disaster-prone islands in the Caribbean, Dominica’s tall mountains make it especially vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms.

When weather systems interact with the mountain peaks, clouds form, triggering heavy rainfall that often leads to severe flooding. In 2017, Hurricane Maria brought catastrophic destruction, prompting the country to take action and build systems to boost its resilience.

Aided by World Bank funding, Dominica has built a hydrometeorological network with 34 locations to provide real-time information and alerts.

To ensure accuracy and durability, each location has installed Xylem’s YSI advanced measurement and monitoring technologies, backed by Xylem Services experts.

“We’ve now built the level of monitoring needed to provide near to real-time information to residents during emergencies,” says Collin Guiste, project coordinator for the Dominica Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project. Learn more.

Monitoring water quality to safeguard marine life in Sydney

The Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) in Australia is a collaborative research and training institution. The organization plays a key role in mitigating the impacts of climate change on the ocean habitats and marine life of the Sydney Harbour National Park. Much of this research is done at the SIMS facility, which is home to a 1.3-million-liter research aquarium that uses a constant supply of flowthrough seawater from the harbor.

One of the institute’s biggest challenges is ensuring that the marine life within the aquarium is protected from changing conditions in the harbor, such as runoff effluents. SIMS needed a reliable way to measure and monitor the quality of the water entering the aquarium so they could identify issues before they became a problem.

The institute turned to Xylem’s industry-leading YSI EXO Sondes technology, designed for the most challenging water environments, to gather and deliver continuous water quality data they can trust.

“It’s very exciting having the ability to visualize live data and also the parameters of the sea water,” said Sergio Toras, scientific officer and aquarium manager, SIMS.

See the SIMS team and EXO Sondes in action:

Learn more about Xylem’s flood monitoring solutions.