Coastal Risk Information Service (C-RISe)

C‑RISe is a three-­year project funded by the UK Space Agency through the International Partnership programme, which will work with local partners to deliver a Coastal Risk Information service to South Africa, Mozambique and Madagascar, providing satellite-­derived information about sea level, wind and waves to support coastal vulnerability assessment and hazard management efforts.

C‑­RISe will deliver, in a partnership between the UK, Mozambique, Madagascar and South Africa, access to information on sea level rise, storm surge, wind speed and wave heights derived from satellite altimetry and validated with local in ­situ measurements. The goal is to enable local stakeholders to use this information to reduce the social and economic impact of coastal inundation and increasingly variable weather patterns.

The C‑RISe team will apply an innovative satellite altimeter data processing technique, developed in the UK, to data for the Mozambique, Madagascar and South Africa coastal regions and deliver these satellite observations through a web­based data portal, support local partners using the data, and working with them to develop a range of case studies to demonstrate how the data may be used in different application areas. Through the use of the C‑­RISe portal and the BILKO satellite data tool, local users will be trained in the validation and use of marine satellite data to quantify coastal hazards and incorporate this information into ongoing development and disaster prevention initiatives.