The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
Coastal and marine systems are tied to almost every other system the Consortium studies. Ports link coasts to trade and energy; aquifers link them to drinking water and farming; reefs and mangroves link ecology to physical protection; fisheries link ocean conditions to food and income. This page explains the causal, physical, economic, social and ecological links, and the way stress travels along them.
Risk fieldWhere systemic stress concentrates across the areas GCRI works in. Illustrative levels, not findings.
Dependencies and consequences in Oceans and Coasts describe how oceans and coasts, climate and hazards, and biodiversity and nature connect to other systems through physical, economic, social and ecological links, and how stress travels along them toward fields such as those of Diplomacy Nexus and Climate and Nature Governance. Every dependency map states its assumptions, data and uncertainty; it describes connections, not a forecast.
Fig.How GCRI, GRF and GRA share one field while the authorities decide. Design, not a record.
The working screen behind this subject: its structure, terms and states. Names are placeholders and values illustrative.
High sea levels block river and stormwater drainage, so coastal and inland flooding coincide.
Rising seas and over-pumping push saltwater into groundwater and soils, affecting water supply and crops.
Power stations, desalination plants, refineries and wastewater works sit on the coast because they need seawater or shipping.
Healthy mangroves, marshes, seagrass and reefs attenuate waves, trap sediment and store carbon. Their loss increases exposure, reduces fish nurseries and releases stored carbon, a feedback in which ecological damage and physical risk reinforce each other. Pollution and nutrient run-off from land add pressure, producing harmful algal blooms and low-oxygen zones.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Interdependency | A two-way dependency between infrastructures, such as power needing telecoms for control while telecoms need power to run. |
| Cascading risk | Risk that a failure in one system or component triggers failures in others that depend on it. |
| Compound event | Two or more hazards or drivers occurring together or in sequence whose joint impact exceeds what either would cause alone, such as drought followed by intense rain; IPCC assessments use the term. |
| Dependency mapping | Tracing the people, processes, technology, facilities and suppliers a service relies on. |
Dependency analysis combines geospatial overlay of hazards and assets, network models of ports and supply chains, ecosystem service assessment and scenario analysis. Every dependency map states its assumptions, data and uncertainty; see methods and uncertainty. A dependency map describes how systems are connected and how stress could travel; it is not a forecast.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.