TIDES Through Time

A collaboration of scientists, managers, and Indigenous Nations assess intertidal sea level rise vulnerability

Located at the land-sea interface, rocky intertidal ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR). However, little is known about how SLR will affect habitat availability and community structure. These ecosystems also have immense traditional and cultural importance to the Indigenous Nations of California. University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant funded the Tribal Intertidal Digital Ecological Surveys (TIDES) Project—an interdisciplinary collaboration between academics, marine resource managers, the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, and the Tribal Marine Stewards Network (TMSN)—to assess SLR vulnerability at ecologically, economically, and culturally significant sites in California. The project aims to produce robust SLR vulnerability data while empowering historically marginalized Indigenous Nations to utilize cutting-edge technology.

Key Results:

The study completed multiple digital 3D habitat map reconstructions, establishing permanent imaging survey sites across TMSN member nations and completing large-area imaging surveys
Multiple in-depth trainings were held with the Indigenous community partners to increase capacity building to conduct surveys independently

Project Impacts & Application:

Published a website to share ongoing results with the public: https://tides.ucsd.edu/
TIDES Project has been selected as the main monitoring program of the Tribal Marine Stewards Network, the first Indigenous-led marine monitoring program in California