CONCLUSIONS

The coastal vulnerability index (CVI) provides insight into the relative potential of coastal change due to future sea-level rise. The maps and data presented here can be viewed in at least two ways:

1) to show where physical changes are most likely to occur as sea-level rises; and

2) as a planning tool for Olympic National Park.

As ranked in this study, geomorphology is the most important variable in determining the CVI for Olympic. However, regional coastal slope and significant wave height produce regional scale variations in the coastal vulnerability index. Olympic National Park preserves a dynamic natural environment that must be understood in order to be managed properly. The CVI is one way that a park can assess objectively the natural factors that contribute to the evolution of the coastal zone, and thus how the park may evolve in the future.