# Underwater cultural heritage and extreme events: Storm impacts under climate change

## TL;DR

Storms and climate change threaten underwater cultural heritage by causing irreversible damage to historical stone materials.

## Contribution

A quantitative risk assessment framework for underwater cultural heritage vulnerability to storm-driven erosion under climate change.

## Key findings

- Single storm events can cause irreversible damage to historical stone surfaces.
- Storm risks are highest in tropical regions and will increase with climate change.
- Future vulnerability of archaeological stone could exceed current levels by more than double in some areas.

## Abstract

Storms are among the most dangerous extreme events to the marine environment, causing violent currents that can damage underwater life, landscapes, and cultural heritage such as sunken ruins, wrecks, and archaeological remains. We studied the vulnerability of historical stone materials by simulating storm-driven currents in the laboratory and measuring their erosive effects caused by moving seabed sediments and water. We then applied present and future climate models to assess risk over time and space. Our results show that even a single storm can cause irreversible damage; risks are higher in regions affected by tropical cyclones and will increase under future climate change. These findings are crucial for predicting the future of our cultural heritage and guiding its protection.

Extreme weather events cause severe ecological disruptions to the marine environment and socioeconomic impacts, while also endangering the evidences of human history resting underwater. Storms, in particular, generate high-intensity currents that lead to substantial material loss and textural alteration. We present a quantitative risk assessment of underwater cultural heritage exposed to storm events, considering climate change and the vulnerability of historical stone materials. We monitored the amount, rate, and patterns of stone erosion through innovative flume simulations and surface three-dimensional modeling, investigating its changes with time, current velocity, and properties of the materials and suspended sediments. The experimental results were combined with global models of storms and ocean currents under present and future climate, accounting for projected changes in storm intensity and frequency, climate scenarios, geographic settings, and seabed environments. Our findings show that even a single storm may result in irreversible damage to historical surfaces, erasing key morphological and textural features and compromising their legibility—especially in global hotspots such as tropical regions. In a future dominated by high greenhouse gas emissions and increasing extreme events, the vulnerability of archaeological stone could locally rise to more than double present levels. Extreme events and climate change pose major threats to the preservation of underwater cultural heritage and its historical, touristic, educational, and scientific values, requiring the development of long-term adaptation and protection strategies.