Randall Parkinson

Research Associate Professor, Institute of Environment, College of Arts, Sciences & Education, FIU

Dr. Randall W. Parkinson is a coastal geologist who specializes in evaluating the effects of climate change and sea-level rise on the built and natural environment. He has conducted investigations on behalf of the National Park Service (culture resource sites), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (vulnerability assessment and resiliency action plan recommendations for the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program), and numerous Florida coastal counties and municipalities (e.g., Peril of Flood). He recently published an analysis of the potential effects of sea-level rise and associated groundwater intrusion on the physical environment in which the Surfside Towers (Miami Beach, Florida) were built. He is currently working on a 2-yr EPA contract to incorporate novel parameters (e.g., the coupling of site specific DEMs with projected sea-level elevations, land use, demographics) into the traditional suite of living shoreline suitability analytics. The dashboard tool is being designed with input from local stakeholders and professional practitioners to ensure its utility. His penultimate professional goal is to get practical, actionable, and science-based information into the hands of decision makers charged with the long-term management of our coastal zone.