Miami Beach is a barrier island located in southeast Florida between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean that was developed by filling in natural mangrove wetlands with dredge soil over a porous limestone base. Due to climate change, the future of Miami Beach and other coastal communities has become more uncertain. In 2012, a U.S. Geological Survey study concluded that sea levels along the East Coast of the country will rise three to four times faster than the global average over the next century. And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has projected that the water around Miami could rise up to 0.6 meters, which is two feet, by 2060. These projections are alarming, particularly for a city like Miami Beach that has an average elevation of 4.4 feet using the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. The geographic location and low-lying topography of Miami Beach make it inherently vulnerable to flooding, storm surge, and other climate change impacts.