Field Notes: How King Tides Projects Map Future Shorelines

Kristin Bayans
Jan 10
6 min read

Updated: Jan 13

In this Field Note, you'll discover how local volunteers participating in King Tides Project community science photo initiatives help track coastal flooding, sea level rise, and climate impacts. Plus, simple ways you can join the King Tides movement as an explorer, connector, learner, or educator.

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Video I took of the storm and gray waves crashing onto Short Sand Beach below a crumbling bluff topped with evergreens. In the foreground, a surfer prepares to head out from the shore.

I braced myself against the wobbly railing that marked the edge of the bluff overlooking Short Sand Beach. Squinting into the wind, horizontal sheets of rain lashed my face. Below the safety of this perch, a terrible gale pushed enormous waves onto the shore, obscuring its usually sand and stone-dappled face. Beside me stood a young surfer, steeling himself to challenge the storm. As the Marine Program Coordinator for the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve, I was there capturing data for a coastwide community science initiative, The Oregon King Tides Project, documenting the very phenomenon this foolhardy surfer aimed to conquer: the highest tides of the season, the King Tides.

What are King Tides?

Bearing witness to the magnitude of King Tides feels primordial. That day I observed ten to thirteen feet waves pummel the shore and claw away earth in return. Waves that were a mere whisper compared to the highest King Tides in the world, toppling 50 feet. But what are King Tides, and how are they formed? The 35-second animation (below), courtesy of The Invading Sea, breaks it all down.

Why Monitoring King Tides Matter for Coastal Communities

Bubbling seawater floods over a low coastal road, forming a wide reflective pool around a storm drain where four small geysers of water spurt up, with palm trees, parked cars, and a school bus in the background under a clear blue sky. — Seawater from coastal flooding gurgles out of a manhole cover. Photo credit: California King Tides Project.

King Tides are one cause of coastal flooding, and as climate change drives sea levels higher, coastal flooding is amplified. Coastal flooding is a kaleidoscopic problem. It is capable of inundating just about any low-lying area, overrunning protective seawalls, roads, homes, businesses, and agricultural land causing significant monetary harm. This damage contributes to serious health problems too, including contamination of drinking water, the growth of harmful mold, and limited access to healthcare facilities.

Coastal flooding is more than an infrastructure issue. It tears away at beaches and dunes, which I observed while documenting the tides from my perch above Short Sands Beach. Water from high tides even submerges tidal flats, wetlands, marshes, and nearby forests. Such repeated saltwater exposure drowns vegetation and strips protective soils, leaving animals without shelter or food. Conditions favorable for a loss of biodiversity.

Dead tree trunks scattered across a sandy beach in front of a thinning line of palm trees, illustrating a coastal ghost forest created by rising seas and saltwater intrusion. — This ghost forest on Capers Island, South Carolina, is the result of rising seas pushing saltwater into low-lying, freshwater-dependent areas, killing trees and leaving behind stands of dead trunks. Learn more about ghost forests here. Photo credit: NOAA

What's more, tidal flats, marshes, and wetlands usually lock away carbon. So, when they break down under relentless flooding and erosion, that stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere, adding to global warming.

Sounds rough, huh? Well, we can change it. Across the world, people like you and me are already stepping up to address coastal flooding through King Tides Projects.

The King Tides Project Movement

Witness King Tides launched in 2009 by scientists and researchers in New South Wales, Australia. This first-of-its-kind communications project was based on the innovative idea that encouraging locals to select a safe coastal spot and photograph flooding on specific dates when the season's highest tides occurred would help people imagine and plan for future flooding events. Witness King Tides relied heavily on public participation and was a coordinated effort between government agencies and non-profits. It is the blueprint for King Tide projects worldwide, like the Oregon King Tides Project I helped with at Short Sands Beach.

The first Witness King Tides event rallied just over 250 community photographers. Today, King Tides Projects harness tens of thousands of people from communities all over the world to collect photos of extreme high tides.

How King Tides Photos Support Coastal Planning

Volunteer-supplied photos from King Tides Projects are used to make detailed, long-term living records over large areas that help local government agencies and environmental organizations see where flooding is currently happening or most at risk of happening, compare that to typical high tide conditions, and develop future design protections for coastal communities and ecosystems. In an upcoming post, "From Data to Decision: How King Tides Projects Map Future Shorelines," I'll reveal how info gathered from these projects is actively shaping coastal planning and policy.

A person in a bright orange jacket and blue cap kneels with a camera the edge of a grassy bluff, photographing huge white waves crashing against a wide stretch of stormy ocean under a dramatic sky of clouds and blue patches. — A man kneels to take photos of high tide waves crashing below Rodea Point, Oregon. Photo credit: AP/Gillian Flaccus

How Might You Join the King Tides Project Movement?

There are lots of ways to dive into a King Tides Project. Choose your own adventure, are you an:

Explorer? Grab your smartphone or camera, check the tide tables, and head to the coast. Take clear "before" and, if you can, "after" photos of flooding at your chosen spot, then upload them to your area's King Tides Project website. Hot tip: read your project's guidelines for taking effective King Tides photos, and follow their location recommendations, assigned dates, and safety guidelines.

Some projects even host photo contests where you could win sweet

prizes like photography gear or gift cards!

Connector? If getting out to see the action sounds good but not on your own, link up with a group hike, walk, or even a bike ride! For instance, the King Tides Watch Party from the Oregon King Tides Project saw Oregon Shores, Surfrider, and Haystack Rock Awareness Program staff lead a “tide crawl” along the beach, where folks learned how to document the high tides together. Another example is the annual Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition's King Tide Ride, where bikers ride by diverse stops affected by the tides and hear from community partners about flooding, restoration, and maintenance of these areas.

A large group of cyclists in bright helmets and jackets gather with their bikes along a wooden fence overlooking wetlands and distant hills under a clear blue sky, with bold text reading “King Tide Ride 2026” above and partner organization logos along the top of the image. — Advertisement for Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition's 5th annual King Tide Ride. Photo credit: Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.

Learner? If braving potentially nasty weather or taking photos on location isn't on your “to-do” list, sign up for a webinar. Project webinars often feature researchers, scientists, and coastal professionals who cover the science of King Tides, the future of coastal flooding, sea-level rise, and demonstrate King Tide effects with local data. You also get a chance to ask questions!

If in-person sounds more fun, go to a project event like the California King Tides Project's event at the Exploratorium, featuring local journalists sharing how coastal communities are responding to rising sea levels and players leading participants in rounds of sea shanties.

Educator? Bring the science of King Tides to your classroom or afterschool program. Educators can connect with free lesson plans to use as is or remix, such as those from the Sunny Day Flooding Project, Youth Exploring Sea Level Rise, Arc Washington Sea Grant King Tides Curriculum, Oregon Shores King Tides Activity, or California King Project Resources for Educators.

Conversationalist? Share a King Tides story in your everyday chit chat with friends, family, or coworkers over coffee, after a meeting, or online. The story can be something you read about or heard from a King Tides Project or credible scientific news source like National Geographic or NPR, or it could be your own personal experience. You could start by sharing memories of a past flood day. Don't forget to name-drop your local King Tides Project.

Distributor? Amplify the visibility of King Tides Projects on social media by liking and resharing your local King Tides Project images. Use the hashtag #KingTides to spread the word.

Instagram post from @scripps_ocean showing a vivid tidepool sunset scene with dark rocky pools reflecting pink and orange clouds, overlaid with a large golden crown graphic near the horizon, alongside a caption on the right inviting “tidepooling enthusiasts” to explore King Tides and learn about how these extra-high tides preview future shorelines and reveal tidepool life.

Help Safeguard the Future of Your Local Shore

When you pitch in to a King Tides Project, no matter what role you play, you are part of a powerful collective effort that makes real-world impacts for both people and animals along the coast.

Take a look at my list of active King Tide Project pages and consider it your invitation to action. Don't miss the opportunity to be part of something special.