Climate Change & Underwater Cultural Heritage
Climate change poses threats to our UCH, including to objects, sites and submerged landscapes. Rising sea levels, altered ocean currents, increased erosion, changing temperatures, ocean acidification and invasive species are impacting on Ireland’s marine and freshwater systems. These impacts can lead to the movement of, damage to and loss of heritage.
Understanding these environmental impacts is crucial for developing strategies to evaluate, mitigate, and adapt to climate change. Wreck sites are particularly vulnerable to increased storm impacts, wave action, temperature fluctuations and invasive species.
Recording and mapping changes over time helps depict the rate and nature of environmental impacts, providing evidence of past and ongoing changes. Where impacts are unavoidable, managing the loss or choosing alternative preservation methods becomes essential.
Ireland’s Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Built and Archaeological Heritage published in November 2025 incorporates the threat of impacts to UCH. Through national and international collaboration, NMS is working to map risk, identify gaps and devise monitoring and adaptive strategies that enable a better understanding of the global impact of climate change on underwater heritage.
Raising awareness of such issues fosters greater knowledge, sustainability and resilience. It equips managers, professionals and communities with the tools needed to mitigate, respond to and adapt to the challenges posed by climate change and its impact on Ireland’s underwater cultural heritage.
