If you were hoping for a silver-bullet, big-infrastructure solution to save Greater Boston from the impact of rising sea levels, a major study coordinated by University of Massachusetts Boston’s Sustainable Solutions Lab released in the spring may have come as disappointing news.

When Seattle looked to rebuild its 100-year-old Elliott Bay seawall in the downtown, planners knew it had to be stronger and better, but it didn’t necessarily have to be taller.

For nearly a century, oceanside communities, particularly those along the Atlantic, have used beach nourishment to safeguard buildings and infrastructure from the erosive forces of waves and tidal action.

Flooding from rising sea levels is nothing new to South Carolina’s largest city. In the 1830s, the mayor offered a $100 gold medal to anyone who could come up with a solution. No one ever did.

On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina winds pushed water from Lake Pontchartrain into New Orleans’ three major drainage canals, putting pressure on floodwalls-topped levees that failed to withstand the load of the water.