Ports will need to be fortified against the effects of climate change, including higher sea levels, storm surges and more erosion, according to the most detailed study of the problem yet undertaken.

The national climate adaption facility examined Sydney, Port Kembla and Gladstone ports - all of which are bottlenecks for imports and exports - and found they could face serious problems by 2070.

Stormy weather: Fortifications are needed to protect ports.

''The ports are already starting to see shocks in their supply chains from extreme weather, and without a doubt these are increasing and significant,'' said one of the report's authors, Jane Mullett, a research fellow at Melbourne's RMIT. ''Then in the longer term, the impacts of sea level rise and extreme weather will be felt more and more. So most of them are starting to think through these problems now.''

Dr Mullett and other researchers evaluated a range of climate change scenarios and interviewed port workers to build an online ''toolkit'' to help port authorities adapt to climate change. Among other things, Dr Mullett's report found that the physical fabric of port structures would corrode much more quickly in the future, as sea levels rise and storms become more powerful. In some cases, the lifespan of concrete would decrease by 16 years.