scholarly journals Evaluating indicators of marsh vulnerability to sea level rise along a historical marsh loss gradient

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 2107-2117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennert Schepers ◽  
Matthew L. Kirwan ◽  
Glenn R. Guntenspergen ◽  
Stijn Temmerman
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Marsh Loss

scholarly journals The status and future of tidal marshes in New Jersey faced with sea level rise

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-192
Author(s):  
Judith S. Weis ◽  
Elizabeth Burke Watson ◽  
Beth Ravit ◽  
Charles Harman ◽  
Metthea Yepsen
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Coastal Wetland ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Tidal Marshes ◽  
Wetland Ecosystems ◽  
Marsh Loss ◽  
Migration Pathways

Salt marshes are key coastal ecosystems that provide habitats for wildlife, including invertebrates, fishes, and birds. They provide ecosystem services such as protection from storm surges and waves, attenuation of flooding, sequestration of pollutants (e.g., blue carbon), and nutrient removal. They are currently under great threat from sea level rise (SLR). We collected information about trends in the horizontal extent (acreage) of New Jersey salt marshes and recent elevation changes compared with the current local rate of SLR in New Jersey, which is between 5 and 6 mm year−1. We found pervasive, although variable, rates of marsh loss that resulted from both anthropogenic disturbance as well as edge erosion and interior ponding expected from SLR. Elevation trends suggest that the current rates of SLR exceed most marsh elevation gains, although some Phragmites-dominated marshes keep pace with SLR. Four potential remedies to address current coastal trends of marsh loss were described in the context of New Jersey’s regulatory and management environment: protection of marsh inland migration pathways, altered management of Phragmites, thin layer sediment placement, and living shoreline installations. Proactive steps are necessary if coastal wetland ecosystems are to be maintained over the next few decades.

Glacial Contributions to 21st Century Sea Level Rise

Eos ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Wheeling
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Mass Change ◽  
Sources Of Uncertainty

Researchers identify the main sources of uncertainty in projections of global glacier mass change, which is expected to add about 8–16 centimeters to sea level, through this century.

Submergence, nutrient enrichment, and tropical storm impacts on Spartina alterniflora in the microtidal northern Gulf of Mexico

2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. 33-45
Author(s):  
JM Hill ◽  
PS Petraitis ◽  
KL Heck
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Spartina Alterniflora ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Hurricane Disturbance ◽  
Submergence Stress ◽  
Relative Sea Level Rise

Salt marshes face chronic anthropogenic impacts such as relative sea level rise and eutrophication, as well as acute disturbances from tropical storms that can affect the productivity of these important communities. However, it is not well understood how marshes already subjected to eutrophication and sea level rise will respond to added effects of episodic storms such as hurricanes. We examined the interactive effects of nutrient addition, sea level rise, and a hurricane on the growth, biomass accumulation, and resilience of the saltmarsh cordgrass Spartina alterniflora in the Gulf of Mexico. In a microtidal marsh, we manipulated nutrient levels and submergence using marsh organs in which cordgrasses were planted at differing intertidal elevations and measured the impacts of Hurricane Isaac, which occurred during the experiment. Prior to the hurricane, grasses at intermediate and high elevations increased in abundance. After the hurricane, all treatments lost approximately 50% of their shoots, demonstrating that added nutrients and elevation did not provide resistance to hurricane disturbance. At the end of the experiment, only the highest elevations had been resilient to the hurricane, with increased above- and belowground growth. Added nutrients provided a modest increase in above- and belowground growth, but only at the highest elevations, suggesting that only elevation will enhance resilience to hurricane disturbance. These results empirically demonstrate that S. alterniflora in microtidal locations already subjected to submergence stress is less able to recover from storm disturbance and suggests we may be underestimating the loss of northern Gulf Coast marshes due to relative sea level rise.

Estimating the risk of sea level rise to property

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Aschwanden ◽  
Georgia Warren-Myers ◽  
Franz Fuerst
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level

Assessing flood risk and detecting changes of salt water inflow in a coastal micro-tidal brackish marsh using GIS

2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Urbański ◽  
Agata Ślimak
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
Brackish Marsh ◽  
Distance Functions ◽  
Water Inflow ◽  
Small Range ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Baltic Coast

Assessing flood risk and detecting changes of salt water inflow in a coastal micro-tidal brackish marsh using GISIn order to assess changes in salt water inflow and potential flood risks due to sea level rise in a micro-tidal Beka brackish marsh on the Polish Baltic Coast GIS was used. Such wetlands are important elements of coastal zone natural environments. Creating a geodatabase within a GIS system makes it possible to carry out broad analyses of complex systems, such as coastal wetlands. The results indicate that a 40 cm sea-level rise would considerably increase the frequency of flooding in the investigated area, in part because of the small range of the annual sea level oscillations there. A map of the index of changes in saltwater inflow, created with the help of cost-weighted distance (functions), shows that changes which have occurred along the shore, consisting of filling in the drainage channel outlets, have likely had a significant impact on the vegetation of the area.

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