scholarly journals Localized Scenarios and Latitudinal Patterns of Vertical and Lateral Resilience of Tidal Marshes to Sea‐Level Rise in the Contiguous United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R Holmquist ◽  
Lauren N Brown ◽  
Glen M MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Tidal Marshes ◽  
Latitudinal Patterns

Sea-level rise enhances carbon accumulation in United States tidal wetlands

One Earth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-433
Author(s):  
Ellen R. Herbert ◽  
Lisamarie Windham-Myers ◽  
Matthew L. Kirwan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Tidal Wetlands

scholarly journals Biogeomorphic modeling to assess resilience of tidal marsh restoration to sea level rise and sediment supply

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Gourgue ◽  
Jim van Belzen ◽  
Christian Schwarz ◽  
Wouter Vandenbruwaene ◽  
Joris Vanlede ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Tidal Marsh ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Suspended Sediments ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Tidal Marshes ◽  
Marsh Restoration ◽  
Tidal Marsh Restoration ◽  
Increasing Demand

Abstract. There is an increasing demand for creation and restoration of tidal marshes around the world, as they provide highly valued ecosystem services. Yet, tidal marshes are strongly vulnerable to factors such as sea level rise and declining sediment supply. How fast the restored ecosystem develops, how resilient it is to sea level rise, and how this can be steered by restoration design, are key questions that are typically challenging to assess. In this paper, we apply a biogeomorphic model to a planned tidal marsh restoration by dike breaching. Our modeling approach integrates tidal hydrodynamics, sediment transport and vegetation dynamics, accounting for relevant fine-scale flow-vegetation interactions (less than 1 m2) and their impact on vegetation and landform development at the landscape scale (several km2) and on the long term (several decades). Our model performance is positively evaluated against observations of vegetation and geomorphic development in adjacent tidal marshes. Model scenarios demonstrate that the restored tidal marsh can keep pace with realistic rates of sea level rise and that its resilience is more sensitive to the availability of suspended sediments than to the rate of sea level rise. We further demonstrate that restoration design options can steer marsh resilience, as it affects the rates and spatial patterns of biogeomorphic development. By varying the width of two dike breaches, which serve as tidal inlets to the restored marsh, we show that a larger difference in the width of the two inlets leads to more diversity in restored habitats. This study showcases that biogeomorphic modeling can support management choices in restoration design to optimize tidal marsh development towards sustainable restoration goals.

scholarly journals The temperature sensitivity of organic matter decay in tidal marshes

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 6019-6037 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Kirwan ◽  
G. R. Guntenspergen ◽  
J. A. Langley
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Temperature Sensitivity ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Tidal Marshes ◽  
Moderate Increase ◽  
Elevated Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
Soil Elevation

Abstract. Approximately half of marine carbon sequestration takes place in coastal wetlands, including tidal marshes, where ecosystems accumulate organic matter to build soil elevation and survive sea level rise. The long-term viability of marshes, and their carbon pools, depends in part on how the balance between productivity and decay responds to climate change. Here, we report the sensitivity of soil organic matter decay in tidal marshes to seasonal and latitudinal variations in temperature measured over a 3 year period. We find a moderate increase in decay rate at warmer temperatures (3–6% °C−1, Q10 = 1.3–1.5). Despite the profound differences between microbial metabolism in wetlands and uplands, our results indicate a strong conservation of temperature sensitivity. Moreover, simple comparisons with organic matter production suggest that elevated atmospheric CO2 and warmer temperatures will accelerate carbon accumulation in marsh soils, and enhance their ability to survive sea level rise.

scholarly journals Tidal wetland resilience to sea level rise increases their carbon sequestration capacity in United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faming Wang ◽  
Xiaoliang Lu ◽  
Christian J. Sanders ◽  
Jianwu Tang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Tidal Wetlands ◽  
Tidal Wetland ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios

AbstractCoastal wetlands are large reservoirs of soil carbon (C). However, the annual C accumulation rates contributing to the C storage in these systems have yet to be spatially estimated on a large scale. We synthesized C accumulation rate (CAR) in tidal wetlands of the conterminous United States (US), upscaled the CAR to national scale, and predicted trends based on climate change scenarios. Here, we show that the mean CAR is 161.8 ± 6 g Cm−2 yr−1, and the conterminous US tidal wetlands sequestrate 4.2–5.0 Tg C yr−1. Relative sea level rise (RSLR) largely regulates the CAR. The tidal wetland CAR is projected to increase in this century and continue their C sequestration capacity in all climate change scenarios, suggesting a strong resilience to sea level rise. These results serve as a baseline assessment of C accumulation in tidal wetlands of US, and indicate a significant C sink throughout this century.

scholarly journals Spatial variability of late Holocene and 20th century sea-level rise along the Atlantic coast of the United States

Geology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 1115-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Engelhart ◽  
B. P. Horton ◽  
B. C. Douglas ◽  
W. R. Peltier ◽  
T. E. Tornqvist
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The United States

Millions projected to be at risk from sea-level rise in the continental United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 691-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew E. Hauer ◽  
Jason M. Evans ◽  
Deepak R. Mishra
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level

scholarly journals Increased nuisance flooding along the coasts of the United States due to sea level rise: Past and future

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (22) ◽  
pp. 9846-9852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed R. Moftakhari ◽  
Amir AghaKouchak ◽  
Brett F. Sanders ◽  
David L. Feldman ◽  
William Sweet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
The United States

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.

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