Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Angel Amores, Marta Marcos, Goneri Le Cozannet, Jochen Hinkel
Summary: Atoll islands, with their low elevation, are particularly vulnerable to climate change and the increasing sea levels. In this study, a new model-based parameterisation for wave setup is presented, along with numerical simulations to assess wave-induced flooding in coral reef islands. The results can be used for rapid flood risk assessments on a larger scale, such as entire atoll island nations.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Fatemeh Izaditame, Matthew G. Siebecker, Donald L. Sparks
Summary: This study investigated the impact of sea-level rise-induced flooding on the release of arsenic and selected hazardous chemicals in contaminated sediments, finding that the dissolved concentrations of pollutants remain high even after flooding.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hannes Nevermann, Amir AghaKouchak, Nima Shokri
Summary: Coastal wetlands provide crucial ecosystem services but are threatened by sea level rise due to climate change. Data on the interactions between natural or human-made barriers and future sea level rise are lacking. Wetlands bounded by human-made infrastructure are expected to disappear permanently.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Theophile Bongarts Lebbe, Helene Rey-Valette, Eric Chaumillon, Guigone Camus, Rafael Almar, Anny Cazenave, Joachim Claudet, Nicolas Rocle, Catherine Meur-Ferec, Frederique Viard, Denis Mercier, Christine Dupuy, Frederic Menard, Bernardo Aliaga Rossel, Lauren Mullineaux, Marie-Alexandrine Sicre, Anna Zivian, Francoise Gaill, Agathe Euzen
Summary: In response to sea level rise and escalating extreme events, coastal populations are developing diverse adaptation strategies to address local situations. These strategies include two main paradigms and different governance modalities associated with four archetypes. The study suggests the need for hybrid approaches, considering local conditions, and actively involving stakeholders to facilitate the development of social values and behaviors.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Justin L. Shawler, Christopher J. Hein, Chloe A. Obara, Mahina G. Robbins, Sebastien Huot, Michael S. Fenster
Summary: The behavior of siliciclastic coastal systems is largely influenced by the creation of accommodation space and infilling. This paper emphasizes the relationship between updrift coastal landforms and downdrift coastal behavior, focusing on the sediment trapping volumes and fluxes in the Assateague-Chincoteague-Wallops barrier-island complex along the Virginia coast. The findings suggest that sediment trapping and associated wave refraction are the primary drivers of downdrift barrier erosion.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Gary Griggs, Borja G. Reguero
Summary: The Earth's changing climate is causing ice sheets and glaciers to melt, leading to rising coastal hazards and sea levels. Coastal areas with a total population of over 300 million people, including 20 megacities, are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. Sea-level rise, combined with other factors, could lead to the displacement of hundreds of millions of people, with significant global impacts.
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Angel Amores, Marta Marcos, Goneri Le Cozannet, Jochen Hinkel
Summary: There was an error in the Acknowledgements section of the original version of this Article.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Erin L. Koen, William J. Barichivich, Susan C. Walls
Summary: Coastal beach ecosystems are important habitats for many species, but they are vulnerable to sea level rise. Our study suggests that using simultaneously collected land cover and elevation data can provide more accurate predictions of the impact of sea level rise on beach habitats.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emre Ozsahin, Mehmet Ozdes, Mikayil Ozturk, Di Yang
Summary: This study evaluates the susceptibility and vulnerability of coastal regions on the Thrace Peninsula to sea-level rise (SLR) and analyzes the immediate consequences of SLR on land cover characteristics. The results indicate a high sensitivity of the region to SLR, highlighting the need for urgent interventions to protect the ecological, economic, and societal welfare.
Article
Environmental Sciences
S. L. Zeigler, B. T. Gutierrez, E. E. Lentz, N. G. Plant, E. J. Sturdivant, K. S. Doran
Summary: Forecasting biogeomorphological conditions for barrier islands is crucial for sea-level rise planning. This study combined probabilistic models to predict the changes and implications of sea-level rise on Fire Island, New York. The results showed that Fire Island may become flatter, narrower, and more prone to storm overwash. Beach ecosystems would dynamically respond to sea-level rise and migrate with the shoreline, while marshes would experience the most significant loss in area. However, storms could potentially create suitable conditions for nesting piping plovers, despite slight declines in their habitat due to shoreline change.
Article
Oceanography
Nicholas Fiori, William P. Anderson Jr
Summary: Saltwater intrusion is a growing concern for coastal aquifers, especially in barrier-island aquifer systems, due to rising sea levels. This study focuses on the barrier islands of coastal North Carolina and examines the viability of these aquifers under different hydraulic properties and rates of sea-level rise. The findings suggest that higher island width and lower hydraulic conductivity help limit the impact of sea-level rise on aquifer viability. Risk maps show that areas with narrower width and higher sea-level rise rates are more vulnerable.
CONTINENTAL SHELF RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Daniel Lincke, Jochen Hinkel
Summary: Based on an analysis of global coastal segments, it is estimated that about 3% of the coastline requires protection to prevent coastal migration and large-scale land loss. For the remaining 97% of coastlines, an estimated land loss of 60,000 to 415,000 square kilometers and coastal migration of 17 to 72 million people is projected.
Article
Environmental Sciences
K. Hill, D. Hirschfeld, C. Lindquist, F. Cook, S. Warner
Summary: Sea-level rise will lead to coastal groundwater rise, which in turn will impact the fate and transport of contaminants in contaminated sites. Vulnerability assessment shows that 326 sites in the US Superfund program and over 5,000 state-managed sites in the San Francisco Bay area could be threatened by rising groundwater. Socially vulnerable communities are disproportionately exposed to this risk, highlighting the urgent need for sub-regional research on the potential impacts.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hugo Dayan, Goneri Le Cozannet, Sabrina Speich, Remi Thieblemont
Summary: This study examines high-end sea-level rise scenarios globally and regionally for the 21st century, considering factors such as glacier melting and ocean dynamics. Based on model projections, global mean sea level may increase by several meters by 2100 under different emissions scenarios.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jaap H. Nienhuis, Roderik S. W. van de Wal
Summary: Research indicates that river deltas are facing significant land loss due to climate-change driven sea-level rise, with future projections showing a gloomy outlook.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geology
Justin L. Shawler, Daniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer E. Connell, Bianca Q. Boggs, Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba, Christopher J. Hein
Summary: This study examines the impact of antecedent substrate on barrier island migration in response to rising sea levels. The results show that the slope of antecedent substrate plays a central role in barrier morphodynamic behavior, influencing migration rates and overwash fluxes. The study also explores future responses of specific barrier islands to varying rates of sea-level rise.
Article
Geography, Physical
John F. Wehmiller, Laura L. Brothers, Kelvin W. Ramsey, David S. Foster, C. R. Mattheus, Christopher J. Hein, Justin L. Shawler
Summary: The Quaternary record of the US Mid-Atlantic coastal system has been studied using AAR methods to analyze shoreline deposits, determining the ages of mollusks through various techniques and investigating related geological features. The results reveal the impact of sea level history and crustal dynamics during the Pleistocene epoch on the region, supporting current hypotheses about relative sea level history and crustal dynamics.
QUATERNARY GEOCHRONOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Amy K. Langston, Daniel J. Coleman, Nathalie W. Jung, Justin L. Shawler, Alexander J. Smith, Bethany L. Williams, Serina S. Wittyngham, Randolph M. Chambers, James E. Perry, Matthew L. Kirwan
Summary: The study found that salt marsh functions depend more on elevation and/or landscape position rather than marsh age. In new marsh, accretion and carbon accumulation rates did not have a predictable pattern as in old marsh. Vegetation zonation patterns were more defined in old marsh, but these differences did not translate to significant variations in ecological functions. This suggests that ecological functions will converge as new marsh ages.
Article
Geography, Physical
Justin L. Shawler, Christopher J. Hein, Chloe A. Obara, Mahina G. Robbins, Sebastien Huot, Michael S. Fenster
Summary: The behavior of siliciclastic coastal systems is largely influenced by the creation of accommodation space and infilling. This paper emphasizes the relationship between updrift coastal landforms and downdrift coastal behavior, focusing on the sediment trapping volumes and fluxes in the Assateague-Chincoteague-Wallops barrier-island complex along the Virginia coast. The findings suggest that sediment trapping and associated wave refraction are the primary drivers of downdrift barrier erosion.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Duncan M. FitzGerald, Zoe J. Hughes, Alice Staro, Christopher J. Hein, Md Mohiuddin Sakib, Ioannis Y. Georgiou, Alyssa Novak
Summary: This study examines the mechanisms involved in transferring sand to downdrift barriers when longshore transport systems encounter tidal inlets. The findings show that sand is transferred through distinct steps and over long periods of time. The study also illustrates the pathways and processes of sand transfer along the shoreline of a barrier-island/tidal-inlet system.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Dennis C. Lees, Christopher J. Hein, Duncan M. FitzGerald
Summary: This study develops a new metric for quantifying the organization of sediments on gravel beaches by sedimentologic and photogrammetric analyses. The results show persistent physical effects of artificial beach disturbance after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which has important implications for beach management and the sedentary megafaunal assemblages.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Giulio Mariotti, Christopher J. Hein
Summary: The response of coastal barrier islands to relative sea-level rise (SLR) has long been debated. This study finds that while the rate of SLR along the USA East Coast has increased by over 200% in the last 100 years, the retreat rate of barrier islands has only increased by about 45%. It is shown that the modern retreat rate is not controlled by recent SLR but rather by the baseline SLR of the past centuries.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Ioannis Y. Georgiou, Francesca Messina, Md Mohiuddin Sakib, Shan Zou, Madeline Foster-Martinez, Martijn Bregman, Christopher J. Hein, Michael S. Fenster, Justin L. Shawler, Kaitlyn McPherran, Arthur C. Trembanis
Summary: A numerical model was developed to understand the hydrodynamic and geomorphic controls in the rapidly evolving inlet-spit system and the sediment transport pathways. The model results confirmed previous analysis and hypothesis that most of the sand transport occurs nearshore and in deeper sinks within Fishing Point, with only finer sand sizes being transported around the spit. The model also showed that sand transport towards the south increases along Wallops Island and demonstrated the punctuated process of coarser sediment bypassing proportional to storms.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Daniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer L. Miselis, Justin L. Shawler, Christopher J. Hein
Summary: Barrier coasts, including barrier islands and beach-ridge plains, exhibit diverse morphologies over multi-decadal scales, with modern sea-level rise and sediment availability playing critical roles in shaping their evolution. This study explores the quantitative thresholds controlling barrier system behavior, revealing that subtle changes in sediment fluxes could significantly impact barrier morphology. The research suggests that the balance between relative sea-level rise and sediment flux largely determines the transitions between different barrier states, highlighting the importance of understanding these dynamics in the face of rising sea levels.
EARTH SURFACE DYNAMICS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
A. Securo, C. Del Gobbo, L. Rettig, S. Pillon, A. De Luca, D. Fontana, E. Benedetti Fasil, R. R. Colucci
Summary: Small glaciers in temperate mountain regions have experienced significant reduction and unprecedented melt rates in recent years. Some glaciers have transitioned from clean ice to debris-covered or even rock glaciers. This study examines the surface elevation change of the Popera Alto glacier in the Sesto Dolomites using LiDAR and Structure from Motion surveys, and analyzes its evolution in terms of surface cover and geomorphic processes. The glacier has lost an average of 0.35 m water equivalent per year over the past 16 years, with active modification of its surface cover by geomorphic processes. The role of debris and local topography feedback has allowed the resilience of the glacier, leading to a marked difference between the current environmental equilibrium line altitude (envELA) and the effective ELA (effELA) of the glacier.
Article
Geography, Physical
Zhenzhen Yan, Yaolin Shi, Lili Kang, Xiangtao Fan
Summary: This study proposes a quantitative regional deformation model based on global positioning system (GPS) data to quantitatively analyze the morphological evolution of rivers in the Three Rivers Region. It finds that tectonic deformation phases significantly control regional landscape development and drainage features.
Article
Geography, Physical
Said Mukhtar Ahmad, Nitheshnirmal Sadhasivam, Mona Lisa, Luigi Lombardo, Mustafa Kemal Emil, Amira Zaki, Cees J. Van Westen, Islam Fadel, Hakan Tanyas
Summary: In this study, we investigated a large slow-moving landslide in Northern Pakistan, using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analysis. Our results showed that the crown of the landslide is moving faster than the surrounding regions, while the footslope experienced high deformations. We discussed the possible roles of meteorologic and anthropogenic factors in causing these deformations.
Article
Geography, Physical
Shuang Bian, Xibin Tan, Yiduo Liu, Suoya Fan, Junfeng Gong, Chao Zhou, Feng Shi, Michael A. Murphy
Summary: The Yarlung River's drainage divide is primarily moving north due to variations in precipitation across the Himalayas. The Gangdese drainage divide shows predominantly northward and southward migration, controlled by base-level rise and downstream influences. The presence of north-trending rifts separates the drainage divides into five zones, each with a distinct migration pattern.
Article
Geography, Physical
Joon-Young Park, Seok Yoon, Deuk-Hwan Lee, Seung-Rae Lee, Hwan-Hui Lim
Summary: This study developed a multiple-regression model to estimate site-specific average growth rates of debris flow events. The proposed model was validated through a case study and showed reasonable predictions of debris flow velocities and heights.
Article
Geography, Physical
Nicholas Reilly Mccarroll, Arnaud Temme
Summary: New geochronological data from hillslope boulder armor in the Flint Hills reveal the rates and timing of lateral retreat in the landscape. Surfaces of limestone boulders dating back to the Pleistocene era were found, and the ages of the hillslope armor increased with distance from the limestone bench. The estimated rate of lateral retreat in this landscape is 0.02 mm/yr.
Article
Geography, Physical
Xinbo Yao, Yuntao Tian
Summary: By studying the Longmenshan-Minshan drainage divide, we found that it has reached a dynamic steady state, indicating a balance between erosion and rock uplift. This study also reveals the process of formation and evolution of the divide and raises questions about the effectiveness of divide migration metrics.
Article
Geography, Physical
Junhui Yu, Pin Yan, Yanlin Wang, Guangjian Zhong, Changliang Chen
Summary: The seafloor mounds in the Chaoshan Depression of the South China Sea are identified as mud volcanoes, with fluids coming from underlying mud-fluid diapirs. The hydrocarbon gases feeding the mud volcanoes and diapirs are reasoned to originate from deep Mesozoic source rocks, indicating significant Mesozoic hydrocarbon potential in the Chaoshan Depression.
Article
Geography, Physical
Marius Huber, Luc Scholtes, Jerome Lave
Summary: This paper investigates the relationships between hillslope stability and fabric anisotropy of brittle rock materials and the implications for landscape shaping. It explores the different stability modes and movement characteristics of anisotropic materials, and demonstrates the significant control of material anisotropy on landscape shaping.
Article
Geography, Physical
Shubhra Sharma, Anil D. Shukla
Summary: The study investigates the relationship between glacial dynamics and lake sedimentation during the mid-Holocene climate variability in the Southern Zanskar ranges. It utilizes geomorphological disposition, elemental geochemistry, and optical chronology of relict lake sediment to reconstruct the pattern of minor glacier responses to climate variability. The results indicate six centennial to millennial-scale climatic phases, with warmer phases represented by decreased mineralogical fine grain flux and increased coarse grain flux. The study highlights the potential of relict lake sediment and para/peri-glacial landforms in understanding glacial dynamics and climate change during the Holocene.
Article
Geography, Physical
Jean-Francois Bernier, Sydney W. Meury, Patrick Lajeunesse
Summary: In this study, an approach combining various data and observation methods was proposed to improve the monitoring of landfast ice dynamics and its geomorphic impact on sedimentary systems. The results demonstrate the ability of the approach to accurately measure interannual variations in landfast ice and constrain geomorphic changes. Additionally, the study found a strong relationship between the severity of freezing seasons and the response of landfast ice to hydrometeorological events, with different geomorphic responses observed under different winter conditions.
Article
Geography, Physical
Heping Shu, Fanyu Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between susceptibility of soil-water hazards and human activities, geoheritage sites in the Loess Plateau, China. Landslide and gully erosion susceptibility were obtained using gradient boosting and support vector machines, and a hazard matrix was formed to couple landslide and gully erosion susceptibility. The study found different trends in the magnification times of soil-water hazards chain under different scenarios.
Article
Geography, Physical
Guangqiang Qian, Zhuanling Yang, Xuegang Xing, Zhibao Dong, Youyuan Guo
Summary: Granule ripples are aeolian landforms armored against erosion by coarse grains. This study investigates their seasonal morphological evolution and migration in the Sanlongsha Dune Field. The findings show that wind events, especially those exceeding the threshold velocities of coarse grains, significantly influence the morphodynamics of granule ripples. The study highlights the importance of considering the reptation and saltation of coarse grains in future research on granule ripples.