Coastal Zones

Where land meets water there are a multitude of dynamics that carve out unique and interesting features, all of which enrich the complexity of Earth's surface structure. The never ending impact of water on rock and sand creates a complex dynamic, rich in special phenomena.

Main Features:

Encyclopedia of coastal science

Continental Shelf  -  Wave-cut Platform   -  Headland  -  Isthmus  -  Spit

Island  -  Archipelago  -  Atoll  -  Reef  -  Shoal

Bight  -  Gulf  -  Inlet  -  Bay  -  Fjord

River Delta  -  Estuary  -  Marsh   -  Lagoon

Beach  -  Littoral zone  -  Dune

Tide Pool  -  Blow Hole

Main Processes:

Tidal Effects  -  Wave Action  -  Surf Break  -  Current  -  Rip -  Coastal polynias

Deposition  -  Inundation  -  Submersion  -  Wind  -  Saltwater Corrosion    

Climate Change Risks on Coastlines:

Are methane hydrates dissolving?

Coastal water absobing more CO2

Coastal cities face risk of flood losses

Stemming decline of the coastal ocean

Coastal erosion a serious threat: expert

Global warming next surprise: saltier beaches

Rising sea level may trigger groundwater floods

Prevent climate risk in coasts before it is too late

Coastal cities to pay high price for climate change

Coastal fog, climate change, and the environment 

Can the risk of coastal hazards be better communicated?

Coastal and marine ecosystems & global climate change

How storm surges and sea-level rise make coastal life risky

Wave-cut or water-table platforms of rocky coasts and rivers

Storm wave study could help improve design of coastal defences

Climate-change impact assessment for inlet-interrupted coastlines

Sea defenses not enough to protect delta cities from rising flood risk

Managing coasts under threat from climate change and sea-level rise

IPCC sea-level rise scenarios not fit for purpose for high-risk coastal areas

Ranking port cities with high exposure and vulnerability to climate extremes

Ocean observation as a cornerstone for early warnings and coastal resilience

Ranking of the world's cities most exposed to coastal flooding today and in the future

A flood vulnerability index for coastal cities and its use in assessing climate change impacts

Understanding risks in the light of uncertainty: low probability, high-impact events in coastal cities

An integrated approach to assess flood risk on a coastal city, induced by sea-level rise and storm tides 

Hydro-Meteorological DRR and Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal and Small Island Communities

Mangroves:

Whither our mangroves

Mangroves for coastal defense

Securing the future of mangroves

Storm surge reduction by mangroves

Mangroves help protect against sea level rise

Mangrove restoration: to plant or not to plant?

Desert mangroves as a major source of carbon storage

Protecting mangroves can lower disaster risks, offer cash

Protecting mangroves cheaper than building coastal protection

The response of mangrove soil surface elevation to sea level rise

A global map of mangrove forest soil carbon at 30m spatial resolution

Adaptive mangrove hybrid platform: coupling of ecological and egineering proniciples for coastal hazards 

Other Coastal Wetlands:

Coastal wetlands and flood damage reduction

Many coastal wetlands likely to disappear this century

The Biological Flora of Coastal Dunes and Wetlands: Spartina patens

Coastal marshes more resilient to sea-level rise than previously believed

Coastal flooding, wetland loss in the 21C: changes under the SRES climate and socio-economic scenarios

Living shorelines & Nature-Based Solutions:

Rethinking living shorelines

Anthrocopene coasts - 5 years on

Seagrass saves beaches and money

Managing coasts with natural solutions

Building with nature for coastal resilience

Biodiversity, ecosystems and coastal zone

Monitoring coastal zone changes from space

Coastal adaptation strategies handbook 2016

Living shorelines can lessen climate change effects

Guidance for considering the use of living shorelines

Forests, fruit, and fish could save coastal communities

Planning and design of tsunami-mitigative coastal vegetation belts

Estimating global 'blue carbon' emissions from degradation of vegetated coastal ecosystems

The effectiveness, costs and coastal protection benefits of natural and nature-based defences

Performance of natural infrastructure and nature-based measures as coastal risk reduction features

Natural & hybrid infrastrusture to enhance resilience of coastal communities, economies and ecosystems

Coastal Dunes:

Wave Overtopping of Levees and Overwash of Dunes

Near-future sea level impacts on coastal dune landscapes

Researchers devise hidden dune filters to treat coastal stormwater runoff      

Coastal Structures:

Leveraging public finance for coastal adaptation

How humans are altering the tides of the oceans

'Sandscaping' first for UK in bid to save coastal homes

Global risks and research priorities for coastal subsidence

Innovative approachs to building resilient coastal infrastructure 

High velocity seawater air-conditioning with thermal energy storage: with intermitten renewable energies  

Coastal Seawalls & Resilience:

Concrete coastlines and marine urban sprawl

Increasing coastal resilience to storms and flooding

Better ways to protect costal communities from storm

Building resilience of the coastal population to natural disaster

Seawalls, coastal forests in Japan help reduce tsunami damage

Are seawalls the best answer to rising sea levels - or is retreat a better option?

Barrier islands:

Barrier Islands: Coupling Anthropogenic Stability with Ecological Sustainability

Open-Ocean Barrier Islands: Global Influence of Climatic, Oceanographic, and Depositional Settings

Biodiversity:

Hypoxia and nutrient reduction in the coastal zone

Yellow detritus in the oceans may help reduce warming

Surprising ecological effects of earthquakes and tsunamis

Can the forests of the worlld's oceans contribute to alleviating the climate crisis  

Anthropenic sources of sound can modify sediment-dwelling invertebrates ecosystem prorperties

Coastal Modelling:

Practical wind wave modeling

An Empirical Model to Estimate Overwash

Piecewise Polynomial Expression of Beach Profiles

Computer modelling aids understanding of coastal risks

Statistics of wave crests from second order irregular wave 3D    

Forecasting and communicating risk of rip currents, wave runup

Breaking wave effects on wave boundary layer and air-sea momentum flux

Time-integrated equations and attractors for long-term modeling of estuaries

Modeling ocean tides and their energetics in the North Patagonia gulfs of Argentina

Transverse structure of tidal and residual flow and sediemnt concentration in estuaries 

Run-ups of unusual size       Large runup controls on a gently sloping dissipative beach   

A coupled physical-biological model Northern Gulf of Mexico shelf: analysis of phytoplankton variability

Probabilistic coastal vulnerability assessment to storms at regional scale – application to Catalan beaches  

Regional:

Asia:

Bangaladesh polders under threat

More Chinese on the coast, less fish in the sea

Erosion eats away land along 22% of Thai coastline

Causes  of mangrove deforestation in Southest Asia

Sri Lanka's comprehensive mangrove protection project

In the Philippines, mangroves are a valuable flood defense

Mangrove-planting drones on a mission to restore Myanmar delta    

Building Mangrove Greenbelts along Bangladesh's Vulnerable Coastline

 A study of the principal marketed value chains derived from the Sundarbans reserved forest

Attitudes toward disaster-prevention risk in Japanese coastal areas: analysis of civil preference

Resilience of tsunami in coastal regions of Kachchh (Indonesia) by use of mangrove best & modelling

Australia, New Zealand & Oceania:

Seawalls in Australia

What is blue carbon?

37,000 Mangroves for Kiribati

Australia: Managing Our Coastal Zone in a Changing Climate

Australia: climate change risks to coastal buildings and infrastructure

NZ coastal hazards and cliamte change - guidance fpr local governments

Extreme climate events impact marine habitat forming communities along 45% of Australia's coast

The Americas:

US: Surging seas

Induced coastal erosion hazards

Predicting hurricane coastal change

Oregon Sate waters mapping program

Tools for coastal climate adaptation planning

California's coast and ocean summary report

US coastal cities warned of daily high tide floods

Coastal flooding has surged in US, analysis finds

Building coastal resilience for greater US security

The Gulf of Mexico at a Glance: A Second Glance

US Coastal Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerabilities

US: The National Assessment of Shoreline Change

Local factors cause dramatic spikes in coastal ocean acidity

Can California's coastline be saved? 70% of coastline in danger

Widespread local chronic stressors in Caribbean coastal habitats

Case studies of natural shoreline infrastructure in coastal California

Pacific Ocean off California coast turning into desert-like dead zone

Topography of Eastern Seaboard muddles ancient sea level changes

70% of beaches erooding on Hawaiian Islands Kauai, Oahu and Maui

New Jersey future: A comprehensive coastal hazard mitigation strategy

How Cape Cod is savingits shoreline from the effects of climate change

An overview of coastal land loss: with emphasis on the southeastern US

Scientists release recommendations for building land in coastal Louisiana

Sea-llevel rise to drive flooding, regardless of changes in hurricane activity

Observational needs supporting marine ecosystems modeling & forecasting

Strengthening coastal pollution management in the wider Caribbean Region

US: historical shoreline change along the New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts

Spring rains bring life to Midwest granaries but foster Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone'

Nor'easter-iduced coastal erosion hazards: US Mid and Northeast Atlantic coast

An estimate of the U.S. population Living in 100-Year coastal flood hazard areas

The value of coastal wetlands for flood damage reduction in the northeastern US

New York-New Jersey harbor & tributaries coastal storm risk management report

US North Atlantic coast comprehensive study: resilient adaptation to increasing risk 

At the water's edge: coastal resilience in Granada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Many Texas beaches likely to erode, be overwashed, or inundated by Huriicane Harvey

Effects of climate change on exposure to coastal flooding in Latin America and the Caribbean

Response of storm-related extreme sea level along the US Atlantic coast to combined weather & climate 

Europe:

UK tidal predictions

Measuring shoreline retreat

ARGANS: coastal change from space

Monitoring coastal changes in Greece

The squeeze on Europe's coastline continues

Flirting with retreat along Britain's battered shores

Impacts of Climate Change on Disadvantaged UK Coastal Communities

Balancing the future of Europe's coasts - knowledge base for integrated management

Contributing to successful adaptation to climate change in Mediterranean coastal regions

Improving protection of critical infrastructure needs special attention in the Mediterranean

Creating 'virtual storms' to help design coastal defences and coastal flood warning systems

Implementation of Nature-Based-Solutions for risk reduction: Portofino Natural Regional Park, Italy

Africa & Middle East:

Harsh weather cripples fishing and tourism on Cameroon's coast

Impact of Climate Change on the Coastal Climate of South-Western Africa

Safeguarding the resilence of West African Coasts to climate change - the role of the private sector

Cost of coastal environmental degradation, multi-hazard assessment/cost benefit analysis for Ghana

Climate Change Impacts in the Arab Region: Sea level Rise, Coastal Erosion and Human Development

Managing growing impacts of development on fragile coastal & marine ecosystems: lessons from the Gulf