Coastal Environments and Global Change E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Serie: Wiley Works
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1315

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

The coastal zone is one of the most dynamic environments on our planet and is much affected by global change, especially sea-level rise. Coastal environments harbour valuable ecosystems, but they are also hugely important from a societal point of view. This book, which draws on the expertise of 21 leading international coastal scientists, represents an up-to-date account of coastal environments and past, present and future impacts of global change. The first chapter of the book outlines key principles that underpin coastal systems and their behaviour. This is followed by a discussion of key processes, including sea level change, sedimentation, storms, waves and tides, that drive coastal change. The main part of the book consists of a discussion of the main coastal environments (beaches, dunes, barriers, salt marshes, tidal flats, estuaries, coral reefs, deltas, rocky and glaciated coasts and coastal groundwater), and how these are affected by global change. The final chapter highlights strategies for coping with coastal change.

Readership: final year undergraduate and postgraduate-level students on coastal courses in a wide range subjects, including geography, environmental management, geology, oceanography and coastal/civil engineering.  The book will also be a valuable resource for researchers and applied scientists dealing with coastal environments.

Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/masselink/coastal

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

Contributors

1 Introduction to Coastal Environments and Global Change

1.1 Setting the scene

1.1.1 What is the coastal zone?

1.1.2 Coastal zone and society

1.1.3 Scope of this book and chapter outline

1.2 Coastal morphodynamics

1.2.1 Research paradigm

1.2.2 Coastal morphodynamic systems

1.2.3 Morphodynamic feedback

1.2.4 Coastal evolution and stratigraphy

1.3 Climate change

1.3.1 Quaternary climate change

1.3.2 Present and future climate change

1.4 Modelling coastal change

1.4.1 Need for adequate models

1.4.2 Conceptual models

1.4.3 Empirical models

1.4.4 Behaviour-oriented models

1.4.5 Process-based morphodynamic models

1.4.6 Physical models

1.5 Summary

Key publications

References

2 Sea Level

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 What is sea level?

2.1.2 Processes affecting sea level

2.1.3 Observing sea level

2.1.4 Chapter outline

2.2 Quaternary sea-level change

2.2.1 Introduction

2.2.2 Sea-level observations

2.2.3 Interpretation of the observations

2.3 Recent and future sea-level change

2.3.1 Introduction

2.3.2 Sea-level observations

2.3.3 Interpretation of the observations

2.3.4 Estimating future sea levels

2.4 Summary

Key publications

Acknowledgements

References

3 Environmental Control

3.1 Geology and sediments: setting boundary conditions for coasts

3.1.1 Coastal diversity: a heritage of geology and sediments

3.1.2 Spatial and temporal scales: from global tectonics to local geological controls

3.2 Geology and coasts

3.2.1 The pervasive role of plate tectonics

3.2.2 The role of Quaternary ice sheets and isostatic rebound on high-latitude coasts

3.2.3 Water loading of continental shelves

3.2.4 Lithology, sediment texture and coasts

3.2.5 Other regional to local boundary conditions: coastal orientation and gradient

3.3 Sediments and coasts

3.3.1 Coastal sediment stacking over time: sequence stratigraphy and sea-level change

3.3.2 Sediment accommodation space

3.3.3 Terrigenous sediment supply

3.3.4 Sediment redistribution from river-mouth to coast

3.3.5 Carbonate sediments

3.3.6 Sediment supply from soft cliffs

3.3.7 Longshore sediment transport

3.3.8 Sediment supply from the inner continental shelf

3.3.9 Boulders on the shore: an enigmatic issue

3.4 Human impacts on sediment supply to coasts

3.5 Climate change, geology and sediments

3.6 Summary

Key publications

References

4 Drivers

4.1 Physical drivers of the coastal environment

4.2 Waves

4.2.1 Importance and definitions

4.2.2 Wave theories

4.2.3 Wave generation

4.2.4 Wave propagation and shoaling

4.2.5 Wave measurement

4.2.6 Long waves

4.2.7 Wave climate and response to global climate change

4.3 Tides

4.3.1 Tidal characteristics

4.3.2 Equilibrium tides

4.3.3 Dynamical considerations

4.3.4 Tidal analysis and prediction

4.3.5 Tidal currents

4.3.6 Global change effects on tides

4.4 Summary

Key publications

References

5 Coastal Hazards

5.1 Coastal hazards

5.1.1 Coastal vulnerability to storm and tsunami hazards

5.1.2 Assessing risk

5.2 Extratropical storms and tropical cyclones

5.2.1 The anatomy of storms and cyclones

5.2.2 Vulnerable coasts and the storm cycle

5.2.3 Disequilibrium in the storm cycle

5.3 Tsunamis

5.3.1 Tsunamis in the ocean

5.3.2 Tsunamis at the coast

5.3.3 Tsunami drawdown

5.3.4 Tsunami warning systems

5.4 Overwash

5.4.1 Overwash impacts

5.4.2 Washover deposits

5.5 Palaeostudies of coastal hazards

5.5.1 Reviewing historical documents

5.5.2 Using the geological record

5.5.3 Overwash studies: successes and limitations

5.6 Integrating hazard studies with coastal planning

5.7 Cyclones in a warmer world

5.8 Summary

Key publications

References

6 Coastal Groundwater

6.1 Introduction

6.2 The subterranean estuary

6.3 Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD)

6.3.1 Measurement of SGD

6.3.2 SGD in the global hydrological cycle

6.4 Controls on SGD variability

6.4.1 Spatial variations

6.4.2 Temporal variations

6.5 Human influences

6.6 Influence of global climate change

6.7 Summary

Key publications

References

7 Beaches

7.1 Introduction

7.1.1 Setting

7.1.2 Scales of nearshore morphology

7.1.3 Scope of this chapter

7.2 Nearshore hydrodynamics

7.2.1 Wave breaking

7.2.2 Wave-generated nearshore currents

7.3 Surf-zone morphology

7.3.1 Intertidal sandbars

7.3.2 Subtidal sandbars: cross-shore migration

7.3.3 Subtidal sandbars: alongshore non-uniform dynamics

7.4 Anthropogenic activities

7.5 Climate change

7.5.1 Potential future impacts

7.5.2 Quantification of climate change impacts: future directions

7.6 Summary

Key publications

References

8 Coastal Dunes

8.1 Conditions for dune formation

8.1.1 Aeolian transport

8.1.2 Potential for dune building

8.1.3 Processes of dune formation

8.1.4 Dune fields

8.2 Dunes as habitat

8.3 Dunes in developed areas

8.3.1 Degradational activities

8.3.2 Value of dunes

8.4 Dune restoration and management

8.4.1 Favouring dune building by natural aeolian processes

8.4.2 Depositing fill directly

8.4.3 Using sand fences

8.4.4 Using vegetation

8.4.5 Restricting negative human actions

8.4.6 Maintaining dune environments

8.5 Effects of future climate change

8.6 Summary

Key publications

References

9 Barrier Systems

9.1 Definition and description of barriers and barrier systems

9.2 Classification

9.2.1 Barriers

9.2.2 Barrier systems

9.3 Barrier sub-environments

9.4 Theories on barrier formation

9.5 Modes of barrier behaviour

9.6 Drivers in barrier development and behaviour

9.6.1 Introduction

9.6.2 Antecedent topography and substrate lithology

9.6.3 Relative sea-level change

9.6.4 Sediment sources, sinks and fluxes

9.6.5 Wind, waves, longshore and cross-shore currents, and tides

9.6.6 Storm surges

9.6.7 River discharge

9.6.8 Climate

9.6.9 Flora and fauna

9.6.10 Processes and impacts of anthropogenic activities

9.7 Barrier sequences as archives of barrier behaviour

9.8 Lessons from numerical and conceptual models

9.8.1 Data and concepts

9.8.2 Model output relevant to barrier-system behaviour

9.9 Coastal-zone management and global change

9.10 Future perspectives

9.11 Summary

Key publications

References

10 Tidal Flats and Salt Marshes

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Tidal flats

10.2.1 Tidal-flat setting

10.2.2 Geomorphological and ecosystem functioning

10.2.3 Sediments and sedimentology of tidal flats

10.2.4 Mud dynamics

10.2.5 Post-depositional change

10.2.6 Erosion and re-suspension

10.3 Salt marshes

10.3.1 Salt-marsh ecology

10.3.2 Salt-marsh vegetation and biogeography

10.3.3 Salt-marsh zonation and succession

10.3.4 Geomorphological and ecosystem functioning

10.3.5 The role of sedimentation and tides in salt-marsh maintenance

10.3.6 Response to sea-level changes

10.3.7 Impact of future climate and sea-level change

10.4 Human influences

10.5 Summary

Key publications

References

11 Mangrove Shorelines

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Mangrove adaptation in relation to climate zones

11.3 Mangrove biogeography

11.4 Zonation and succession

11.5 Geomorphological setting and ecosystem functioning

11.6 Sedimentation and morphodynamic feedback

11.7 Mangrove response to sea-level change

11.8 Human influences

11.9 Impact of future climate and sea-level change

11.10 Summary

Key publications

References

12 Estuaries and Tidal Inlets

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Estuaries

12.2.1 Introduction

12.2.2 Geomorphic settings

12.2.3 Salinity stratification

12.2.4 Circulation and sedimentation

12.2.5 Sedimentary regimes

12.2.6 Wave-dominated estuaries

12.2.7 Tide-dominated estuaries

12.2.8 Effects of floods: New England estuaries

12.2.9 Future of estuaries

12.3 Tidal inlets

12.3.1 Morphodynamics

12.3.2 Tidal-inlet formation and evolution

12.3.3 Tidal-inlet relationships

12.3.4 Sand transport patterns

12.3.5 Tidal-inlet effects on adjacent shorelines

12.3.6 Human influences

12.3.7 Tidal-inlet stratigraphy

12.3.8 Tidal-inlet response to sea-level rise

12.4 Summary

References

13 Deltas

13.1 Deltas: definition, context and environment

13.1.1 A definition of deltas

13.1.2 The tectonic context of deltas

13.1.3 Why do some rivers form deltas?

13.2 Delta sub-environments

13.2.1 The delta plain

13.2.2 The subaqueous delta

13.2.3 Deltas and deep-sea fans

13.3 The morphodynamic classification of river deltas

13.3.1 River-dominated deltas

13.3.2 Wave-dominated deltas

13.3.3 Tide-dominated deltas

13.3.4 Quantifying river, wave and tide controls

13.3.5 Spatial and temporal morphodynamic variability

13.4 Sediment trapping processes in deltas and coastal sediment redistribution

13.4.1 Delta-plain deposition

13.4.2 Estuarine processes in deltas