Coastal Environments and Global Change Wiley Works Series

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

About the Companion Website, ix

1 Introduction to Coastal Environments and Global Change, 1
Gerd Masselink and Roland Gehrels

1.1 Setting the scene, 1

1.2 Coastal morphodynamics, 5

1.3 Climate change, 13

1.4 Modelling coastal change, 18

1.5 Summary, 24

Key publications, 25

References, 25

2 Sea Level, 28
Glenn A. Milne

2.1 Introduction, 28

2.2 Quaternary sea-level change, 34

2.3 Recent and future sea-level change, 42

2.4 Summary, 49

Key publications, 50

Acknowledgements, 50

References, 50

3 Environmental Control: Geology and Sediments, 52
Edward J. Anthony

3.1 Geology and sediments: setting boundary conditions for coasts, 52

3.2 Geology and coasts, 54

3.3 Sediments and coasts, 62

3.4 Human impacts on sediment supply to coasts, 75

3.5 Climate change, geology and sediments, 75

3.6 Summary, 76

Key publications, 77

References, 77

4 Drivers: Waves and Tides, 79
Daniel C. Conley

4.1 Physical drivers of the coastal environment, 79

4.2 Waves, 79

4.3 Tides, 96

4.4 Summary, 102

Key publications, 102

References, 103

5 Coastal Hazards: Storms and Tsunamis, 104
Adam D. Switzer

5.1 Coastal hazards, 104

5.2 Extratropical storms and tropical cyclones, 108

5.3 Tsunamis, 114

5.4 Overwash, 118

5.5 Palaeostudies of coastal hazards, 121

5.6 Integrating hazard studies with coastal planning, 123

5.7 Cyclones in a warmer world, 125

5.8 Summary, 126

Key publications, 126

References, 126

6 Coastal Groundwater, 128
William P. Anderson, Jr.

6.1 Introduction, 128

6.2 The subterranean estuary, 129

6.3 Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), 133

6.4 Controls on SGD variability, 134

6.5 Human influences, 142

6.6 Influence of global climate change, 146

6.7 Summary, 147

Key publications, 148

References, 148

7 Beaches, 149
Gerben Ruessink and Roshanka Ranasinghe

7.1 Introduction, 149

7.2 Nearshore hydrodynamics, 153

7.3 Surf-zone morphology, 158

7.4 Anthropogenic activities, 167

7.5 Climate change, 171

7.6 Summary, 175

Key publications, 175

References, 176

8 Coastal Dunes, 178
Karl F. Nordstrom

8.1 Conditions for dune formation, 178

8.2 Dunes as habitat, 183

8.3 Dunes in developed areas, 183

8.4 Dune restoration and management, 186

8.5 Effects of future climate change, 190

8.6 Summary, 192

Key publications, 192

References, 192

9 Barrier Systems, 194
Sytze van Heteren

9.1 Definition and description of barriers and barrier systems, 194

9.2 Classification, 195

9.3 Barrier sub-environments, 202

9.4 Theories on barrier formation, 203

9.5 Modes of barrier behaviour, 203

9.6 Drivers in barrier development and behaviour, 206

9.7 Barrier sequences as archives of barrier behaviour, 219

9.8 Lessons from numerical and conceptual models, 219

9.9 Coastal-zone management and global change, 221

9.10 Future perspectives, 221

9.11 Summary, 223

Key publications, 224

References, 225

10 Tidal Flats and Salt Marshes, 227
Kerrylee Rogers and Colin D. Woodroffe

10.1 Introduction, 227

10.2 Tidal flats, 227

10.3 Salt marshes, 235

10.4 Human influences, 245

10.5 Summary, 247

Key publications, 248

References, 248

11 Mangrove Shorelines, 251
Colin D. Woodroffe, Catherine E. Lovelock and Kerrylee Rogers

11.1 Introduction, 251

11.2 Mangrove adaptation in relation to climate zones, 251

11.3 Mangrove biogeography, 253

11.4 Zonation and succession, 253

11.5 Geomorphological setting and ecosystem functioning, 256

11.6 Sedimentation and morphodynamic feedback, 256

11.7 Mangrove response to sea-level change, 260

11.8 Human influences, 261

11.9 Impact of future climate and sea-level change, 263

11.10 Summary, 264

Key publications, 265

References, 265

12 Estuaries and Tidal Inlets, 268
Duncan FitzGerald, Ioannis Georgiou and Michael Miner

12.1 Introduction, 268

12.2 Estuaries, 269

12.3 Tidal inlets, 278

12.4 Summary, 296

References, 296

13 Deltas, 299
Edward J. Anthony

13.1 Deltas: definition, context and environment, 299

13.2 Delta sub-environments, 305

13.3 The morphodynamic classification of river deltas, 306

13.4 Sediment trapping processes in deltas and coastal sediment redistribution, 318

13.5 Delta initiation, development and destruction, 322

13.6 Syn-sedimentary deformation in deltas and ancient deltaic deposits, 327

13.7 Deltas, human impacts, climate change and sea-level rise, 328

13.8 Summary, 335

Key publications, 335

References, 335

14 High-Latitude Coasts, 338
Aart Kroon

14.1 Introduction to high-latitude coasts, 338

14.2 Ice-related coastal processes, 340

14.3 Terrestrial ice in coastal environments, 342

14.4 Coastal geomorphology and coastal responses, 343

14.5 Relative sea-level change, 348

14.6 Climate change predictions and impacts for high-latitude coasts, 349

14.7 Future perspectives, 351

14.8 Summary, 353

Key publications, 353

References, 353

15 Rock Coasts, 356
Wayne Stephenson

15.1 Introduction, 356

15.2 Geology and lithology, 357

15.3 Processes acting on rock coasts, 359

15.4 Rock coast landforms, 367

15.5 Towards a morphodynamic model for rock coasts, 372

15.6 Impacts of climate change on rock coasts, 375

15.7 Summary, 378

Key publications, 378

References, 378

16 Coral Reefs, 380
Paul Kench

16.1 Coral reefs in context, 380

16.2 Coral reefs and their geomorphic complexity, 381

16.3 Coral reef development, 388

16.4 Reef island formation and morphodynamics, 392

16.5 Management in reef environments, 397

16.6 Future trajectories of coral reef landforms, 401

16.7 Summary, 406

Key publications, 407

References, 407

17 Coping with Coastal Change, 410
Robert J. Nicholls, Marcel J.F. Stive and Richard S.J. Tol

17.1 Introduction, 410

17.2 Drivers of coastal change and variability, 411

17.3 Coastal change and resulting impacts, 416

17.4 Impacts of coastal change since 1900, 418

17.5 Future impacts of coastal change, 419

17.6 Responding to coastal change, 420

17.7 Concluding thoughts, 428

17.8 Summary, 428

Key publications, 429

References, 429

Geographical Index, 432

Subject Index, 436

Gerd Masselink is a Professor in Coastal Geomorphology and Associate Head of Marine Science in the School of Marine Science and Engineering at Plymouth University, UK.  Gerd specialises in nearshore sediment transport processes, surf zone hydrodynamics and beach morphodynamics.

Roland Gehrels is a Professor in Physical Geography at the University of York, UK. He studies sea-level changes over various timescales, but has a particular interest in regional sea-level variability during past centuries. Roland is the President of the Commission on Coastal and Marine Processes of the International Quaternary Union (INQUA).

The Editors have published over 160 peer-reviewed articles in coastal and sea-level research.