3.03 - Sea-Level Change and Coastal Geomorphic Response

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Abstract

The response of coastal geomorphic types and landforms to sea-level rise is complex. The fundamental understanding of coastal geomorphology comes from the recognition that form is a product of energy and material interaction, with coastal environments changing and adapting to external forcing through iteration. Determining coastal response to sea-level rise is, therefore, embedded within an understanding of how this iteration takes place. This chapter seeks to establish the nature and extent of sea-level rise with reference to the various lines of evidence and data sources. Sea-level rise as a driver of coastal change is then set within the context of other processes and determinants, particularly in relation to waves, tides, storms, and sediment supply. A range of coastal types is examined (tidal environments, beaches, barriers, deltas, cliffs and platforms, and dunes and coral atolls) to evaluate their response to sea-level rise, providing an understanding of the likely geomorphic consequences of sea-level rise. The article concludes with recognition that sea level has a part to play in coastal change for a wide variety of coastal environments over different timescales, but that its significance must be evaluated relative to other drivers of coastal evolution, especially sediment supply and extreme events. Simultaneously, this understanding provides the evidence base for informing future coastal management strategies.

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Andy Plater is a professor in physical geography in the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, and is currently leader of the Oceans and Ecosystems Research Cluster. He is also co-editor-in-chief of Geomorphology and an active member of the UNESCO Ecohydrology Working Group. His research focuses primarily on coastal geomorphic change during the late Holocene (the last 3000 years) in open estuary and barrier/lagoon systems – particularly quantification of past, present, and future changes in the supply of sediments, nutrients, pollutants, and water to the coastal zone to provide the evidence base for effective management of estuarine and lagoonal environments where the cumulative impacts of climate and human activity are considerable and acute. Closely allied with this work is the development of magnetic, geochemical, radionuclide, and granulometric techniques and methodologies for determining sediment provenance, tracing (including research on the study of coastal pollutants), and dating.

Jason Kirby is a senior lecturer in physical geography in the School of Natural Sciences and Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, and is the Program Leader for geoscience. He is a micropaleontologist specializing in pollen and diatom analysis. Much of his research concerns late Quaternary environmental change. A particular focus of this is the reconstruction of recent sea-level changes utilizing salt-marsh sediment records. Kirby’s other research interests include the Holocene evolution of perimarine floodplain systems, terrestrial peatlands, and coastal wetlands in response to human activity and climate change. In addition to the investigation of long-term patterns of environmental change, Kirby has also undertaken research on contemporary coastal change in estuaries and how an understanding of past ecosystem functioning can inform future management decisions using principles of ecohydrology.

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