Barrier islands provide a host of critical ecosystem services to heavily populated coastal regions of the world, yet they are quite vulnerable to ongoing sea level rise and a potential increase in the frequency and intensity of oceanic storms. These islands are being degraded at an alarming rate, in part because of anthropogenic attempts at stabilization. In this article, we outline a possible sustainability strategy that incorporates the natural degree of substrate instability on these sedimentary landscapes. We recommend placing the focus for managing barrier islands on maintaining ecosystem function and process development rather than emphasizing barrier islands as structural impediments to wave and storm energy.

The prevalence of marine debris is a worldwide issue, especially in coastal areas. Half of the Brazilian population live within 200 km of the coast and generate large amounts of garbage, which is not always sent to an appropriate destination. This study aims to assess patterns of spatial variability and composition of marine debris in the beaches of Florianópolis, an important tourist destination in Brazil. Biological aspects were also assessed. Five beaches were sampled twice, and abundances of litter ranging from 12.8 to 498 items/100 m² were found, depending on location and time of sampling. Plastic items accounted for almost 90% of the material collected. Only 5% of the items collected showed biological encrustations, suggesting that most items had a local origin. A weak negative correlation was found between the number of items and the number of ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata) open burrows. These results can be used for management purposes and to make comparisons with other coastal cities.

Igneada area, which is studied in this GEF-II Project, includes different kinds of ecosystems and a wide range of biodiversity. These characteristics make it one of the most important areas in Turkey. The forests in Igneada and the surrounding areas have unique characteristics. In other parts of Turkey and Europe, these types of forests have been damaged due to anthropogenic effects. The surface area of these forests is approximately 3000 ha. Igneada lagoons are located in the northeastern part of Trakya (Thrace) along the Black Sea littoral. Alluvial forests with associated aquatic and coastal ecosystems include sand dunes, seawater, lagoons, swamp, forest, and riparian ecosystems. The area was declared a national park in 2007, but cultural pressures have gradually increased. In this study, Landsat satellite images in the years 1987 and 2000 were normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) classified. Based on this classification, healthy vegetation structure increased by 6.5% between 1987 and 2000, water surface increased by 1%, and other areas (agriculture, settlement, dune, and unvalued) decreased at the rate of 6.7%.

Salt pools (shallow, water-filled depressions) are common landforms in north-temperate salt marshes. Despite their widespread distribution, the origin of pools as primary or secondary features of salt marshes remains uncertain and their description in the geologic record unclear. This study combines analyses of modern sediments and cores to determine pool origin and describe pool deposits. We collected samples from tidal-flat, tidal-creek, salt-pool, low-marsh, and high-marsh environments and 23 Dutch cores through extant and paleopools from salt marshes in Ogunquit, Wells, Brunswick, Gouldsboro, Addison, and Lubec, Maine. Salt-pool sediment is a dark gray, high-water-content mud with intermediate total organic carbon values (2.21–9.08) and typically lower carbon-to-nitrogen ratios than low- and high-marsh sediments. Pool sediment contains a suite of biological macrofossils; most common are drupes of the submerged aquatic plant Ruppia maritima and the gastropod Hydrobia totteni. Microfossil analyses reveal no unique foraminiferal assemblages associated with pools, though mites (subclass Acarina) were commonly found within pool sediment. Cores reveal that most studied pools are of secondary, not primary, origin and that many are dynamic features of these salt marshes, some rapidly in-filling with sediment when drained. Our results suggest that local pool dynamics (that may or may not be linked to larger regional signals, like sea-level change) dominate the geologic records in many of these marshes. Correct interpretations of core records hinge on the correct identification of the cores' subunits; with the salt-pool unit now identified and defined, re-examinations and potential reinterpretations of salt-marsh stratigraphic records are warranted.

Accelerating sea-level rise associated with global climate change will affect sedimentary processes on coral reefs and other shoreline environments by increasing energy and sediment resuspension. On reefs, sedimentation is known to increase coral stress and bleaching as particles that settle on coral surfaces interfere with photosynthesis and feeding, and turbidity induced by suspended sediment reduces incident light levels. Using relationships developed from observations of wave orbital velocity, water-surface elevation, and suspended-sediment concentration on a fringing reef flat of Molokai, Hawaii, predictions of the average daily maximum in suspended-sediment concentration increase from ~11 mg/l to ~20 mg/l with 20 cm sea-level rise. The duration of time concentrations exceeds 10 mg/l increases from 9% to 37%. An evaluation of the reduction of wave energy flux through breaking and frictional dissipation across the reef flat shows an increase of ~80% relative to the present will potentially reach the shoreline as sea level increases by 20 cm. Where the shoreline exists on low, flat terrain, the increased energy could cause significant erosion of the shoreline. Considering the sediment budget, the sediment flux is predicted to increase and removal of fine-grained sediment may be expedited on some fringing reefs, and sediment in storage on the inner reef could ultimately be reduced. However, increased shoreline erosion may add sediment and offset removal from the reef flat. The shifts in sediment availability and transport that will occur as result of a modest increase in sea level have wide application to fringing coral reefs elsewhere, as well as other shoreline environments.

A coastal settlement located in the European part of Turkey, Tekirdağ is an important city thanks to its microclimate and soil structure. However, because of an irregular pattern of development, the amount of green area that could provide ecological benefits to the city and its environments has drastically decreased. To determine the change in the amount of green area, we analyzed the plant index values in satellite images belonging to different Landsat TM satellite images from the years 1987, 2002, 2006, and 2009 and classified them by their normalized difference vegetation indexes. Based on this classification, healthy vegetation structure increased by 3.0% between 1987 and 2009, and other areas (water, agriculture, settlement, and unvalued) decreased at the rate of 3.0%.

With the addition of several thousand passive virtual particles, a well calibrated hydrodynamic model is employed to explore marine connectivity in Spencer Gulf, South Australia, which is a large inverse estuary, on time scales of months to years. Based on a new method of “cumulative flushing time,” findings reveal that Spencer Gulf consists of two distinct regimes. Lower Spencer Gulf is advectively flushed every winter on a seasonal basis. In contrast to this, Upper Spencer Gulf is dominated by diffusive rather than advective processes and experiences flushing over much longer time scales (200–400 days). The physical uniqueness of Upper Spencer Gulf might explain why this region accommodates the largest known giant cuttlefish spawning aggregation in the world. Using a simple approach to mimic the bottom-dwelling behaviour of this species, we were able to reproduce some observed migratory features, but the model fails to predict the return of cuttlefish to their spawning grounds, which remains a puzzle for future studies.

The upper Texas coast is one of the most populated areas along the Gulf of Mexico. Three dynamic barriers along this section of coastline (Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston Island, and Follets Island) have a well-documented history of shoreline change. Numerous engineering studies incorporating both sedimentological data and numerical models have been established for this system to understand sediment fluxes. However, rarely have previous studies examined sediment fluxes for the upper Texas coast in light of certain fundamental concepts of coastal geology. Here, we discuss the current theory and understanding of barrier island dynamics from a geologic standpoint as they relate to sediment budgets for the upper Texas coast. From sediment cores, we quantify both shoreface and washover sand fluxes, which previously were not incorporated as sand sinks into sediment budgets for this system. Shoreface sand fluxes represent a sizable portion of the total budget, whereas modern washover sand fluxes are minimal. Until now, a depth of closure (beyond which sediment transport is negligible) of 4 m has typically been used; however, our data suggest a depth of at least 8 m would be more appropriate. We show that the combined upper and lower shoreface has the potential to sequester ~160,000 ± 39,000 m³/y of sand, equaling ~17% of the entire calculated sediment flux and ~37% of the total longshore transport flux for the upper Texas coast, based on previous studies. Therefore, we recommend revised approaches to future sediment budget studies in order to establish more robust analyses. Ultimately, it will be crucial to use both engineering principles and geologic concepts to construct an accurate and realistic scenario for coastal restoration projects.

The construction of an underwater effluent damaged the continuity of the Leirosa sand dune system, which is located at south of Figueira da Foz, midway along the Portuguese coast. Considerable damage was caused to the dunes by the use of heavy machinery and by the erosion that occurred afterwards, since the rehabilitation began only 3 y latter. The existence of a breakwater less than 1 km to the north, also served to increase the erosion problems, causing the retention of large amounts of sand. As a consequence, sand accretion had to be the first step in reconstructing the Leirosa dunes. The rehabilitation of this system started in March 2000. After that, and to stabilize the sand, revegetation was carried out with transplants of the grass Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link, the most appropriate plant species used in these situations. The winter of 2000/2001 was particularly severe and in February 2001 most of the oceanic side of the Leirosa rehabilitated sand dune was destroyed during a storm that struck all of central Portugal, especially the coast. Between 2001 and 2009 several proposals for the rehabilitation of the Leirosa sand dunes were studied, including soft and hard engineering interventions. A solution adopted in 2005 consisted of dune reconstruction with layers of geotextiles filled with local sand (geocontainers). Due to problems probably caused by undermining of the bottom layers by local scour, another class of sand-filled containers (geotubes) was installed in early summer 2008 at the bottom of the existing structure as toe protection. Another round of revegetation was planned and implemented in May 2009. A new monitoring program was also implemented to locate, identify, quantify and characterize the existing and planted vegetation. Finally, and again using geotubes as the construction material, a complementary protection for the Leirosa sand dune system is described. It consists of a submerged breakwater (multifunctional artificial reef) that both protects the local coastline and enhances surfing possibilities. The main reef characteristics are presented.

Geoelectrical measurements using the vertical electrical sounding method were conducted on the eastern Gulf of Aqaba (GOA) coast in Jordan. The objectives of the study were (i) to map the Quaternary sediments in areas where little is known about the subsurface geology and to infer shallow geological structure, and (ii) to identify formations that may present fresh aquifer waters, and subsequently to estimate the relationship between groundwater resources and geological structures. Data collected at 47 locations were interpreted first with curve-matching techniques, using theoretically calculated master curves. The initial earth models were double-checked and reinterpreted using a one-dimensional inversion program in order to obtain final earth models. Resistivity measurements show three zones with different resistivity values, corresponding to three different bearing formations: (i) a water-bearing formation in the west containing GOA saltwater; (ii) a transition zone of alternate layers of silt, sand, clay, and clayey sand; and (iii) strata saturated with fresh groundwater in the east and disturbed by the presence of clay and clayey sand horizons.

Dredging trials using trailing suction hopper dredging (TSHD) equipment were carried out across both flood- and ebb-tide deltas at the artificial entrance to the Gippsland Lakes (Victoria, Australia) during March to July 2008. These trials were designed to evaluate options for future sediment management at this location. Regular hydrodata capture before, during, and after the TSHD trials period allowed geographic information systems (GIS)–based monitoring of TSHD performance and overall flood- and ebb-tide delta bathymetric evolution. Results show that the TSHD dredging approach is far more effective in terms of net flood- and ebb-tide delta volumetric reduction, and navigation channel maintenance, than previously used maintenance dredging approaches (which relied upon the use of side-cast and cutter-suction dredging equipment). However, after the culmination of the trials, channel infill quickly took place. The information derived from analysis of the time-series bathymetry used for this study offers baseline information in support of future stakeholder consensus building regarding options for maintaining navigability and, thus, port viability.

Embayed beaches bounded by headlands, headland bay beaches, are a common feature along the coast of southern China. The patterns of sediment transport pathways in these beaches are important for understanding changes in beach and nearshore geomorphology that are a response to different wave energy conditions. Nanwan Beach in southern China is characterized by a large seasonal variation of incident waves. In this study, sediment samples and a series of beach profiles from Nanwan Beach are examined to determine spatial changes in sediment transport pathways. Empirical orthogonal function analysis of the profile data indicates that the variation of sediment transport occurs in two distinct modes. The first mode is related to seasonal changes in cross-shore sediment transport with associated alongshore sediment transport. The trend of sediment transport is seaward in winter and landward in summer. The second mode is onshore-offshore sediment exchange, which occurs in the intertidal zone in summer and in the swash zone in winter. Moreover, grain size trend analysis of sediment samples suggests that sediment transport in the nearshore zone is predominantly in the northwesterly direction because of southeast incidence waves in winter, with Nanwan Bay opening to the south. The sediment transport pathways are to the north in summer from the influence of typhoons.

Biosphere reserves are part of an international program implemented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization since 1970 for conservation of biological diversity and sustainable land management using a participatory approach. The main goal of this program is effectiveness of the participatory approach for sustainable resources management. Conservation of biological diversity, training, monitoring, information sharing, and experience exchanging at a global level are fundamental elements of this program.

Within the framework of this study, the biological diversity of the İğneada longos (flooded) forests and their environs has been put forth. First, major resource values have been classified according to ecological units, and evaluations for these ecological units in relation to the criteria for planning nature conservation areas have been completed. As a result of these evaluations, these units have been classified according to signs of rareness and diversity on international, national, and regional bases. At the end of the classification, the study area's biosphere-reserve potential has been presented. The study area has been separated into core, buffer, and transition zones, and suggestions for continuously sustainable land use for each zone have been provided.

Beach management guidance has previously tended to focus on beach management for coastal-defence purposes and has only given passing consideration to the amenity value of beaches. This paper, based upon a desk-study review of available beach management plans and published research, examines some of the issues of concern in providing beach management for amenity purposes and identifies techniques and methods used to achieve this. In examining these issues, examples of the relationship between how beaches are managed for the purposes of both amenity and coastal defence are provided to demonstrate how beach amenity forms an integral part of holistic beach management.

Amenity is identified as a perception of beach users of a location's elements that provide a positive, enjoyable benefit. The findings presented in this paper identify a number of issues that affect the amenity provided by beaches. These can be broadly grouped as those involving direct interaction with the physical/natural environment, such as beach character and beach maintenance, and those involved with managing beach use, such as beach safety, zoning, and the provision of facilities, services, and access.

Linking all of the issues of beach management for amenity purposes is the need to convey information to beach users in a clear and effective way such that it is easily understood. This is primarily via signage at the beach, but it also involves using public awareness and education campaigns and providing information via the Internet. However, it is also acknowledged that issues at the beach will vary from location to location both within a country and between countries. Therefore, when considering the management of beach amenity, it is important to first understand what the perceived amenity of a beach is through such mechanisms as beach-user surveys and video monitoring.

Study of suspended sediment transport in an estuary affected by tidal bore is important for coastal engineering and management because the tidal bore can cause strong sediment resuspension and scour in shallow waters. Numerical modeling of suspended sediment transport in a natural estuary affected by tidal bore is such a challenging research topic that there are few articles on the subject available in the literature. In this study, a two-dimensional, numerical model was developed to investigate suspended sediment transport induced by a tidal bore. The hydrodynamic component of the model employs the Godunov-type scheme with second-order accuracy in space, which effectively describes the rapid supercritical flow and sharp horizontal pressure gradients of the tidal bore. To preserve balance between the source terms and the internal forces, both the water level–bottom topography formulation (WLTF) method and a special technique for triangular mesh have been applied to solve the source term in the model equations to account for the irregular bottom topography. The wet/dry boundary issue was solved by using the improved exact-Riemann solver on the dry bed. The coupled sediment transport model incorporates more reliable equations from recent publications to characterize the rapid increase of sediment resuspension in the water column. The model test against an analytical solution of convection transport shows that the sharp gradient of scalar transport is satisfactorily estimated in the model simulations. The model in the application has been validated to simulate hydrodynamics and suspended sediment transport affected by a tidal bore in the Qiantang River of China. The results compare well with a time series of observations to characterize the rapid increases of surface elevation, currents, and suspended sediment concentration resulting from the tidal bore. Results of spatial distributions of water levels and currents indicate that the model adequately describes the sharp horizontal gradients of the surface elevation and the tidal currents during the passage of the tidal bore and characterizes the suspended concentrations in the estuary.

Seagrass beds, mangroves, and coral reefs are often located adjacent to one another, but few studies have focused on the influence that their proximity may have on their fish assemblages. Juvenile fish assemblages of seagrass beds, differing according to their adjacent habitats, were investigated in the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. We tested whether adjacent habitats influence (i) the structure and composition of juvenile fish assemblages and (ii) the size class distribution of fishes using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate permutation tests. Significant differences in species richness, abundance, and size were identified between the two types of seagrass beds. Close to the reef, daytime fish assemblages were constituted of seagrass beds resident species, while at night, indicator species of seagrass beds belong to reef families. Near coastal mangroves, the shift between day and night is less evident. Fish size class distributions confirm the sequential use of the two types of seagrass beds by juvenile fishes.

Barrier island geomorphic features change over relatively brief timescales in response to the combined effects of wind, waves, currents, sediment supply, coastal subsidence, sea-level rise, and tropical cyclones. Consequently, alterations in the vegetation composition occur with these physiographic changes. A greater understanding of the extent to which such changes have occurred in recent decades may indicate the likely response of barrier islands to the currently anticipated acceleration in sea-level rise and increase in tropical storm frequency and severity under a climate-warming scenario. Using ground data in conjunction with hyperspectral, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), and historical data, this study classified and mapped vegetation on Horn Island, Mississippi, and compared the island land area and habitat-type distribution in 2004 vs. 1978. Total vegetation cover as a percentage of total land area remained virtually unchanged during the 1978–2004 period. However, the relative coverage of wetland habitat types increased, whereas coverage of drier habitat types declined from 1978 to 2004, suggesting an overall modification of island communities in response to relative sea-level rise, storm events, and reduced sediment availability. A noticeable portion of the loss of drier woodland and stable dune habitats was a consequence of changes in land area and elevation on the eastern end of the island.

The coastal zone of the United States is a major source of economic growth and as a result has seen significant increases in population over the past 50 years. Most aspects of the coastal economy—tourism and residential and commercial development—are heavily dependent upon the environmental preservation and recreational quality of ocean beaches. In earlier work, we documented the economic benefits of ocean beach enhancement projects on several important Florida tourism-dependent counties, which are reflected in greater-than-expected increased earnings in the tourism sector. However, the direction of causality of the analysis was somewhat ambiguous. Although we anticipated that beach nourishment projects would attract visitors, it is equally true that, in the allocation of scarce beach nourishment project dollars, it is likely that eroding beaches in areas that are already flourishing tourist destinations will attract beach nourishment funding to preserve their tourist industries. This article links an exploratory spatial data analysis of the tourism sector with a statistical study of the economic determinants of coastal tourism in Florida. Using the predicted likelihood of beach nourishment projects over the 1970–2000 study period as an explanatory variable, we estimate the growth in earnings in the tourism sector between 1970 and 2000. This gives us a clearer understanding of the complex temporal and spatial relationships that influence the coastal economy.

Overwash induced by storms is one of the factors that threaten coastlines, causing erosion and sediment transport, especially in areas of low dune elevation. Laboratory experiments provide mechanisms for eliminating many of the varied environmental conditions that typically exist in the field. For instance, it is difficult to observe conditions before and after the landfall of a storm; however, such observations are much simpler in a laboratory setting. The experiments conducted in this study focused on the volume of eroded and transported sediment by overwash of the berm and dune at different slopes, the wave heights, and the periods of regular and irregular waves. Experiments were conducted under both short-term (327 s) and longer-term conditions (30, 60, and 180 min). The newly developed zero-point method that calculates the offshore and onshore sediment transport was used for analysis and was verified with field measurements. The empirical equations were developed using robust regression after selecting dominant factors in a sensitivity analysis. The regression equations compared favorably with the laboratory and field data. The empirical equation for irregular waves proved to be a simple and quick way to estimate the landward sediment transport rate by overwash.

It might be argued that this paper does not sensu stricto contribute to “polar science.” It, however, rekindles aspects of its history and of that of both oceanography and cartography. Obviously the interest for the polar regions was keen in the 19th century and elicited financial support. The paper may lift anew the veil that has somewhat dimmed the light that should shine on polar science achievements of Belgian explorers and scientists.

Knowledge of the names of geographic features in the Antarctic is probably less widespread, and yet, there are many Belgian names on and near the southernmost continent. Most names were given by the head of the first-ever Antarctic expedition to spend a winter on the southernmost continent. Belgian Royal Navy Lieutenant Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery's expedition in the Antarctic brought back a wealth of scientific information. His trip ended precisely 111 years ago, and has been—literally—carved in stone as the Belgica is indeed one of the 20 oceanographic vessels Prince Albert I of Monaco selected to be represented on the façade of the Musée Océanographique de Monaco.

Because of the special geographic features and high rate of biological productivity of the estuary, analyzing the evolution of an estuary over long periods is important for understanding and predicting environmental changes in the natural ecosystem. To predict the behavior of the varied flow conditions in natural phenomena, we require a simple mathematical model to analyze that behavior. Averaging methods are extensively used for fluid studies. Based on changing flow conditions, the time span could be divided into three periods, long, medium, and short. In this paper, a long-term averaging model for the estuary is introduced to predict flow variation, sediment transport, and bed morphology change. In addition, various variables that may influence the river system are discussed, and some reasonable values of these variables are estimated empirically. By introducing the time scales and instantaneous variables into the one-dimensional hydraulic equations of continuity, momentum, sediment transport, and bed morphology change, we obtain four simplified equations. A case study of the Snowy River is discussed. Based on these simplified dynamic equations, we identify four attractors by solving the equations numerically under certain boundary conditions.