Tomorrow's Coasts: Complex and Impermanent

390 Pages·2019·13.117 MB·English

by  Lynn Donelson Wright, C. Reid Nichols

Coastal Research Library 27
Lynn Donelson Wright
Editors
C. Reid Nichols
Tomorrow’s
Coasts:
Complex and
Impermanent
Coastal Research Library
Volume 27
Series editor
Charles W. Finkl, Coastal Education and Research Foundation
Boca Raton, FL, USA
The aim of this book series is to disseminate information to the coastal research
community. The Series covers all aspects of coastal research including but not
limitedtorelevantaspectsofgeologicalsciences,biology(incl.ecologyandcoastal
marine ecosystems), geomorphology (physical geography), climate, littoral
oceanography, coastal hydraulics, environmental (resource) management, engi-
neering,andremotesensing.Policy,coastallaw,andrelevantissuessuchasconflict
resolution and risk management would also be covered by the Series. The scope
oftheSeriesisbroadandwithauniquecross-disciplinarynature.TheSerieswould
tend to focus on topics that are of current interest and which carry some import as
opposed to traditional titles that are esoteric and non-controversial.
Monographs as well as contributed volumes are welcomed.
Charles W. Finkl, Coastal Education & Research Foundation, USA
Email: cfi[email protected]
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8795
Lynn Donelson Wright C. Reid Nichols
(cid:129)
Editors
’
Tomorrow s Coasts:
Complex and Impermanent
A collaborative synthesis promoted by the Coastal and
Environmental Research Committee of the Southeastern
Universities Research Association (SURA)
123
Editors
LynnDonelson Wright C. ReidNichols
SoutheasternUniversities Research Marine Information Resources
Association (SURA) Corporation (MIRC)
Washington, DC Ellicott City,MD
USA USA
ISSN 2211-0577 ISSN 2211-0585 (electronic)
Coastal Research Library
ISBN978-3-319-75452-9 ISBN978-3-319-75453-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75453-6
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2018940873
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Innoenvironmentistheconnectionbetweenpeopleandnaturestrongerthanincoastalsystems.
Climate change, sea level rise, ecosystem evolution, altered river discharge, and changes in the
size, intensity, and duration of storms will accelerate the degradation of coastal realms over the
decadesahead.Thecoastalsystemsandcoastalcommunitiesofthefuturewillbedifferentfrom
thoseoftoday.
Foreword
In no environment is the connection between people and nature stronger than in
coastal systems. Climate change, sea level rise, ecosystem evolution, hydrologic
modifications of river discharge to the coasts, and changes in the intensity and
duration of storms and attendant coastal erosion are likely to accelerate the alter-
ation of coastal realms over the decades ahead. In concert with these changes, the
socioeconomic environment that underpins human coastal communities is also
impermanent and dynamic. The interdependence of environmental and socioeco-
nomic processes in the Anthropocene is already giving rise to suites of highly
complex and nonlinear feedbacks, many of which are counterintuitive. Improved
abilities to predict, communicate, mitigate, and respond to the outcomes offuture
coastalprocesses,gradualaswellasabrupt,onbothlong-termandeventtimescales
are essential to the welfare of coastal communities and to the sustainability of
coastal ecosystems and built infrastructures. Those interested in understanding the
complex nature of coastal processes must take an interdisciplinary approach to
Earth system problems, and international collaborations to strengthen the rela-
tionships between the physical and social sciences must be nurtured.
The changes that areunderway canbe slowed, with aglobal commitment todo
so, but most cannot be stopped. The coastal systems of the future will be different
fromthoseoftoday.Preparationofthisgeneralliteraturesynthesiswasundertaken
asaninitiativeoftheSoutheasternUniversitiesResearchAssociation’sCoastaland
Environmental Research Committee to lay a foundation for future collaborations
aimed at improving predictions and strategies for responding to the complex
changes that are occurring, and are expected to occur in the future, within the
world’s diverse coastal systems. Strategies for ensuring the joint resilience of
humans and nature will rely heavily on understanding how the many complex
facets of the system interconnect and how they might evolve in the foreseeable
future. This understanding must extend well beyond the scientific community to
include decision-makers, politicians, and the general public. This synthesis is
intended to contribute to that broad understanding and stimulate pursuit of
forward-lookingsolutions.Thisisnotatechnicalorspecializedtreatise.Theintent
is to provide a conceptual roadmap to show how some of the numerous pieces of
vii
viii Foreword
complex coastal systems intersect and might interact under changing future envi-
ronmental regimes. The book is addressed to a nontechnical but environmentally
literate audience that includes the lay public, policy-makers, planners, engineers,
environmental scientists, and academics interested in the causes and consequences
of global environmental change and its effects on coastal systems. The book also
outlines some strategies for anticipating and responding to the challenges that lie
ahead.Itishopedthatasfuturechangesunfold,ourunderstandingsandabilitiesto
predict will also evolve.
Starkville, MS, USA David R. Shaw
Chair, Coastal and Environmental Research
Committee, Southeastern Universities Research
Association (SURA)
Acknowledgements
Preparation of this work was supported in part by the Southeastern Universities
Research Association (SURA) and in part by the altruism and energy of the con-
tributing authors and their respective institutions. We especially thank Jerry
Draayer,SURA’sPresident, and CEO for his encouragement and financial support
and Sara Madden of SURA for assisting with editing and proofreading. SURA
(www.SURA.org) is a nonprofit organization [501(c)(3)] consisting of 60 member
universities. We also thank the many authors referenced throughout this work for
permissions to reprint their figures and photos. This synthesis project arose at the
requestofSURA’sCoastalandEnvironmentalResearchCommittee(CERC)infall
of 2015. The current members of this committee are as follows:
CERC Members and Institutions
Steve Boss, University of Arkansas
Gordon C. Cannon, The University of Southern Mississippi
Benjamin Cuker, Hampton University
Christopher F. D’Elia, Louisiana State University
David Eggleston, North Carolina State University
Carl Friedrichs, College of William and Mary
Monty Graham, The University of Southern Mississippi
Scott Hagen, Louisiana State University
Dawit Haile, Virginia State University
Rodger Harvey, Old Dominion University
Rick Luettich, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
George Maul, Florida Institute of Technology
William Moore, Hampton University
Laura Moore, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
James Morris, University of South Carolina
ix
x Acknowledgements
Anton Post, Florida Atlantic University
Joe Ramus, Duke University
Don Resio, University of North Florida
David Rouse, Auburn University
David R. Shaw, Mississippi State University
Peter Sheng, University of Florida
Carolyn Thoroughgood, University of Delaware
Joel Trexler, Florida International University
Robert Weisberg, University of South Florida
Donald Young, Virginia Commonwealth University
Dick Yue, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Gary Zarillo, Florida Institute of Technology