Researchers propose the creation of an anthropogenic vulnerability index to help guide conservation policy decisions.
beaches, coasts, & shorelines
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Acidifying Oceans Could Get Help from Kelp
Forests of fast-growing kelp influence the chemistry of the water in which they live. A new study evaluates their potential to ameliorate ocean acidification in sensitive coastal ecosystems.
Posted inNews
Sea Level Rise May Erode Development in Africa
The continent is enduring some of the highest global sea level rise. A new report identifies the western coast as particularly vulnerable to coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion.
Posted inNews
What Controls Giant Subduction Earthquakes?
Subduction zones with a low dipping angle and thick sediments can produce giant earthquakes; this finding lets researchers estimate worst-case scenarios for coastlines around the world.
Posted inFeatures
A Lost Haven for Early Modern Humans
Sea level changes have repeatedly reshaped the Paleo-Agulhas Plain, a now submerged region off the coast of South Africa that once teemed with plants, animals, and human hunter–gatherers.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Earthquake Hazard Hanging in the Balance
Earthquake hazard calculations for California’s coast are refined with a view of precariously balanced rocks that would have fallen if the largest predicted shaking happened in the past 20,000 years.
Posted inNews
Saint Lucia Works to Release Itself from Sargassum’s Stranglehold
Nearly 10 years ago, Caribbean beaches experienced a sudden onslaught of Sargassum. Today residents continue to explore ways to mitigate the seaweed’s damage to local health and livelihoods.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Dams Alter Nutrient Flows to Coasts
New models indicate how dams worldwide influence the mix of nutrients in river water reaching the ocean. As more dams are built, changing nutrient loads may adversely affect coastal ecosystems.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Ideal Temperatures for Carbon Uptake by Subtropical Plants
Air temperatures in coastal ecosystems of Australia routinely exceed the optimum range for photosynthesis, hindering plants’ ability to take up atmospheric carbon.
Posted inEditors' Vox
The Ups and Downs of Tides
The size of tides has changed in the past and will continue to change in the future due to natural and anthropogenic influences on estuaries, coastlines, and near shore regions.