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.
beaches, coasts, & shorelines
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.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Estuary Research Suffers from Scientific Bias
Researchers are calling for a closer look at nutrient cycling in tropical and low-nutrient estuaries, which have long been overlooked in the scientific literature.
Posted inNews
A Brighter Future for Coral Reef Islands
Although some islands demonstrate more resiliency than previously thought, island communities may require significant flood-resistant infrastructure to maintain their way of life.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Ancient Sea Levels in South Africa May Offer Modern Analogues
Largely spared from disruptive tectonic activity, the South African coastline offers a natural setting to study sea levels from when Earth’s atmospheric carbon dioxide last reached today’s levels.