Tomorrow's Coasts: Complex and Impermanent : a collaborative synthesis promoted by the Coastal and Environmental Research Committee of the Southearstern Universities Research Association (SURA)

This book is intended as a conceptual roadmap to show how some of the numerous pieces of complex coastal systems intersect and might interact under changing future environmental regimes. It is addressed to a non-technical but environmentally literate audience that includes the lay public, policy makers, planners, engineers and academics interested in the causes and consequences of global changes as they are likely to affect coastal systems. The book also outlines some strategies for anticipating and responding to the challenges that lie ahead. The purpose is not to offer a technical treatise on how to build better numerical models or to provide the cognoscenti with new scientific details or theories. Quite on the contrary the authors aim to provide a holistic, easy-accessible overview of coastal systems and therefore use a writing style that is non-technical, nonmathematical and non-jargonized throughout. Wherever scientific terms are required to avoid ambiguity, a clear and simple definition is presented and those definitions are repeated in the glossary. The authors aim to communicate with all who care about the future of coastal environments. In Part 1, they present some underlying general “big picture” concepts that are applicable to coastal processes and coastal change worldwide. Part 2 reviews some of the more important physical, ecological and societal causes and outcomes of coastal change. A selection of case studies of some prominent and highly vulnerable coastal regions is presented in Part 3. Some strategies for facilitating and supporting collaboration among the global scientific community to enhance future coastal resilience are outlined in Part 4. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxxi Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Coastal Complexity and Predictions of Change (Lynn Donelson Wright, J. P. M. Syvitski, C. Reid Nichols)....Pages 3-23 Global Change: More Than Climate (Lynn Donelson Wright, J. P. M. Syvitski, C. Reid Nichols)....Pages 25-46 Sea Level Rise: Recent Trends and Future Projections (Lynn Donelson Wright, J. P. M. Syvitski, C. Reid Nichols)....Pages 47-57 Complex Intersections of Seas, Lands, Rivers and People (Lynn Donelson Wright, J. P. M. Syvitski, C. Reid Nichols)....Pages 59-68 Coastal Morphodynamics and Ecosystem Dynamics (Lynn Donelson Wright, J. P. M. Syvitski, C. Reid Nichols, Julie Zinnert)....Pages 69-84 Coastal Systems in the Anthropocene (Lynn Donelson Wright, J. P. M. Syvitski, C. Reid Nichols)....Pages 85-99 Front Matter ....Pages 101-101 Causes and Impacts of Coastal Inundation (Lynn Donelson Wright, Donald T. Resio, C. Reid Nichols)....Pages 103-118 Degradation of Coastal Ecosystems: Causes, Impacts and Mitigation Efforts (C. Reid Nichols, Julie Zinnert, Donald R. Young)....Pages 119-136 Coastal Erosion and Land Loss: Causes and Impacts (Lynn Donelson Wright, Wei Wu, James Morris)....Pages 137-150 Impacts of Coastal Waters and Flooding on Human Health (Lynn Donelson Wright, Christopher F. D’Elia, C. Reid Nichols)....Pages 151-166 Natural Infrastructure to Mitigate Inundation and Coastal Degradation (J. Livingston, N. Woiwode, M. Bortman, S. McAfee, K. McLeod, S. Newkirk et al.)....Pages 167-189 Front Matter ....Pages 191-191 Pearl River Delta and Guangzhou (Canton) China (Lynn Donelson Wright, Wei Wu)....Pages 193-205 Coastal Louisiana (Lynn Donelson Wright, Christopher F. D’Elia)....Pages 207-220 Florida (Lynn Donelson Wright, C. Reid Nichols, Gary Zarillo)....Pages 221-239 Mid Atlantic Bight and Chesapeake Bay (C. Reid Nichols, Gary Zarillo, Christopher F. D’Elia)....Pages 241-259 The Alaskan Arctic Coast (Lynn Donelson Wright)....Pages 261-273 Front Matter ....Pages 275-275 Next Generation Numerical Models to Address a Complex Future (Donald T. Resio, C. Reid Nichols)....Pages 277-292 Future Societal Vulnerability, Risk and Adaptability (Lynn Donelson Wright)....Pages 293-304 Future Adaptive Coastal Management (Bruce G. Thom)....Pages 305-317 Data-Intensive Alternatives for Human Adaptation to Coastal Change (Arthur G. Cosby, Gina Rico Mendez, Hasna Khandekar)....Pages 319-340 Promoting Resilience of Tomorrow’s Impermanent Coasts (Lynn Donelson Wright, Bruce G. Thom)....Pages 341-353 Back Matter ....Pages 355-374