Coastal Evolution

A 1995 review of how shorelines have changed since the last Ice Age, and what this implies for future environmental management.

Coasts are some of the most rapidly changing places on earth. Understanding the natural adjustments that occur between coastal landforms and the processes that influence them is essential for the better management of coastal resources. Coasts provides a necessary background in geomorphology for those studying coastal systems. It describes the landforms that occur on the coast, their responses to the processes that shape them, and the pattern of evolution that can be determined for different types of coast over thousands of years. Numerous examples from around the world are used to illustrate the variety of environments. Particular attention is paid to coastal morphodynamics, the co-adjustment of process and form, on rocky, reef, sandy, deltaic-estuarine and muddy coasts. This valuable text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students is well illustrated and contains an extensive reference section. It will also be of great interest to environmental scientists, geologists, coastal managers and planners.

This book includes papers published in the Special Issue titled “Coastal Dynamic and Evolution”, which aimed to collect multidisciplinary studies that involved the evaluation of coastal evolution at different temporal scales, from hours and days to months and years, as well as historical changes. The volume contains investigations carried out by means of aerial photos and satellite images, as well as results from in situ surveys and observations aimed at assessing morphological changes in shoreline and dune systems as a consequence of chronic flooding and erosion processes or the occurrence of specific weather-related events. Studies on the evaluation of past and future sea-level variations and related impacts have also been included. In order to provide the reader with a wide overview of different coastal settings and methodological approaches, case studies from Russia, Italy, California (USA), Morocco, Spain, Indonesia, Ireland and Colombia have been included in this Special Issue. The content may be of interest to those who perform a wide range of investigations related to coastal analysis and management, especially to researchers and academics who can exploit the provided approaches and methodologies.

Where oceans, land and atmosphere meet, three dynamic forces contribute to the physical and ecological evolution of coastlines. Coasts are responsive systems, dynamic with identifiable inputs and outputs of energy and material. In chapters illustrated and furnished with topical case studies from around the world, this book establishes the importance of coasts within a systems framework - waves, tides, rivers and sea-level change all play critical roles in the evolution of our coasts.

The U.S. Gulf Coast provides a valuable setting to study deeply connected natural and human interactions and feedbacks that have led to a complex, interconnected coastal system. The physical landscape in the region has changed significantly due to broad-scale, long-term processes such as coastal subsidence and river sediment deposition as well as short-term episodic events such as hurricanes. Modifications from human activities, including building levees and canals and constructing buildings and roads, have left their own imprint on the natural landscape. This coupled natural-human coastal system and the individual aspects within it (physical, ecological, and human) are under increased pressure from accelerating environmental stressors such as sea level rise, intensifying hurricanes, and continued population increase with its accompanying coastal development. Promoting the resilience and maintaining the habitability of the Gulf Coast into the future will need improved understanding of the coupled natural-human coastal system, as well as effective sharing of this understanding in support of decision-making and policies. Understanding the Long-term Evolution of the Coupled Natural-Human Coastal System presents a research agenda meant to enable a better understanding of the multiple and interconnected factors that influence long-term processes along the Gulf Coast. This report identifies scientific and technical gaps in understanding the interactions and feedbacks between human and natural processes, defines essential components of a research and development program in response to the identified gaps, and develops priorities for critical areas of research.

This unique richly-illustrated account of the landforms and geology of the world’s coasts, presented in a country-by-country (state-by-state) sequence, assembles a vast amount of data and images of an endangered and increasingly populated and developed landform. An international panel of 138 coastal experts provides information on “what is where” on each sector of coast, together with explanations of the landforms, their evolution and the changes taking place on them. As well as providing details on the coastal features of each country (state or county) the compendium can be used to determine the extent of particular features along the world’s coasts and to investigate comparisons and contrasts between various world regions. With more than 1440 color illustrations and photos, it is particularly useful as a source of information prior to researching or just visiting a sector of coast. References are provided to the current literature on coastal evolution and coastline changes.