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The coastal zone is one of the most dynamic environments on our planet and is much affected by global change, especially sea-level rise. Coastal environments harbour valuable ecosystems, but they are also hugely important from a societal point of view. Coastal Environments and Global Change, which draws on the expertise of 21 leading international coastal scientists, represents an up-to-date account of coastal environments and past, present and future impacts of global change. The first chapter of Coastal Environments and Global Change outlines key principles that underpin coastal systems and their behaviour. This is followed by a discussion of key processes, including sea level change, sedimentation, storms, waves and tides, that drive coastal change.
The main part of Coastal Environments and Global Change consists of a discussion of the main coastal environments (beaches, dunes, barriers, salt marshes, tidal flats, estuaries, coral reefs, deltas, rocky and glaciated coasts and coastal groundwater), and how these are affected by global change. The final chapter highlights strategies for coping with coastal change. Readership : final year undergraduate and postgraduate-level students on coastal courses in a wide range subjects, including geography, environmental management, geology, oceanography and coastal/civil engineering. Coastal Environments and Global Change will also be a valuable resource for researchers and applied scientists dealing with coastal environments.
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Contributors viii
About the Companion Website ix
1 Introduction to Coastal Environments and Global Change 1 / Gerd Masselink and Roland Gehrels
2 Sea Level 28 / Glenn A. Milne
3 Environmental Control: Geology and Sediments 52 / Edward J. Anthony
4 Drivers: Waves and Tides 79 / Daniel C. Conley
5 Coastal Hazards: Storms and Tsunamis 104 / Adam D. Switzer
6 Coastal Groundwater 128 / William P. Anderson, Jr.
7 Beaches 149 / Gerben Ruessink and Roshanka Ranasinghe
8 Coastal Dunes 178 / Karl F. Nordstrom
9 Barrier Systems 194 / Sytze van Heteren
10 Tidal Flats and Salt Marshes 227 / Kerrylee Rogers and Colin D. Woodroffe
11 Mangrove Shorelines 251 / Colin D. Woodroffe, Catherine E. Lovelock and Kerrylee Rogers
12 Estuaries and Tidal Inlets 268 / Duncan FitzGerald, Ioannis Georgiou and Michael Miner
13 Deltas 299 / Edward J. Anthony
14 High-Latitude Coasts 338 / Aart Kroon
15 Rock Coasts 356 / Wayne Stephenson
16 Coral Reefs 380 / Paul Kench
17 Coping with Coastal Change 410 / Robert J. Nicholls, Marcel J.F. Stive and Richard S.J. Tol
Geographical Index 432
Subject Index 436
Gerd Masselink is a Professor in Coastal Geomorphology and Associate Head of Marine Science in the School of Marine Science and Engineering at Plymouth University, UK. Gerd specialises in nearshore sediment transport processes, surf zone hydrodynamics and beach morphodynamics.
Roland Gehrels is a Professor in Physical Geography at the University of York, UK. He studies sea-level changes over various timescales, but has a particular interest in regional sea-level variability during past centuries. Roland is the President of the Commission on Coastal and Marine Processes of the International Quaternary Union (INQUA). The Editors have published over 160 peer-reviewed articles in coastal and sea-level research.
"On balance, this book is a useful compilation of the driving forces acting on coasts followed by the geomorphological description of almost all coastal environments. Geography and geomorphology graduate students will find the book to be good background."
– Geologica Belgica, 1 October 2015
