Coastal use accelerated the regional sea-level rise

Abstract

a b s t r a c tCoastal zones are highly threatened by global sea-level rise (SLR), but human-induced change in SLR is often neglected in many studies. Identifying the influences of coastal use on regional SLR and their interactions is helpful to effectively respond to SLR. In this paper, we analyzed the relationship between SLR, coastal use and rising temperature at the provincial level in mainland China since 2000. The results show that there is significant correlation between increasing coastal use and SLR, but that relationship between temperature rising and SLR is not significant. This supports our hypothesis that coastal use can accelerate regional SLR on Chinese coasts, especially in the Bohai Sea. We also discuss the potentially influential mechanism of one important coastal use, reclamation, on SLR in the Bohai Sea and present suggestions for both coastal use management and adaptation to SLR for this region.

Human impacts and changes in the coastal waters of south China

“…Massive sea reclamation in coastal regions causes dramatic changes in the coastal landscape and accelerates coastal erosion (Defeo et al, 2009;Chan et al, 2013;Anderson et al, 2014). Rapid development also accelerates regional sea level rise and new research confirms that sea level rise caused by human activity is beyond natural fluctuation (Bi et al, 2013;Hamlington et al, 2014). Furthermore, human activities produce large amount of sewage discharge and industrial waste water which cause serious environmental pollution and ecological problems in coastal areas (Becker et al, 2013;Teuchies et al, 2013;Furby et al, 2014).…”