Human–coastal coupled systems: Ten questions

McNamara, D. E.; Lazarus, Eli D.; Goldstein, Evan B.

doi:10.1017/cft.2023.8

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…What manner of stuff does outwash across an urbanized barrier excavate, entrain, and deliver to the swash zone (cf. McNamara et al., 2023)? I also thought of a related anthropogenic process of seaward sediment transport: one affected by the road crews who clean up during and after big weather events, plowing unquantified volumes of sediment off barrier roads and into foredunes (e.g., Lazarus & Goldstein, 2019; Nordstrom, 2004).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Storm‐Driven Seaward Sediment Flux in Coastal Barrier Dynamics Is an Enduring Puzzle

Lazarus

2023

JGR Earth Surface

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Coastal barrier systems are low‐lying environments that bear the brunt of storm impacts, with cumulative and complex consequences for barrier evolution. Most studies of barrier responses to storms examine what happens when water and sediment get driven landward across a barrier from its ocean side. Sherwood et al. (2023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022jf006934) investigate the effects of overland flow and sediment transport forced across a barrier in the opposite direction—from its sheltered side, seaward. Using high‐resolution imagery of a barrier island observed before and after a hurricane, Sherwood et al. (2023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022jf006934) show that “outwash” flow across the barrier shifted several times more sediment by volume than is typically reported for beach and dune erosion from onshore forcing. Their findings are remarkable because they are not exceptional: a related survey of barriers along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the USA observed patterns of outwash morphology essentially everywhere. Insights into outwash morphology open exciting questions regarding the overlooked role of storm‐driven seaward sediment transport in barrier dynamics, with important implications for post‐storm barrier recovery and barrier evolution over decades to centuries.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Storm‐Driven Seaward Sediment Flux in Coastal Barrier Dynamics Is an Enduring Puzzle

Lazarus

2023

JGR Earth Surface

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“…Modern developed coasts constitute a fundamentally new type of system, one with characteristics that result from tight couplings between human and natural coastal dynamics (e.g., McNamara et al, 2023), in places creating totally new, artificial coastal land areas (e.g., Sengupta et al, 2023). The common framing that sees causality running from the physical environment to its social impacts often results in human influence forming the final section of an academic paper or the last chapter in a coastal textbook.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal futures: New framings, many questions, some ways forward

Spencer¹,

Adams²,

Tissier³

et al. 2023

Camb. prisms Coast. futures

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Although coasts are frequently seen as at the frontline of near-future environmental risk, there is more to the understanding of the future of coastal environments than a simple interaction between increasing hazards (particularly related to global sea level rise) and increasing exposure and vulnerability of coastal populations. The environment is both multi-hazard and regionally differentiated, and coastal populations, in what should be seen as a coupled social–ecological–physical system, are both affected by, and themselves modify, the impact of coastal dynamics. As the coupled dance between human decisions and coastal environmental change unfolds over the coming decades, transdisciplinary approaches will be required to come to better decisions on identifying and following sustainable coastal management pathways, including the promotion of innovative restoration activities. Inputs from indigenous knowledge systems and local communities will be particularly important as these stakeholders are crucial actors in the implementation of ecosystem-based mitigation and adaptation strategies.

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Transdisciplinary Research Supports the Sustainability of Barrier Island Systems Threatened by Climate Change

Barnard,

Passeri

2024

Earth's Future

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The management of developed barrier islands is often piece‐meal and reactionary despite the complex, dynamic nature of these systems, and sustainable practices will become increasingly difficult due to heightened pressures of climate change. Adaptation actions, including nature‐based solutions, need to be thoroughly evaluated prior to implementation to understand system‐wide impacts and avoid maladaptation. Anarde et al. (2024a), (https://doi.org/10.1029/2023ef003672), Anarde et al. (2024b), (https://doi.org/10.1029/2023ef004200) is the latest important contribution in a growing body of transdisciplinary research that more robustly evaluates the complex physical process‐and‐response relationship of barrier systems via sophisticated numerical modeling approaches that also interface with socioeconomic models to inform coastal management actions in response to mitigating coastal risk. This new research indicates the importance of coordinated system‐scale barrier island management, as strategies to reduce coastal hazard risk in one location will directly affect adjacent communities. Further, this work demonstrates that reducing barrier management interventions may actually promote barrier recovery and sustainability in the face of sea level rise. In addition, recent advances in the analysis and application of remotely sensed data from satellites and oblique aerial photography provide scientists an unprecedented opportunity to track coastal evolution over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales at minimal cost. As sea level rise and changing storm patterns challenge the sustainable management of barrier island systems, integrating these advanced, transdisciplinary tools will enable scientists and coastal practitioners to more thoroughly evaluate coastal adaptation options, efficiently invest limited resources to mitigate coastal hazard risk for communities, support healthy ecosystems, and reduce system‐wide impacts.

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Human–coastal coupled systems: Ten questions

Cited by 4 publications

References 81 publications

The Role of Storm‐Driven Seaward Sediment Flux in Coastal Barrier Dynamics Is an Enduring Puzzle

The Role of Storm‐Driven Seaward Sediment Flux in Coastal Barrier Dynamics Is an Enduring Puzzle

Coastal futures: New framings, many questions, some ways forward

Transdisciplinary Research Supports the Sustainability of Barrier Island Systems Threatened by Climate Change

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