WorldWideScience

Sample records for coastal land loss

  1. Preventing land loss in coastal Louisiana: estimates of WTP and WTA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrolia, Daniel R; Kim, Tae-Goun

    2011-03-01

    A dichotomous-choice contingent-valuation survey was conducted in the State of Louisiana (USA) to estimate compensating surplus (CS) and equivalent surplus (ES) welfare measures for the prevention of future coastal wetland losses in Louisiana. Valuations were elicited using both willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept compensation (WTA) payment vehicles. Mean CS (WTP) estimates based on a probit model using a Box-Cox specification on income was $825 per household annually, and mean ES (WTA) was estimated at $4444 per household annually. Regression results indicate that the major factors influencing support for land-loss prevention were income (positive, WTP model only), perceived hurricane protection benefits (positive), environmental and recreation protection (positive), distrust of government (negative), age (positive, WTA model only), and race (positive for whites). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Measuring Land Change in Coastal Zone around a Rapidly Urbanized Bay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faming Huang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Urban development is a major cause for eco-degradation in many coastal regions. Understanding urbanization dynamics and underlying driving factors is crucial for urban planning and management. Land-use dynamic degree indices and intensity analysis were used to measure land changes occurred in 1990, 2002, 2009, and 2017 in the coastal zone around Quanzhou bay, which is a rapidly urbanized bay in Southeast China. The comprehensive land-use dynamic degree and interval level intensity analysis both revealed that land change was accelerating across the three time intervals in a three-kilometer-wide zone along the coastal line (zone A, while land change was fastest during the second time interval 2002–2009 in a separate terrestrial area within coastal zone (zone B. Driven by urbanization, built-up gains and cropland losses were active for all time intervals in both zones. Mudflat losses were active except in the first time interval in zone A due to the intensive sea reclamation. The gain of mangrove was active while the loss of mangrove is dormant for all three intervals in zone A. Transition level analysis further revealed the similarities and differences in processes within patterns of land changes for both zones. The transition from cropland to built-up was systematically targeted and stationary while the transition from woodland to built-up was systematically avoiding transition in both zones. Built-up tended to target aquaculture for the second and third time intervals in zone A but avoid Aquaculture for all intervals in zone B. Land change in zone A was more significant than that in zone B during the second and third time intervals at three-level intensity. The application of intensity analysis can enhance our understanding of the patterns and processes in land changes and suitable land development plans in the Quanzhou bay area. This type of investigation is useful to provide information for developing sound land use policy to achieve urban

  3. Measuring Land Change in Coastal Zone around a Rapidly Urbanized Bay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Faming; Huang, Boqiang; Huang, Jinliang; Li, Shenghui

    2018-05-23

    Urban development is a major cause for eco-degradation in many coastal regions. Understanding urbanization dynamics and underlying driving factors is crucial for urban planning and management. Land-use dynamic degree indices and intensity analysis were used to measure land changes occurred in 1990, 2002, 2009, and 2017 in the coastal zone around Quanzhou bay, which is a rapidly urbanized bay in Southeast China. The comprehensive land-use dynamic degree and interval level intensity analysis both revealed that land change was accelerating across the three time intervals in a three-kilometer-wide zone along the coastal line (zone A), while land change was fastest during the second time interval 2002⁻2009 in a separate terrestrial area within coastal zone (zone B). Driven by urbanization, built-up gains and cropland losses were active for all time intervals in both zones. Mudflat losses were active except in the first time interval in zone A due to the intensive sea reclamation. The gain of mangrove was active while the loss of mangrove is dormant for all three intervals in zone A. Transition level analysis further revealed the similarities and differences in processes within patterns of land changes for both zones. The transition from cropland to built-up was systematically targeted and stationary while the transition from woodland to built-up was systematically avoiding transition in both zones. Built-up tended to target aquaculture for the second and third time intervals in zone A but avoid Aquaculture for all intervals in zone B. Land change in zone A was more significant than that in zone B during the second and third time intervals at three-level intensity. The application of intensity analysis can enhance our understanding of the patterns and processes in land changes and suitable land development plans in the Quanzhou bay area. This type of investigation is useful to provide information for developing sound land use policy to achieve urban sustainability in

  4. Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernier, Julie

    2013-01-01

    Wetland losses in the northern Gulf Coast region of the United States are so extensive that they represent critical concerns to government environmental agencies and natural resource managers. In Louisiana, almost 3,000 square kilometers (km2) of low-lying wetlands converted to open water between 1956 and 2004, and billions of dollars in State and Federal funding have been allocated for coastal restoration projects intended to compensate for some of those wetland losses. Recent research at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) focused on understanding the physical processes and human activities that contributed to historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana and the spatial and temporal trends of that loss. The physical processes (land-surface subsidence and sediment erosion) responsible for historical wetland loss were quantified by comparing marsh-surface elevations, water depths, and vertical displacements of stratigraphic contacts at 10 study areas in the Mississippi River delta plain and 6 sites at Sabine National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) in the western chenier plain. The timing and extent of land loss at the study areas was determined by comparing historical maps, aerial photographs, and satellite imagery; the temporal and spatial trends of those losses were compared with historical subsidence rates and hydrocarbon production trends.

  5. Implications of sea level rise scenarios on land use /land cover classes of the coastal zones of Cochin, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mani Murali, R; Dinesh Kumar, P K

    2015-01-15

    Physical responses of the coastal zones in the vicinity of Cochin, India due to sea level rise are investigated based on analysis of inundation scenarios. Quantification of potential habitat loss was made by merging the Land use/Land cover (LU/LC) prepared from the satellite imagery with the digital elevation model. Scenarios were generated for two different rates of sea level rise and responses of changes occurred were made to ascertain the vulnerability and loss in extent. LU/LC classes overlaid on 1 m and 2 m elevation showed that it was mostly covered by vegetation areas followed by water and urban zones. For the sea level rise scenarios of 1 m and 2 m, the total inundation zones were estimated to be 169.11 km(2) and 598.83 km(2) respectively using Geographic Information System (GIS). The losses of urban areas were estimated at 43 km(2) and 187 km(2) for the 1 m and 2 m sea level rise respectively which is alarming information for the most densely populated state of India. Quantitative comparison of other LU/LC classes showed significant changes under each of the inundation scenarios. The results obtained conclusively point that sea level rise scenarios will bring profound effects on the land use and land cover classes as well as on coastal landforms in the study region. Coastal inundation would leave ocean front and inland properties vulnerable. Increase in these water levels would alter the coastal drainage gradients. Reduction in these gradients would increase flooding attributable to rainstorms which could promote salt water intrusion into coastal aquifers and force water tables to rise. Changes in the coastal landforms associated with inundation generate concern in the background that the coastal region may continue to remain vulnerable in the coming decades due to population growth and development pressures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Land Loss in Mississippi River Delta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, S.; Edmonds, D. A.; Robeson, S. M.; Ortiz, A. C.; Nienhuis, J.

    2017-12-01

    Land loss across the Louisiana coast is predicted to exceed 10,000 km2 by 2100. An estimated 18-24 billion tons of sediment is needed to offset land loss, but available sediment supply from the Mississippi River falls short. As a result, coastal restoration plans must target certain areas, which highlight the importance of understanding the processes and patterns of land loss. In this study, we use remote sensing to investigate and quantify land loss patterns, as well as the corresponding morphology of the land segments that are lost. Using Google Earth Engine, we combined over 10,000 time-series Landsat imagery in the Mississippi River Delta to create twelve, three-year composites from 1983 to 2016. We then spectrally unmixed each pixel into land and water percentages, and create land-water binaries. Stratifying by hydrologic unit code boundaries and local subsidence rates, we analyze the land loss pixels using landscape metrics. Our results show that the total loss from 1983-2016 for our area of interest was 908.02 km2 (loss of 5.84%) and total land area was 6855.63 km2 (49.97 % of total area) in 2016 compared to 7763.65 km2 (44.13%) in 1983 consistent with previous estimates for our study area. Land loss pixels have a low patch density (mean of 4.80 patches/ha) and high aggregation indices (mean of 47.15), which indicates that land-loss pixels tend to clump together. The shape index of these clumped pixels are also low (mean of 2.32), which points towards long, narrow patches and edges. Local indicator of spatial autocorrelation (LISA) areas was applied to determine areas of high positive autocorrelation within the loss pixels which reinforced loss across edges. Based on spatial metrics and subsidence grid based analysis on the temporal pattern of land loss pixels we find that i) land change (both growth and loss pixels) occurs along the marsh, lake and coastal edges rather than inland; ii) subsidence, though positively correlated with landloss, is no longer the

  7. Land area change in coastal Louisiana (1932 to 2016)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couvillion, Brady R.; Beck, Holly; Schoolmaster, Donald; Fischer, Michelle

    2017-07-12

    Coastal Louisiana wetlands are one of the most critically threatened environments in the United States. These wetlands are in peril because Louisiana currently experiences greater coastal wetland loss than all other States in the contiguous United States combined. The analyses of landscape change presented here have utilized historical surveys, aerial, and satellite data to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. Analyses show that coastal Louisiana has experienced a net change in land area of approximately -4,833 square kilometers (modeled estimate: -5,197 +/- 443 square kilometers) from 1932 to 2016. This net change in land area amounts to a decrease of approximately 25 percent of the 1932 land area. Previous studies have presented linear rates of change over multidecadal time periods which unintentionally suggest that wetland change occurs at a constant rate, although in many cases, wetland change rates vary with time. A penalized regression spline technique was used to determine the model that best fit the data, rather than fitting the data with linear trends. Trend analyses from model fits indicate that coastwide rates of wetland change have varied from -83.5 +/- 11.8 square kilometers per year to -28.01 +/- 16.37 square kilometers per year. To put these numbers into perspective, this equates to long-term average loss rates of approximately an American football field’s worth of coastal wetlands within 34 minutes when losses are rapid to within 100 minutes at more recent, slower rates. Of note is the slowing of the rate of wetland change since its peak in the mid- 1970s. Not only have rates of wetland loss been decreasing since that time, a further rate reduction has been observed since 2010. Possible reasons for this reduction include recovery from lows affected by the hurricanes of 2005 and 2008, the lack of major storms in the past 8 years, a possible slowing of subsidence rates, the reduction in and relocation of oil and gas extraction and

  8. Estimating coastal wetland gain and losses in Galveston County and Cameron County, Texas, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Entwistle, Clare; Mora, Miguel A; Knight, Robert

    2018-01-01

    Coastal wetlands serve many important ecological services. One of these important ecological services is their use as storm buffers. Coastal wetlands provide habitat for migratory birds and aquatic species and can improve water quality. In the late 1990s, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a study outlining the trends of coastal wetlands from the 1950s to early 1990s. In the present study, wetland gains and losses were calculated for Galveston County and Cameron County, Texas, USA, between 2001 and 2011. Maps from the National Land Cover Database were used to determine wetland areas for the years 2001, 2006, and 2011. ArcGIS was used to compare land cover between the study periods to determine overall wetland losses and gains. A statistical analysis was performed between wetland loss and population data to determine whether increased population density led to a higher loss of wetlands. Our analysis indicates that wetland loss is still occurring, however at a lower rate of loss (0.14%-0.18% annually) than the USFWS study predicted earlier (2.7%). In addition, the majority of wetland losses were due to conversion to upland areas. We found a positive correlation between increased population density and decreased wetland area; however, the trend was not significant. The present study shows how the majority of wetland loss in Galveston and Cameron counties is occurring as a result of increased upland areas. In addition, the present study shows that the use of online mapping systems can be used as a low-cost alternative to assess land changes when field tests are not feasible. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:120-129. © 2017 SETAC. © 2017 SETAC.

  9. Vegetation cover, tidal amplitude and land area predict short-term marsh vulnerability in Coastal Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoolmaster, Donald; Stagg, Camille L.; Sharp, Leigh Anne; McGinnis, Tommy S.; Wood, Bernard; Piazza, Sarai

    2018-01-01

    The loss of coastal marshes is a topic of great concern, because these habitats provide tangible ecosystem services and are at risk from sea-level rise and human activities. In recent years, significant effort has gone into understanding and modeling the relationships between the biological and physical factors that contribute to marsh stability. Simulation-based process models suggest that marsh stability is the product of a complex feedback between sediment supply, flooding regime and vegetation response, resulting in elevation gains sufficient to match the combination of relative sea-level rise and losses from erosion. However, there have been few direct, empirical tests of these models, because long-term datasets that have captured sufficient numbers of marsh loss events in the context of a rigorous monitoring program are rare. We use a multi-year data set collected by the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) that includes transitions of monitored vegetation plots to open water to build and test a predictive model of near-term marsh vulnerability. We found that despite the conclusions of previous process models, elevation change had no ability to predict the transition of vegetated marsh to open water. However, we found that the processes that drive elevation change were significant predictors of transitions. Specifically, vegetation cover in prior year, land area in the surrounding 1 km2 (an estimate of marsh fragmentation), and the interaction of tidal amplitude and position in tidal frame were all significant factors predicting marsh loss. This suggests that 1) elevation change is likely better a predictor of marsh loss at time scales longer than we consider in this study and 2) the significant predictive factors affect marsh vulnerability through pathways other than elevation change, such as resistance to erosion. In addition, we found that, while sensitivity of marsh vulnerability to the predictive factors varied spatially across coastal Louisiana

  10. Coastal land loss and hypoxia: the 'outwelling' hypothesis revisited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Anindita; Justic, Dubravko; Swenson, Erick; Turner, R Eugene; Inoue, Masamichi; Park, Dongho

    2011-01-01

    It is generally believed that interannual variability in the areal extent of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxia is driven primarily by the magnitude of the Mississippi River freshwater and nutrient fluxes. It has recently been proposed that outwelling of carbon from deteriorating coastal wetlands into the surrounding Gulf of Mexico could be an important mechanism promoting the development of hypoxia. We used a coupled hydrology-hydrodynamics model of the Barataria estuary, a site of massive wetland loss, to calculate the fluxes of nitrogen, chlorophyll a and carbon at the estuary-ocean interface. The hydrology model calculates runoff from rainfall and evaporation data, and then feeds it into the high-resolution (100 m x 100 m grid, 1.3 million elements), two-dimensional depth-integrated hydrodynamic model. Model results show substantial outwelling of total organic carbon (TOC, 110 x 10 6 kg yr -1 ), dissolved organic carbon (DOC, 94.3 x 10 6 kg yr -1 ), particulate organic carbon (POC, 15.7 x 10 6 kg yr -1 ) and chlorophyll a (Chl a, 0.3 x 10 6 kg yr -1 ) from the estuary to the coastal waters and an import of nitrate (N-NO 3 , 6.9 x 10 6 kg yr -1 ) from the nutrient-rich coastal waters into the estuary. Estuarine fluxes of TOC, DOC, POC, Chl a and N-NO 3 , account for 2.8%, 2.7%, 3.4%, 7.5% and 1%, respectively, of the annual fluxes carried by the lower Mississippi River. The flux of total nitrogen was not statistically significant. Overall, this study supports the conclusion of the previous modeling study (Das et al 2010 Ecol. Modeling 221 978-85), suggesting that the Barataria estuary supplies a relatively small amount of the carbon consumed in the Gulf's hypoxic zone. Importantly, our results indicate that import of nitrate from the coastal waters and its assimilation within the estuary could account for 38% and 208%, respectively, of the calculated TOC and Chl a exports, demonstrating the pervasive control of the Mississippi River on the productivity of this shelf.

  11. On Assessment and Estimation of Potential Losses due to Land Subsidence in Urban Areas of Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abidin, Hasanuddin Z.; Andreas, Heri; Gumilar, Irwan; Sidiq, Teguh P.

    2016-04-01

    Land subsidence is natural-anthropogenic hazard affecting several large urban areas in Indonesia, i.e. Jakarta, Bandung and Semarang. Geodetic based results from various techniques (e.g. Leveling, GPS and InSAR) show that land subsidence rates in all three cities generally have spatial and temporal variations, and their magnitude is in average about 5-10 cm/year. The impacts of subsidence in those cities can be seen in the field in various forms such as cracking of permanent constructions and roads, tilting of houses and buildings, 'sinking' of houses and buildings, changes in river canal and drain flow systems, wider expansion of coastal and/or inland flooding areas, and increased inland sea water intrusion. These impacts can be categorized into infrastructure, environmental, economic, and social impacts. The potential losses due to land subsidence in urban areas are actually quite significant. Related infrastructural, social and environmental costs due to direct and indirect impacts of land subsidence are economically quite significant, and can not be underestimated in sustainable urban development. The planning, development and maintenance costs of building and infrastructures in the affected areas are usually much higher than the normal situation. The collateral impact of coastal subsidence in Jakarta and Semarang, in the form of coastal flooding during high tides is also quite damaging. This repeated coastal flooding in several areas along the coast will deteriorate the structure and function of building and infrastructures, badly influences the quality of the living environment and life (e.g. health and sanitation condition), and also disrupts economic and social activities in the affected areas. As in the case of Bandung, inland subsidence also has a quite significant impact on inland flooding phenomena, since it will theoretically lead to expanded coverage and deeper water depth of flooded (inundated) areas. Since the direct and indirect impacts of

  12. Coastal zone: Shelf-EEZ and land sea interface

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Desai, B.N.; Parulekar, A

    Among the few vibrant ecotopes is the coastal zone, where multifaceted interactions among air, sea and land are dynamically balanced. An area of intense clash of interest of user community, the coastal zone harbouring vast potential of renewable...

  13. Sustainable Land-Use Planning to Improve the Coastal Resilience of the Social-Ecological Landscape

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Kim

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The dynamics of land-use transitions decrease the coastal resilience of the social-ecological landscape (SEL, particularly in light of the fact that it is necessary to analyze the causal relationship between the two systems because operations of the social system and the ecological system are correlated. The purpose of this study is to analyze the dynamics of the coastal SEL and create a sustainable land-use planning (SLUP strategy to enhance coastal resilience. The selected study site was Shindu-ri, South Korea, where land-use transitions are increasing and coastal resilience is therefore decreasing. Systems thinking was used to analyze the study, which was performed in four steps. First, the issues affecting the coastal area in Shindu-ri were defined as coastal landscape management, the agricultural structure, and the tourism industry structure. Second, the main variables for each issue were defined, and causal relationships between the main variables were created. Third, a holistic causal loop diagram was built based on both dynamic thinking and causal thinking. Fourth, five land-uses, including those of the coastal forest, the coastal grassland, the coastal dune, the agricultural area, and developed sites, were selected as leverage points for developing SLUP strategies to increase coastal resilience. The results show that “decrease in the size of the coastal forest”, “decrease in the size of the coastal dune”, and “increase in the size of the coastal grasslands” were considered parts of a land-use plan to enhance the resilience of the Shindu-ri SEL. This study developed integrated coastal land-use planning strategies that may provide effective solutions for complex and dynamic issues in the coastal SEL. Additionally, the results may be utilized as basic data to build and implement coastal land-use planning strategies.

  14. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2001 Regional Land Cover Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  15. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2016 Regional Land Cover Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  16. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2006 Regional Land Cover Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  17. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1985 Regional Land Cover Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  18. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1996 Regional Land Cover Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  19. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1992 Regional Land Cover Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  20. A Review of Land-Cover Mapping Activities in Coastal Alabama and Mississippi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Kathryn E.L.; Nayegandhi, Amar; Brock, John C.

    2010-01-01

    INTRODUCTION Land-use and land-cover (LULC) data provide important information for environmental management. Data pertaining to land-cover and land-management activities are a common requirement for spatial analyses, such as watershed modeling, climate change, and hazard assessment. In coastal areas, land development, storms, and shoreline modification amplify the need for frequent and detailed land-cover datasets. The northern Gulf of Mexico coastal area is no exception. The impact of severe storms, increases in urban area, dramatic changes in land cover, and loss of coastal-wetland habitat all indicate a vital need for reliable and comparable land-cover data. Four main attributes define a land-cover dataset: the date/time of data collection, the spatial resolution, the type of classification, and the source data. The source data are the foundation dataset used to generate LULC classification and are typically remotely sensed data, such as aerial photography or satellite imagery. These source data have a large influence on the final LULC data product, so much so that one can classify LULC datasets into two general groups: LULC data derived from aerial photography and LULC data derived from satellite imagery. The final LULC data can be converted from one format to another (for instance, vector LULC data can be converted into raster data for analysis purposes, and vice versa), but each subsequent dataset maintains the imprint of the source medium within its spatial accuracy and data features. The source data will also influence the spatial and temporal resolution, as well as the type of classification. The intended application of the LULC data typically defines the type of source data and methodology, with satellite imagery being selected for large landscapes (state-wide, national data products) and repeatability (environmental monitoring and change analysis). The coarse spatial scale and lack of refined land-use categories are typical drawbacks to satellite

  1. Aquifers in coastal reclaimed lands - real world assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, A.; Bironne, A.; Vonhögen-Peeters, L.; Lee, W. K.; Babovic, V. M.; Vermeulen, P.; van Baaren, E.; Karaoulis, M.; Blanchais, F.; Nguyen, M.; Pauw, P.; Doornenbal, P.

    2017-12-01

    Climate change and population growth are significant concerns in coastal regions around the world, where more than 30% of the world's population reside. The numbers continue to rise as coastal areas are increasingly urbanized. Urbanization creates land shortages along the coasts, which has spurred coastal reclamation activities as a viable solution. In this study, we focus on these reclamation areas; reclaimed areas in Singapore, and in the Netherlands, and investigate the potential of these reclaimed bodies as artificial aquifers that could attenuate water shortage problems in addition to their original purpose. We compare how the reclamation methods determine the hydrogeological characteristics of these manmade aquifers. We highlight similarities in freshwater lens development in the artificial shallow aquifers under natural recharge under diverse conditions, i.e. tropical and temperate zones, using numerical models. The characteristics and responses of these aquifers with dynamic freshwater-saltwater interface are contrasted against naturally occurring coastal aquifers where equilibrium was disturbed by anthropogenic activities. Finally, we assess the risks associated with subsidence and saltwater intrusion, combining measurements and numerical models, in case these aquifers are planned for Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) or Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) strategies. Relative performances of some ASR schemes are simulated and compared in the reclaimed lands.

  2. Assessment of the Temporal Evolution of Storm Surge via Land to Water Isopleths in Coastal Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siverd, C. G.; Hagen, S. C.; Bilskie, M. V.; Braud, D.; Gao, S.; Peele, H.; Twilley, R.

    2017-12-01

    The low-lying coastal Louisiana deltaic landscape features an intricate system of fragmented wetlands, natural ridges, man-made navigation canals and flood protection infrastructure. Since 1900 and prior to the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Louisiana lost approximately 480,000 ha (1,850 sq mi) of coastal wetlands and an additional 20,000 ha (77 sq mi) due to Katrina. This resulted in a total wetland storm protection value loss of USD 28.3 billion and USD 1.1 billion, respectively (Costanza 2008). To investigate the response of hurricane storm surge (e.g. peak water levels, inundation time and extent) through time due to land loss, hydrodynamic models that represent historical eras of the Louisiana coastal landscape were developed. Land:Water (L:W) isopleths (Gagliano 1970, 1971, Twilley 2016) have been calculated along the coast from the Sabine River to the Pearl River. These isopleths were utilized to create a simplified coastal landscape (bathymetry, topography, bottom roughness) representing circa 2010. Similar methodologies are employed with the objective of developing storm surge models that represent the coastal landscape for past eras. The goal is to temporally examine the evolution of storm surge along coastal Louisiana. The isopleths determined to best represent the Louisiana coast as a result of the methodology devised to develop the simple storm surge model for c.2010 are applied in the development of surge models for historical eras c.1930 and c.1970. The ADvaced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) code (Luettich 2004) is used to perform storm surge simulations with a predetermined suite of hurricane wind and pressure forcings. Hydrologic Unit Code 12 (HUC12) sub-watersheds provide geographical bounds to quantify mean maximum water surface elevations (WSEs), volume of inundation, and area of inundation. HUC12 sub-watersheds also provide a means to compare/contrast these quantified surge parameters on a HUC12-by-HUC12 basis for the c.1930, c.1970 and c.2010

  3. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1996 to 2010 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  4. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2006 to 2016 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  5. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2001 to 2016 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  6. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1985 to 2006 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  7. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1996 to 2001 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  8. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1992 to 2006 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  9. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2001 to 2006 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  10. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2006 to 2010 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  11. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1992 to 2001 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  12. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1975 to 2010 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  13. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1996 to 2016 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  14. Coastal Urbanization and Land Planning in Southern France

    OpenAIRE

    Robert , Samuel; Prévost , Aurélie; Fox , Dennis; Trémélo , Marie-Laure; Pasqualini , Vanina

    2015-01-01

    International audience; Urban sprawl is one of the main pressures affecting coastal areas in the Mediterranean. To assist spatial planning and coastal management policies, the study of urbanization and the characterization of the evolution of built-up areas along the coast are essential prerequisites. In this perspective, the production of land use data sets at a large-scale is necessary. They allow spatio-temporal analysis and, simultaneously, may be used to assess the efficiency of city pla...

  15. An Artist's Journey Through Endangered Lands; conveying hydrological changes and land loss informed and inspired by Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varisco, M. M.

    2017-12-01

    How do we live with nature? This simple question began a 10 year art-science journey into the dynamic and endangered wetlands of southeast Louisiana and its accelerated coastal decline. Since the 1930s, nearly 1,900 square miles of Louisiana's coast have been lost. How might artworks, informed by science, convey the seriousness and urgency of this loss to a wider public? Artist Michel Varisco engaged in dialogue with environmental scientist Doug Meffert and Dan Etheridge (of Meffert + Etheridge and The Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier) about the hydrological changes which have accelerated or mitigated Louisiana's land losses. She was also inspired by the unique underwater studies of biologist Suzanne Fredericq on pollutants in the Gulf from the BP oil spill and of marine ecologist Nancy Rabalais who assesses hypoxia dynamics and their impact on "dead zones." The art work that emerged includes Shifting and Fluid States, as well as current projects Below Sea Level and Turning: prayer wheels for the Mississippi River, an art commission awarded by the City of New Orleans on view during Prospect.4 Art Biennial and AGU. Shifting is a series of large-scale photos shot from the air and water that observe the dynamic movement of the Louisiana coastline over the course of a short but powerful geologic timeline and explores the consequences of human altercations to those lands and waters via land loss and sea level rise. Turning is based on the work of Kate Orff's maps from Petrochemical America and the 1944 maps of Harold Fisk. Fisk pioneered an understanding of alluvial and sedimentological processes of the Mississippi Valley, while Orff's maps describe the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans during three different eras: the wild un-leveed land building era; the plantation, slavery era; and the petrochemical era of present day land loss. Shifting has been exhibited around the world and Turning has already been seen by 50,000 people.

  16. Land crabs as key drivers in tropical coastal forest recruitment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindquist, E.S.; Krauss, K.W.; Green, P.T.; O'Dowd, D. J.; Sherman, P.M.; Smith, T. J.

    2009-01-01

    Plant populations are regulated by a diverse assortment of abiotic and biotic factors that influence seed dispersal and viability, and seedling establishment and growth at the microsite. Rarely does one animal guild exert as significant an influence on different plant assemblages as land crabs. We review three tropical coastal ecosystems-mangroves, island maritime forests, and mainland coastal terrestrial forests-where land crabs directly influence forest composition by limiting tree establishment and recruitment. Land crabs differentially prey on seeds, propagules and seedlings along nutrient, chemical and physical environmental gradients. In all of these ecosystems, but especially mangroves, abiotic gradients are well studied, strong and influence plant species distributions. However, we suggest that crab predation has primacy over many of these environmental factors by acting as the first limiting factor of tropical tree recruitment to drive the potential structural and compositional organisation of coastal forests. We show that the influence of crabs varies relative to tidal gradient, shoreline distance, canopy position, time, season, tree species and fruiting periodicity. Crabs also facilitate forest growth and development through such activities as excavation of burrows, creation of soil mounds, aeration of soils, removal of leaf litter into burrows and creation of carbon-rich soil microhabitats. For all three systems, land crabs influence the distribution, density and size-class structure of tree populations. Indeed, crabs are among the major drivers of tree recruitment in tropical coastal forest ecosystems, and their conservation should be included in management plans of these forests. ?? 2009 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

  17. Trends in Coastal Development and Land Cover Change: The Case ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Oceanographic Research Institute, PO Box 10712, Marine Parade, 4056 Durban, ... and continues to undergo rapid development due to a number of causes, ... coastal vulnerability, with the impact of .... land, agriculture and mining land, disturbed ..... attributable to the construction of Richards ... iSimangaliso wetland park.

  18. Physical assessment of coastal vulnerability under enhanced land subsidence in Semarang, Indonesia, using multi-sensor satellite data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husnayaen; Rimba, A. Besse; Osawa, Takahiro; Parwata, I. Nyoman Sudi; As-syakur, Abd. Rahman; Kasim, Faizal; Astarini, Ida Ayu

    2018-04-01

    Research has been conducted in Semarang, Indonesia, to assess coastal vulnerability under enhanced land subsidence using multi-sensor satellite data, including the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array type L-band SAR (PALSAR), Landsat TM, IKONOS, and TOPEX/Poseidon. A coastal vulnerability index (CVI) was constructed to estimate the level of vulnerability of a coastline approximately 48.68 km in length using seven physical variables, namely, land subsidence, relative sea level change, coastal geomorphology, coastal slope, shoreline change, mean tidal range, and significant wave height. A comparison was also performed between a CVI calculated using seven parameters and a CVI using six parameters, the latter of which excludes the land subsidence parameter, to determine the effects of land subsidence during the coastal vulnerability assessment. This study showed that the accuracy of coastal vulnerability was increased 40% by adding the land subsidence factor (i.e., CVI 6 parameters = 53%, CVI 7 parameters = 93%). Moreover, Kappa coefficient indicated very good agreement (0.90) for CVI 7 parameters and fair agreement (0.3) for CVI 6 parameters. The results indicate that the area of very high vulnerability increased by 7% when land subsidence was added. Hence, using the CVI calculation including land subsidence parameters, the very high vulnerability area is determined to be 20% of the total coastline or 9.7 km of the total 48.7 km of coastline. This study proved that land subsidence has significant influence on coastal vulnerability in Semarang.

  19. Settling characteristics of fine-grained sediments used in Louisiana coastal land building and restoration projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghose Hajra, M.

    2016-02-01

    Coastal property development, sea level rise, geologic subsidence, loss of barrier islands, increasing number and intensity of coastal storms and other factors have resulted in water quality degradation, wetlands loss, reduced storm and surge protection, ground settlement, and other challenges in coastal areas throughout the world. One of the goals towards reestablishing a healthy coastal ecosystem is to rebuild wetlands with river diversion or sediment conveyance projects that optimally manage and allocate sediments, minimally impact native flora and fauna, and positively affect the water quality. Engineering properties and material characteristics of the dredged material and foundation soils are input parameters in several mathematical models used to predict the long term behavior of the dredged material and foundation soil. Therefore, proper characterization of the dredged material and foundation soils is of utmost importance in the correct design of a coastal restoration and land reclamation project. The sedimentation and consolidation characteristics of the dredged material as well as their effects on the time rate of settlement of the suspended solid particles and underlying foundation soil depend, among other factors, on the (a) grain size distribution of the dredged material, (b) salinity (fresh, brackish, or saltwater environment) of the composite slurry, and (c) concentration of the solid particles in the slurry. This paper will present the results from column settling tests and self-weight consolidation tests performed on dredged samples obtained from actual restoration projects in Louisiana. The effects of salinity, grain size distribution, and initial particle concentration on the sedimentation and consolidation parameters of the dredged material will also be discussed.

  20. Assessment of coastal erosion and quantification of land loss on Western Pacific atolls during the last 50 years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taborosi, Danko; Zega, Mojca; Jenson, John W.

    2010-05-01

    The majority of islands in the tropical western Pacific are coral atolls. Most are inhabited by indigenous Micronesian populations. Local people have over the millennia developed coping strategies and response mechanisms to difficult natural conditions, including typhoons, erosion, giant swells, and flooding, as well as ensuing famines and epidemics. However, since 1990s residents of atolls in the region have been appealing for help. They indicate that their islands are being rapidly eroded along coastlines, land areas are becoming smaller, and taro patches and other vegetation are being damaged. Such concerns were corroborated by one sweeping assessment by South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission in 1998, as well as various isolated field observations since. Evidence of recent coastal erosion is found locally on many islands, both on windward and leeward sides and ocean and lagoon facing shores. Examples include retreating modern beaches, exhumed beachrock, scouring and undercutting of vegetation, overhanging scarps, etc. In addition, a considerable number of uninhabited islets have been completely obliterated by storms in the recent past; unusually high tides and swells have swept over large populated islands, destroying homes and harming agriculture; and at least one atoll has been abandoned due to irrecoverable typhoon damage. Those problems have received much worldwide media coverage, in which they are generally presented as "sinking" of islands due to global climate change and accompanying sea level rise. In reality, modern atolls are now known to be artifacts of the Pacific mid-Holocene High-Stand, and no first-hand data are available from Pacific islands to discern what proportion of observed erosional phenomena are 1) due to local natural and anthropogenic coastal processes as opposed to global and regional changes, and 2) caused by continuous natural dynamics as opposed to episodic extreme events. It is clear that some islands are faring better than

  1. 33 CFR 148.730 - What are the land use and coastal zone management criteria?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Criteria for Deepwater Ports § 148.730 What are the land use and coastal zone management criteria? In... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are the land use and coastal zone management criteria? 148.730 Section 148.730 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD...

  2. A GIS Inventory of Critical Coastal Infrastructure Land Use in Caribbean Island Small Island Developing States: Classification and Criteria Methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'aversa, N.; Becker, A.; Bove, G.

    2017-12-01

    Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face significant natural hazard risks, as demonstrated by recent Hurricanes Jose, Irma, and Maria. Scientists project storms to become more intense and sea level rise to increase over the next century. As a result, the Inter-American Development Bank projections suggest that Caribbean nations could face climate-related losses in excess of $22 billion annually by 2050. Critical infrastructure that supports island economies, such as airports, seaports, cruise ports, and energy facilities, are typically located in the coastal zone with high exposure to natural hazards. Despite the increasing danger from climate driven natural hazards in coastal zones in the region, there is very little data available to identify how much land and associated infrastructure is at risk. This work focuses on the criteria and data standards developed for this new region-wide GIS database, which will then be used to formulate a risk assessment. Results will be integrated into a single, comprehensive source for data of lands identified as critical coastal infrastructure and used to address such questions as: How much of the Caribbean SIDS infrastructure lands are at risk from sea level rise? How might demand for such lands change in the future, based on historical trends? Answers to these questions will help decision makers understand how to prioritize resilience investment decisions in the coming decades.

  3. Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) High Resolution Land Cover and Change Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized high resolution land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S....

  4. Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) Regional Land Cover Data and Change Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  5. Influence the condition land subsidence and groundwater impact of Jakarta coastal area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, S.; Sumotarto, U.; Pramudito, H.

    2018-01-01

    Jakarta has been experiencing land subsidence for ten years due toerecting weight building and intensive extraction of groundwater for society drink water through ground water wells. Many groundwater extraction for drinkingwater has caused intensive scouring of land rock and further triggering land subsidence developed widely in coastal area of Jakarta. Measurement of the land subsidence has been performed by various experts and institutes. Between 1974 to 2010 subsidence has happened between 3 to 4.1 meters especially in Jakarta coastal area. Two major causes of the subsidence are identified. The first major cause is a result of erecting weight building such as hotels, appartments, and various human activities buildings. The second major cause is extracting ground water from aquifers bellow Jakarta land due to water deep wells down to the aquifer and traditional shallow water well of shallow or subsurface uncovered ground water. Weighter building and higher debit of water flow from deep water wells has fastened and deepened the land subsidence. Continuous measurement of land subsidence by means of geodetic as well as geophysical earth behaviour measurements need to be performed to monitor the rate, location as well as mapping of the land subsidence.

  6. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1985 to 2010 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Coastal United States (NODC Accession 0121254)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  7. Decadal changes in the land use/land cover and shoreline along the coastal districts of southern Gujarat, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misra, A; Balaji, R

    2015-07-01

    The coastal zone along the districts of Surat, Navsari, and Valsad in southern Gujarat, India, is reported to be facing serious environmental challenges in the form of shoreline erosion, wetland loss, and man-made encroachments. This study assesses the decadal land use/ land cover (LULC) changes in these three districts for the years 1990, 2001, and 2014 using satellite datasets of Landsat TM, ETM, and OLI. The LULC changes are identified by using band ratios as a pre-classification step, followed by implementation of hybrid classification (a combination of supervised and unsupervised classification). An accuracy assessment is carried out for each dataset, and the overall accuracy ranges from 90 to 95%. It is observed that the spatial extents of aquaculture, urban built-up, and barren classes have appreciated over time, whereas the coverage of mudflats has depreciated due to rapid urbanization. The changes in the shoreline of these districts have also been analyzed for the same years, and significant changes are found in the form of shoreline erosion. The LULC maps prepared as well as the shoreline change analysis done for this study area will enable the local decision makers to adopt better land-use planning and shoreline protection measures, which will further aid in sustainable future developments in this region.

  8. Multi-temporal Land Use Mapping of Coastal Wetlands Area using Machine Learning in Google Earth Engine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farda, N. M.

    2017-12-01

    Coastal wetlands provide ecosystem services essential to people and the environment. Changes in coastal wetlands, especially on land use, are important to monitor by utilizing multi-temporal imagery. The Google Earth Engine (GEE) provides many machine learning algorithms (10 algorithms) that are very useful for extracting land use from imagery. The research objective is to explore machine learning in Google Earth Engine and its accuracy for multi-temporal land use mapping of coastal wetland area. Landsat 3 MSS (1978), Landsat 5 TM (1991), Landsat 7 ETM+ (2001), and Landsat 8 OLI (2014) images located in Segara Anakan lagoon are selected to represent multi temporal images. The input for machine learning are visible and near infrared bands, PCA band, invers PCA bands, bare soil index, vegetation index, wetness index, elevation from ASTER GDEM, and GLCM (Harralick) texture, and also polygon samples in 140 locations. There are 10 machine learning algorithms applied to extract coastal wetlands land use from Landsat imagery. The algorithms are Fast Naive Bayes, CART (Classification and Regression Tree), Random Forests, GMO Max Entropy, Perceptron (Multi Class Perceptron), Winnow, Voting SVM, Margin SVM, Pegasos (Primal Estimated sub-GrAdient SOlver for Svm), IKPamir (Intersection Kernel Passive Aggressive Method for Information Retrieval, SVM). Machine learning in Google Earth Engine are very helpful in multi-temporal land use mapping, the highest accuracy for land use mapping of coastal wetland is CART with 96.98 % Overall Accuracy using K-Fold Cross Validation (K = 10). GEE is particularly useful for multi-temporal land use mapping with ready used image and classification algorithms, and also very challenging for other applications.

  9. Assessment of the intrinsic vulnerability of agricultural land to water and nitrogen losses: case studies in Italy and Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aschonitis, V. G.; Mastrocicco, M.; Colombani, N.; Salemi, E.; Castaldelli, G.

    2014-09-01

    LOS indices (abbr. of Losses) can be used for the assessment of the intrinsic vulnerability of agricultural land to water and nitrogen losses through percolation and runoff. The indices were applied on the lowland region of Ferrara Province (FP) in Italy and the upland region of Sarigkiol Basin (SB) in Greece. The most vulnerable zones in FP were the coastal areas consisting of high permeability sandy dunes and the areas close to riverbanks and palaeochannels, and in SB were the areas characterized by high slopes and high permeability soils at high altitude and areas belonging to the upper part of the alluvial plain close to the boundaries between agricultural land and mountainous regions. The application of LOS indices highlighted the specific features of both lowland and upland regions that contribute to water and nitrogen losses and showed their ability for use as tools in designing environmental management plans.

  10. Application of remote sensing data to land use and land cover assessment in the Tubarao River coastal plain, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-01-01

    By means of aerial photography and MSS-LANDSAT data a land use/land cover classification was applied to the Tubarao River coastal plain. The following classes were identified: coal related areas, permanently flooded wetlands, periodically flooded wetlands, agricultural lands, bare soils, water bodies, urban areas, forestlands.

  11. Use of synthetic aperture radar for recognition of Coastal Geomorphological Features, land-use assessment and shoreline changes in Bragança coast, Pará, Northern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Souza-Filho Pedro W. M.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR images are being used more extensively than ever before for geoscience applications in the moist tropics. In this investigation, a RADARSAT1-1 C-HH SAR image acquired in 1998 was used for coastal mapping and land-cover assessment in the Bragança area, in the northern Brazil. The airborne GEMS 1000 X-HH radar image acquired in 1972 during the RADAM Project was also used for evaluating coastal changes occurring over the last three decades. The research has confirmed the usefulness of RADARSAT-1 image for geomorphological mapping and land-cover assessment, particularly in macrotidal mangrove coasts. It was possible to map mangroves, salt marshes, chenier sand ridges, dunes, barrier-beach ridges, shallow water morphologies and different forms of land-use. Furthermore, a new method to estimate shoreline changes based on the superimposition of vectors extracted from both sources of SAR data has indicated that the shoreline has been subjected to severe coastal erosion responsible for retreat of 32 km² and accretion of 20 km², resulting in a mangrove land loss of almost 12 km². In an application perspective, orbital and airborne SAR data proved to be a fundamental source of information for both geomorphological mapping and monitoring coastal changes in moist tropical environments.

  12. Land Use, Livelihoods, Vulnerabilities, and Resilience in Coastal Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilligan, J. M.; Ackerly, B.; Goodbred, S. L., Jr.; Wilson, C.

    2014-12-01

    The densely populated, low-lying coast of Bangladesh is famously associated with vulnerability to sea-level rise, storms, and flooding. Simultaneously, land-use change has significantly altered local sediment transport, causing elevation loss and degradation of drainage. The rapid growth of shrimp aquaculture has also affected soil chemistry in former agricultural areas and the stock of riverine fisheries through intense larval harvesting. To understand the net impact of these environmental changes on the region's communities, it is necessary to examine interactions across scale - from externally driven large scale environmental change to smaller scale, but often more intense, local change - and also between the physical environment and social, political, and economic conditions. We report on a study of interactions between changing communities and changing environment in coastal Bangladesh, exploring the role of societal and physical factors in shaping the different outcomes and their effects on people's lives. Land reclamation projects in the 1960s surrounded intertidal islands with embankments. This allowed rice farming to expand, but also produced significant elevation loss, which rendered many islands vulnerable to waterlogging and flooding from storm surges. The advent of large-scale shrimp aquaculture added environmental, economic, social, and political stresses, but also brought much export revenue to a developing nation. Locally, attempts to remedy environmental stresses have produced mixed results, with similar measures succeeding in some communities and failing in others. In this context, we find that people are continually adapting to changing opportunities and constraints for food, housing, and income. Niches that support different livelihood activities emerge and dwindle, and their occupants' desires affect the political context. Understanding and successfully responding to the impacts of environmental change requires understanding not only the

  13. Monitoring land use/land cover changes using CORINE land cover data: a case study of Silivri coastal zone in Metropolitan Istanbul.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, Rüya

    2010-06-01

    The objective of the present study was to assess changes in land use/land cover patterns in the coastal town of Silivri, a part of greater Istanbul administratively. In the assessment, remotely sensed data, in the form of satellite images, and geographic information systems were used. Types of land use/land cover were designated as the percentage of the total area studied. Results calculated from the satellite data for land cover classification were compared successfully with the database Coordination of Information on the Environment (CORINE). This served as a reference to appraise the reliability of the study presented here. The CORINE Program was established by the European Commission to create a harmonized Geographical Information System on the state of the environment in the European Community. Unplanned urbanization is causing land use changes mainly in developing countries such as Turkey. This situation in Turkey is frequently observed in the city of Istanbul. There are only a few studies of land use-land cover changes which provide an integrated assessment of the biophysical and societal causes and consequences of environmental degradation in Istanbul. The research area comprised greater Silivri Town which is situated by the coast of Marmara Sea, and it is located approximately 60 km west of Istanbul. The city of Istanbul is one of the largest metropolises in Europe with ca. 15 million inhabitants. Additionally, greater Silivri is located near the terminal point of the state highway connecting Istanbul with Europe. Measuring of changes occurring in land use would help control future planning of settlements; hence, it is of importance for the Greater Silivri and Silivri Town. Following our evaluations, coastal zone of Silivri was classified into the land use groups of artificial surfaces agricultural areas and forests and seminatural areas with 47.1%, 12.66%, and 22.62%, respectively.

  14. Comprehensive Sediment Management to Improve Wetland Sustainability in Coastal Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalil, S.; Freeman, A. M.; Raynie, R.

    2016-02-01

    Human intervention has impaired the Mississippi River's ability to deliver sediment to its deltaic wetlands, and as a consequence acute land loss in coastal Louisiana has resulted in an unprecedented ecocatastrophe. Since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost approximately 5,000 square kilometers of coastal land, and is continuing to lose land at the rate of approximately 43 square kilometers/year. This extreme rate of land loss threatens a range of key national assets and important communities. Coastal communities across the world as well as in Louisiana have realized the importance of sediment for the continuation of their very existence in these productive but vulnerable regions. Ecological restoration can only be undertaken on a stable coastline, for which sedimentological restoration is needed. A large-scale effort to restore coastal Louisiana is underway, guided by Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. This 50-year, $50-billion plan prescribes 109 protection and restoration projects to reduce land loss, maintain and restore coastal environments and sustain communities. Nowhere else has a restoration and protection program of this scale been developed or implemented, and critical to its success is the optimized usage of limited fluvial and offshore sediment resources, and a keen understanding of the complex interactions of various geological/geophysical processes in ecosystem restoration. A comprehensive sediment management plan has been developed to identify and delineate potential sediment sources for restoration, and to provide a framework for managing sediment resources wisely, cost effectively, and in a systematic manner. The Louisiana Sediment Management Plan provides regional strategies for improved comprehensive management of Louisiana's limited sediment resources. Adaptive management via a robust system-wide monitoring plays an important role along with a regional approach for the efficient management of sediment resources.

  15. Temporal dynamics of land use/land cover change and its prediction using CA-ANN model for southwestern coastal Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, M Tauhid Ur; Tabassum, Faheemah; Rasheduzzaman, Md; Saba, Humayra; Sarkar, Lina; Ferdous, Jannatul; Uddin, Syed Zia; Zahedul Islam, A Z M

    2017-10-17

    Change analysis of land use and land cover (LULC) is a technique to study the environmental degradation and to control the unplanned development. Analysis of the past changing trend of LULC along with modeling future LULC provides a combined opportunity to evaluate and guide the present and future land use policy. The southwest coastal region of Bangladesh, especially Assasuni Upazila of Satkhira District, is the most vulnerable to natural disasters and has faced notable changes in its LULC due to the combined effects of natural and anthropogenic causes. The objectives of this study are to illustrate the temporal dynamics of LULC change in Assasuni Upazila over the last 27 years (i.e., between 1989 and 2015) and also to predict future land use change using CA-ANN (cellular automata and artificial neural network) model for the year 2028. Temporal dynamics of LULC change was analyzed, employing supervised classification of multi-temporal Landsat images. Then, prediction of future LULC was carried out by CA-ANN model using MOLUSCE plugin of QGIS. The analysis of LULC change revealed that the LULC of Assasuni had changed notably during 1989 to 2015. "Bare lands" decreased by 21% being occupied by other land uses, especially by "shrimp farms." Shrimp farm area increased by 25.9% during this period, indicating a major occupational transformation from agriculture to shrimp aquaculture in the study area during the period under study. Reduction in "settlement" area revealed the trend of migration from the Upazila. The predicted LULC for the year 2028 showed that reduction in bare land area would continue and 1595.97 ha bare land would transform into shrimp farm during 2015 to 2028. Also, the impacts of the changing LULC on the livelihood of local people and migration status of the Upazila were analyzed from the data collected through focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys. The analysis revealed that the changing LULC and the occupational shift from paddy

  16. Use of Land Use Land Cover Change Mapping Products in Aiding Coastal Habitat Conservation and Restoration Efforts of the Mobile Bay NEP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spruce, Joseph P.; Swann, Roberta; Smooth, James

    2010-01-01

    The Mobile Bay region has undergone significant land use land cover change (LULC) over the last 35 years, much of which is associated with urbanization. These changes have impacted the region s water quality and wildlife habitat availability. In addition, much of the region is low-lying and close to the Gulf, which makes the region vulnerable to hurricanes, climate change (e.g., sea level rise), and sometimes man-made disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. Land use land cover change information is needed to help coastal zone managers and planners to understand and mitigate the impacts of environmental change on the region. This presentation discusses selective results of a current NASA-funded project in which Landsat data over a 34-year period (1974-2008) is used to produce, validate, refine, and apply land use land cover change products to aid coastal habitat conservation and restoration needs of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MB NEP). The project employed a user defined classification scheme to compute LULC change mapping products for the entire region, which includes the majority of Mobile and Baldwin counties. Additional LULC change products have been computed for select coastal HUC-12 sub-watersheds adjacent to either Mobile Bay or the Gulf of Mexico, as part of the MB NEP watershed profile assessments. This presentation will include results of additional analyses of LULC change for sub-watersheds that are currently high priority areas, as defined by MB NEP. Such priority sub-watersheds include those that are vulnerable to impacts from the DWH oil spill, as well as sub-watersheds undergoing urbanization. Results demonstrating the nature and permanence of LULC change trends for these higher priority sub-watersheds and results characterizing change for the entire 34-year period and at approximate 10-year intervals across this period will also be presented. Future work will include development of value-added coastal habitat quality

  17. Influence of land-based Kaliningrad (Primorsky) amber mining on coastal zone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krek, Alexander; Ulyanova, Marina; Koschavets, Svetlana

    2018-06-01

    In this paper, we report on the pollution in the coastal zone of the South-Eastern Baltic Sea (Russian coast). It was studied through a range of methods, including analyses potential water quality indicators (WQIs) and potentially harmful elements (PHEs). A contamination factor and modified degree of contamination were used for describing the contamination of the sediments by toxic substances. Special attention was paid to activity of the Kaliningrad Amber Combine (KAC), the biggest world amber mining company, located onshore close to the coastal zone (Kaliningrad Region). The amber extraction contribution to the ecological state of the coastal zone was estimated. Contamination of the quarry by metals (Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn) was comparable with contamination of abrasion bench. The pollution of the western coastal zone of the Sambia Peninsula is caused both by land-based anthropogenic developments (including KAC) and natural processes (coastal abrasion). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Analyzing the Impacts of Land Use Land Change on Near Shore Coastal Habitat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehman, R. D.; Ta, E.; Boyle, C.; Alwood, B.

    2017-12-01

    The natural beauty of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) has continued to attract visitors and residents, which overtime has increased human development and impact. The resulting land use change increases sediment loads and the flow of pollutants into surrounding nearshore environments such as coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds. Compounded with regional climate-related processes such as rising ocean temperatures and acidification, future land-use change poses a formidable threat to coral reefs and other susceptible marine environments. Without a healthy environment, the USVI economy also becomes endangered because it is mainly supported by tourism and recreation. Using Google Earth Engine, we created a tool to composite yearly Landsat 5 TM, Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS and Sentinel-2 MSI images identify changes from 1985 to present day. Using these land cover change maps we then analyzed trends at a watershed scale using hydrological data. We found there is a spatial relationship between development intensity and the health of coral reefs. Our work supports the existing knowledge of the link between land use and coastal ecosystem health.

  19. Trends in Coastal Development and Land Cover Change: The Case ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    KwaZulu-Natal. Abstract—Current land cover and development in the coastal zone of KwaZulu- ... 75% by 2025 in some regions (Hinrichsen, 1995). .... Functional divisions and case study areas on the KZN coast. .... Extent of development and access via major road networks along the KZN North and South Coasts. 198.

  20. Vulnerability of Coastal Crop Land to Climate Change in the Northern Part of Bay of Bengal: Issues, Challenges and Future Prospects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamal, A. H. M.

    2015-12-01

    The coastal communities of northeastern part of Bay of Bengal are used to live and survive through facing different types of natural disasters since primitive time. Among the natural disasters, salinity intrusion due to climate change and sea level rise in the coastal agriculture land is the major unpleasant incident now days. Because of that wide area of the coastal agricultural land, coastal forest, drinking water facilities and fresh water availability are in critical condition which may cause 40 million people of 147 coastal districts covering 47201 km area are placed in danger. The nation wide assessment on the detected of coastal soil and water salinity is not conducted since 9 years. The survey on the coastal soil salinity on 1973 and 2000 found that the saline effected land is increased from 0.83 million ha to 1.20 million ha within 27 years. It is assumed that at present the rate of salinity intrusion in the coastal agriculture land will be higher than those of 1973 and 2000. The soil salinity was recorded 18-20 psu after AILA in the south-eastern coast of Bangladesh and increased further 2-4 psu due to low precipitation which causes crop burning. This paper aims to know the salinity intrusion in the coastal soil and water of Bangladesh, which would help to plan and improvement of the sustainable agriculture production. Study revealed that to face any extra stresses on the coastal agriculture land due to climate change requires extensive inventory, awareness activities, mitigation measures, adaptation techniques and extension of indigenous technology.

  1. National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Robert A.; Miller, Tara L.; Moore, Laura J.

    2004-01-01

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Beach erosion is a chronic problem along most open-ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is consistent from one coastal region to another. To meet these national needs, the U.S. Geological Survey is conducting an analysis of historical shoreline changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Hawaii and Alaska. One purpose of this work is to develop standard repeatable methods for mapping and analyzing shoreline movement so that periodic updates regarding coastal erosion and land loss can be made nationally that are systematic and internally consistent. This report on states bordering the Gulf of Mexico (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) represents the first in a series that will eventually include the Atlantic Coast, Pacific Coast, and parts of Hawaii and Alaska. The report summarizes the methods of analysis, interprets the results, provides explanations regarding the historical and present trends and rates of change, and describes how different coastal communities are responding to coastal erosion. Shoreline change evaluations are based on comparing three historical shorelines with a recent shoreline derived from lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) topographic surveys. The historical shorelines generally represent the following periods: 1800s, 1920s-1930s, and 1970s, whereas the lidar shoreline is 1998-2002. Long-term rates of change are calculated using all four shorelines (1800s to lidar shoreline), whereas short-term rates of change are calculated for the most recent period (1970s to lidar shoreline). The historical rates of change presented in this report represent past conditions and therefore are not

  2. Land suitability assessment in the catchment area of four Southwestern Atlantic coastal lagoons: multicriteria and optimization modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Gallego, Lorena; Achkar, Marcel; Conde, Daniel

    2012-07-01

    In the present study, a land suitability assessment was conducted in the basin of four Uruguayan coastal lagoons (Southwestern Atlantic) to analyze the productive development while minimizing eutrophication, biodiversity loss and conflicts among different land uses. Suitable land for agriculture, forest, livestock ranching, tourism and conservation sectors were initially established based on a multi-attribute model developed using a geographic information system. Experts were consulted to determine the requirements for each land use sector and the incompatibilities among land use types. The current and potential conflicts among incompatible land use sectors were analyzed by overlapping land suitability maps. We subsequently applied a multi-objective model where land (pixels) with similar suitability was clustered into "land suitability groups", using a two-phase cluster analysis and the Akaike Information Criterion. Finally, a linear programming optimization procedure was applied to allocate land use sectors into land suitable groups, maximizing total suitability and minimizing interference among sectors. Results indicated that current land use overlapped by 4.7 % with suitable land of other incompatible sectors. However, the suitable land of incompatible sectors overlapped in 20.3 % of the study area, indicating a high potential for the occurrence of future conflict. The highest competition was between agriculture and conservation, followed by forest and agriculture. We explored scenarios where livestock ranching and tourism intensified, and found that interference with conservation and agriculture notably increased. This methodology allowed us to analyze current and potential land use conflicts and to contribute to the strategic planning of the study area.

  3. Integrated management plan for North Sea and Skagerrak. Status description for land and coastal-based activities; Helhetlig forvaltningsplan for Nordsjoeen og Skagerrak. Statusbeskrivelse for land- og kystbasert aktivitet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bockelie, Ole Stian

    2010-07-01

    In connection with the management work for the North Sea and Skagerrak, it created a separate status review for land and coastal-based activities. The report, which has its focus on the pollution side, will form the basis for assessing the environmental consequences of land-based and coastal activities. The report provides an overview of the four sectors of agriculture, industry, buildings and aquaculture. For each activity described localization, development over time in relation to the emission figures, existing measures and regulations and rules. Waste from land is described in the report. In addition, the polluted sediments in coastal areas and fjords are described. (AG)

  4. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1992 to 2001 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Hawaii

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  5. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2001 to 2005 Regional Land Cover Change Data - Hawaii

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  6. Tropical land-sea couplings: Role of watershed deforestation, mangrove estuary processing, and marine inputs on N fluxes in coastal Pacific Panama.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valiela, Ivan; Elmstrom, Elizabeth; Lloret, Javier; Stone, Thomas; Camilli, Luis

    2018-07-15

    We review data from coastal Pacific Panama and other tropical coasts with two aims. First, we defined inputs and losses of nitrogen (N) mediating connectivity of watersheds, mangrove estuaries, and coastal sea. N entering watersheds-mainly via N fixation (79-86%)-was largely intercepted; N discharges to mangrove estuaries (3-6%), small compared to N inputs to watersheds, nonetheless significantly supplied N to mangrove estuaries. Inputs to mangrove estuaries (including watershed discharges, and marine inputs during flood tides) were matched by losses (mainly denitrification and export during ebb tides). Mangrove estuary subsidies of coastal marine food webs take place by export of forms of N [DON (62.5%), PN (9.1%), and litter N (12.9%)] that provide dissimilative and assimilative subsidies. N fixation, denitrification, and tidal exchanges were major processes, and DON was major form of N involved in connecting fluxes in and out of mangrove estuaries. Second, we assessed effects of watershed forest cover on connectivity. Decreased watershed forest cover lowered N inputs, interception, and discharge into receiving mangrove estuaries. These imprints of forest cover were erased during transit of N through estuaries, owing to internal N cycle transformations, and differences in relative area of watersheds and estuaries. Largest losses of N consisted of water transport of energy-rich compounds, particularly DON. N losses were similar in magnitude to N inputs from sea, calculated without considering contribution by intermittent coastal upwelling, and hence likely under-estimated. Pacific Panama mangrove estuaries are exposed to major inputs of N from land and sea, which emphasizes the high degree of bi-directional connectivity in these coupled ecosystems. Pacific Panama is still lightly affected by human or global changes. Increased deforestation can be expected, as well as changes in ENSO, which will surely raise watershed-derived loads of N, as well as significantly

  7. Quantitative remote sensing study indicates doubling of coastal erosion rate in past 50 yr along a segment of the Arctic coast of Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mars, J.C.; Houseknecht, D.W.

    2007-01-01

    A new quantitative coastal land gained-and-lost method uses image analysis of topographic maps and Landsat thematic mapper short-wave infrared data to document accelerated coastal land loss and thermokarst lake expansion and drainage. The data span 1955-2005 along the Beaufort Sea coast north of Teshekpuk Lake in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Some areas have undergone as much as 0.9 km of coastal erosion in the past 50 yr. Land loss attributed to coastal erosion more than doubled, from 0.48 km2 yr-1 during 1955-1985 to 1.08 km2 yr-1 during 1985-2005. Coastal erosion has breached thermokarst lakes, causing initial draining of the lakes followed by marine floodng. Although inland thermokarst lakes show some uniform expansion, lakes breached by coastal erosion display lake expansion several orders of magnitude greater than inland lakes. ?? 2007 The Geological Society of America.

  8. Spatial configuration trends in coastal Louisiana from 1985 to 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couvillion, Brady; Fischer, Michelle; Beck, Holly J.; Sleavin, William J.

    2016-01-01

    From 1932 to 2010, coastal Louisiana has experienced a net loss of 4877 km2 of wetlands. As the area of these wetlands has changed, so too has the spatial configuration of the landscape. The resulting landscape is a mosaic of patches of wetlands and open water. This study examined the spatial and temporal variability of trajectories of landscape configuration and the relation of those patterns to the trajectories of land change in wetlands during a 1985–2010 observation period. Spatial configuration was quantified using multi-temporal satellite imagery and an aggregation index (AI). The results of this analysis indicate that coastal Louisiana experienced a reduction in the AI of coastal wetlands of 1.07 %. In general, forested wetland and fresh marsh types displayed the highest aggregation and stability. The remaining marsh types, (intermediate, brackish, and saline) all experienced disaggregation during the time period, with increasing severity of disaggregation along an increasing salinity gradient. Finally, a correlation (r 2 = 0.5562) was found between AI and the land change rate for the subsequent period, indicating that fragmentation can increase the vulnerability of wetlands to further wetland loss. These results can help identify coastal areas which are susceptible to future wetland loss.

  9. Effects of Land Use Changes on the Ecosystem Service Values of Coastal Wetlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camacho-Valdez, Vera; Ruiz-Luna, Arturo; Ghermandi, Andrea; Berlanga-Robles, César A.; Nunes, Paulo A. L. D.

    2014-10-01

    Changes in the coastal landscape of Southern Sinaloa (Mexico), between 2000 and 2010, were analyzed to relate spatial variations in wetlands extent with the provision and economic value of the ecosystem services (ES). Remote sensing techniques applied to Landsat TM imagery were used to evaluate land use/land cover changes while the value transfer method was used to assess the value of ES by land cover category. Five wetland types and other four land covers were found as representative of the coastal landscape. Findings reveal a 14 % decrease in the saltmarsh/forested mangrove area and a 12 % increase in the area of shrimp pond aquaculture (artificial wetland) during the study period. ES valuation shows that the total value flow increased by 9 % from 215 to 233 million (2007 USD) during the 10-year period. This increase is explained as result of the high value worldwide assigned to saltmarsh. We recognize limitations in the transfer-based approach in quantifying and mapping ES values in the region, but this method provides with value estimates spatially defined, and also provides some guidance in the preliminary screening of policies and projected development in the context of data-scarce regions.

  10. National Assessment Of Shoreline Change: Part 2, Historical Shoreline Changes And Associated Coastal Land Loss Along The U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Robert A.; Miller, Tara L.

    2005-01-01

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Beach erosion is a chronic problem along most open-ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is consistent from one coastal region to another. To meet these national needs, the U.S. Geological Survey is conducting an analysis of historical shoreline changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Hawaii and Alaska. One purpose of this work is to develop standard repeatable methods for mapping and analyzing shoreline movement so that periodic updates regarding coastal erosion and land loss can be made nationally that are systematic and internally consistent. This report on states comprising the Southeast Atlantic Coast (east Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina) represents the second in a series that already includes the Gulf of Mexico and will eventually include the Northeast Atlantic Coast, Pacific Coast, and parts of Hawaii and Alaska. The report summarizes the methods of analysis, interprets the results, provides explanations regarding the historical and present trends and rates of change, and describes how different coastal communities are responding to coastal erosion. Shoreline change evaluations are based on comparing three historical shorelines with a recent shoreline derived from lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) topographic surveys. The historical shorelines generally represent the following periods: 1800s, 1920s-1930s, and 1970s, whereas the lidar shoreline is 1998-2002. Long-term rates of change are calculated using four shorelines (1800s to lidar shoreline), whereas short-term rates of change are calculated for the most recent period (1970s to lidar shoreline). The historical rates of change presented in

  11. Ecological Security and Ecosystem Services in Response to Land Use Change in the Coastal Area of Jiangsu, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caiyao Xu

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Urbanization, and the resulting land use/cover change, is a primary cause of the degradation of coastal wetland ecosystems. Reclamation projects are seen as a way to strike a balance between socioeconomic development and maintenance of coastal ecosystems. Our aim was to understand the ecological changes to Jiangsu’s coastal wetland resulting from land use change since 1977 by using remote sensing and spatial analyses. The results indicate that: (1 The area of artificial land use expanded while natural land use was reduced, which emphasized an increase in production-orientated land uses at the expense of ecologically important wetlands; (2 It took 34 years for landscape ecological security and 39 years for ecosystem services to regain equilibrium. The coastal reclamation area would recover ecological equilibrium only after a minimum of 30 years; (3 The total ecosystem service value decreased significantly from $2.98 billion per year to $2.31 billion per year from 1977 to 2014. Food production was the only one ecosystem service function that consistently increased, mainly because of government policy; (4 The relationship between landscape ecological security and ecosystem services is complicated, mainly because of the scale effect of landscape ecology. Spatial analysis of changing gravity centers showed that landscape ecological security and ecosystem service quality became better in the north than the south over the study period.

  12. Coastal Vulnerability and risk assessment of infrastructures, natural and cultural heritage sites in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexandrakis, George; Kampanis, Nikolaos

    2016-04-01

    The majority of human activities are concentrated around coastal areas, making coastline retreat, a significant threat to coastal infrastructure, thus increasing protection cost and investment revenue losses. In this study the management of coastal areas in terms of protecting coastal infrastructures, cultural and environmental heritage sites, through risk assessment analysis is been made. The scope is to provide data for spatial planning for future developments in the coastal zone and the protection of existing ones. Also to determine the impact of coastal changes related to the loss of natural resources, agricultural land and beaches. The analysis is based on a multidisciplinary approach, combining environmental, spatial and economic data. This can be implemented by integrating the assessment of vulnerability of coasts, the spatial distribution and structural elements of coastal infrastructure (transport, tourism, and energy) and financial data by region, in a spatial database. The approach is based on coastal vulnerability estimations, considering sea level rise, land loss, extreme events, safety, adaptability and resilience of infrastructure and natural sites. It is based on coupling of environmental indicators and econometric models to determine the socio-economic impact in coastal infrastructure, cultural and environmental heritage sites. The indicators include variables like the coastal geomorphology; coastal slope; relative sea-level rise rate; shoreline erosion/accretion rate; mean tidal range and mean wave height. The anthropogenic factors include variables like settlements, sites of cultural heritage, transport networks, land uses, significance of infrastructure (e.g. military, power plans) and economic activities. The analysis in performed by a GIS application. The forcing variables are determined with the use of sub-indices related to coastal geomorphology, climate and wave variables and the socioeconomics of the coastal zone. The Greek coastline in

  13. Coastal glaciers advanced onto Jameson Land, East Greenland during the late glacial–early Holocene Milne Land Stade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Alexanderson

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We report on 10Be and optically stimulated luminescence ages from moraines and glaciolacustrine sediments on eastern Jameson Land, East Greenland. Sampled landforms and sediment are associated with advances of outlet glaciers from the local Liverpool Land ice cap situated in the coastal Scoresby Sund region. Previous studies have tentatively correlated these advances with the Milne Land Stade moraines, which are prominent moraine sets deposited by mountain glaciers in the inner Scoresby Sund region. Recent constraints on the formation of the outer and inner of these moraines have suggested two advances of local glaciers, one prior to or during the Younger Dryas and another during the Preboreal. In this paper, we test the correlation of the Liverpool Land glacial advance with the Milne Land Stade. Our results show that outlet glaciers from the Liverpool Land ice cap reached ice-marginal positions marked by moraines in east-facing valleys on Jameson Land sometime during late glacial–early Holocene time (ca. 13–11 Kya. This confirms the correlation of these moraines with the Milne Land Stade moraines described elsewhere in the Scoresby Sund region.

  14. The value of carbon sequestration and storage in coastal habitats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaumont, N. J.; Jones, L.; Garbutt, A.; Hansom, J. D.; Toberman, M.

    2014-01-01

    Coastal margin habitats are globally significant in terms of their capacity to sequester and store carbon, but their continuing decline, due to environmental change and human land use decisions, is reducing their capacity to provide this ecosystem service. In this paper the UK is used as a case study area to develop methodologies to quantify and value the ecosystem service of blue carbon sequestration and storage in coastal margin habitats. Changes in UK coastal habitat area between 1900 and 2060 are documented, the long term stocks of carbon stored by these habitats are calculated, and the capacity of these habitats to sequester CO2 is detailed. Changes in value of the carbon sequestration service of coastal habitats are then projected for 2000-2060 under two scenarios, the maintenance of the current state of the habitat and the continuation of current trends of habitat loss. If coastal habitats are maintained at their current extent, their sequestration capacity over the period 2000-2060 is valued to be in the region of £1 billion UK sterling (3.5% discount rate). However, if current trends of habitat loss continue, the capacity of the coastal habitats both to sequester and store CO2 will be significantly reduced, with a reduction in value of around £0.25 billion UK sterling (2000-2060; 3.5% discount rate). If loss-trends due to sea level rise or land reclamation worsen, this loss in value will be greater. This case study provides valuable site specific information, but also highlights global issues regarding the quantification and valuation of carbon sequestration and storage. Whilst our ability to value ecosystem services is improving, considerable uncertainty remains. If such ecosystem valuations are to be incorporated with confidence into national and global policy and legislative frameworks, it is necessary to address this uncertainty. Recommendations to achieve this are outlined.

  15. Urban Expansion and Agricultural Land Loss in China: A Multiscale Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaifang Shi

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available China’s rapid urbanization has contributed to a massive agricultural land loss that could threaten its food security. Timely and accurate mapping of urban expansion and urbanization-related agricultural land loss can provide viable measures to be taken for urban planning and agricultural land protection. In this study, urban expansion in China from 2001 to 2013 was mapped using the nighttime stable light (NSL, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, and water body data. Urbanization-related agricultural land loss during this time period was then evaluated at national, regional, and metropolitan scales by integrating multiple sources of geographic data. The results revealed that China’s total urban area increased from 31,076 km2 in 2001 to 80,887 km2 in 2013, with an average annual growth rate of 13.36%. This widespread urban expansion consumed 33,080 km2 of agricultural land during this period. At a regional scale, the eastern region lost 18,542 km2 or 1.2% of its total agricultural land area. At a metropolitan scale, the Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou (SNH and Pearl River Delta (PRD areas underwent high levels of agricultural land loss with a decrease of 6.12% (4728 km2 and 6.05% (2702 km2 of their total agricultural land areas, respectively. Special attention should be paid to the PRD, with a decline of 13.30% (1843 km2 of its cropland. Effective policies and strategies should be implemented to mitigate urbanization-related agricultural land loss in the context of China’s rapid urbanization.

  16. Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, Version 2

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, Version 2 data set consists of country-level estimates of urban population,...

  17. The Arctic Coastal Erosion Problem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frederick, Jennifer M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Thomas, Matthew Anthony [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Bull, Diana L. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Jones, Craig A. [Integral Consulting Inc., San Francisco, CA (United States); Roberts, Jesse D. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2016-09-01

    Permafrost-dominated coastlines in the Arctic are rapidly disappearing. Arctic coastal erosion rates in the United States have doubled since the middle of the twentieth century and appear to be accelerating. Positive erosion trends have been observed for highly-variable geomorphic conditions across the entire Arctic, suggesting a major (human-timescale) shift in coastal landscape evolution. Unfortunately, irreversible coastal land loss in this region poses a threat to native, industrial, scientific, and military communities. The Arctic coastline is vast, spanning more than 100,000 km across eight nations, ten percent of which is overseen by the United States. Much of area is inaccessible by all-season roads. People and infrastructure, therefore, are commonly located near the coast. The impact of the Arctic coastal erosion problem is widespread. Homes are being lost. Residents are being dispersed and their villages relocated. Shoreline fuel storage and delivery systems are at greater risk. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) operate research facilities along some of the most rapidly eroding sections of coast in the world. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is struggling to fortify coastal radar sites, operated to ensure national sovereignty in the air, against the erosion problem. Rapid alterations to the Arctic coastline are facilitated by oceanographic and geomorphic perturbations associated with climate change. Sea ice extent is declining, sea level is rising, sea water temperature is increasing, and permafrost state is changing. The polar orientation of the Arctic exacerbates the magnitude and rate of the environmental forcings that facilitate coastal land area loss. The fundamental mechanics of these processes are understood; their non-linear combination poses an extreme hazard. Tools to accurately predict Arctic coastal erosion do not exist. To obtain an accurate predictive model, a coupling of the influences of

  18. Identification of Transportation Infrastructure at Risk Due To Sea-Level Rise and Subsidence of Land In Coastal Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tewari, S.; Palmer, W.; Manning, F.

    2017-12-01

    Climate change can affect coastal areas in a variety of ways. Coasts are sensitive to sea level rise, changes in the frequency/intensity of storms, increase in precipitation and storm surges. The resilience of transportation infrastructure located in Louisiana's coastal zone, against storm surges and climatic sea-level rise is critical. The net change in sea-level is affected by the increase in global sea level as well as land movement up or down. There are many places in coastal Louisiana that have a high subsidence rate. The subsidence could be related to excess extraction activities of oil and water, natural and/or human induced compaction, and tectonic movement. Where the land is sinking, the rate of relative sea level rise is larger than the global rate. Some of the fastest rates of relative sea level rise in the United States are occurring in areas where the land is sinking, including parts of the Gulf Coast. For example, coastal Louisiana has seen its relative sea level rise by eight inches or more in the last 50 years, which is about twice the global rate. Subsiding land in the Gulf area worsens the effects of relative sea level rise, increasing the risk of flooding in cities, inhabited islands, and tidal wetlands. The research team is investigating the trends for sea-level rise and land subsidence in coastal region of Louisiana. The variability in storm surges and its potential implication on the transportation infrastructure in the region is the focus of the study. The spatial maps will be created for spatial trends. This is extremely useful in being prepared for long-term natural hazards. The results of this study will be helpful to LADOTD and infrastructure managers and officials who are tasked with resiliency planning and management. Research results will also directly benefit university researchers in the state, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and LADOTD/LTRC through collaborative activity which will educate both professionals and the

  19. Effects of sea level rise, land subsidence, bathymetric change and typhoon tracks on storm flooding in the coastal areas of Shanghai.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jun; Yi, Si; Li, Mengya; Wang, Lei; Song, Chengcheng

    2018-04-15

    We compared the effects of three key environmental factors of coastal flooding: sea level rise (SLR), land subsidence (LS) and bathymetric change (BC) in the coastal areas of Shanghai. We use the hydrological simulation model MIKE 21 to simulate flood magnitudes under multiple scenarios created from combinations of the key environmental factors projected to year 2030 and 2050. Historical typhoons (TC9711, TC8114, TC0012, TC0205 and TC1109), which caused extremely high surges and considerable losses, were selected as reference tracks to generate potential typhoon events that would make landfalls in Shanghai (SHLD), in the north of Zhejiang (ZNLD) and moving northwards in the offshore area of Shanghai (MNS) under those scenarios. The model results provided assessment of impact of single and compound effects of the three factors (SLR, LS and BC) on coastal flooding in Shanghai for the next few decades. Model simulation showed that by the year 2030, the magnitude of storm flooding will increase due to the environmental changes defined by SLR, LS, and BC. Particularly, the compound scenario of the three factors will generate coastal floods that are 3.1, 2.7, and 1.9 times greater than the single factor change scenarios by, respectively, SLR, LS, and BC. Even more drastically, in 2050, the compound impact of the three factors would be 8.5, 7.5, and 23.4 times of the single factors. It indicates that the impact of environmental changes is not simple addition of the effects from individual factors, but rather multiple times greater of that when the projection time is longer. We also found for short-term scenarios, the bathymetry change is the most important factor for the changes in coastal flooding; and for long-term scenarios, sea level rise and land subsidence are the major factors that coastal flood prevention and management should address. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Soil losses in rural watersheds with environmental land use conflicts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pacheco, F A L; Varandas, S G P; Sanches Fernandes, L F; Valle Junior, R F

    2014-07-01

    Soil losses were calculated in a rural watershed where environmental land use conflicts developed in the course of a progressive invasion of forest and pasture/forest lands by agriculture, especially vineyards. The hydrographic basin is located in the Douro region where the famous Port wine is produced (northern Portugal) and the soil losses were estimated by the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) in combination with a Geographic Information System (GIS). Environmental land use conflicts were set up on the basis of land use and land capability maps, coded as follows: 1-agriculture, 2-pasture, 3-pasture/forest, and 4-forest. The difference between the codes of capability and use defines a conflict class, where a negative or nil value means no conflict and a positive i value means class i conflict. The reliability of soil loss estimates was tested by a check of these values against the frequency of stone wall instabilities in vineyard terraces, with good results. Using the USLE, the average soil loss (A) was estimated in A=12.2 t·ha(-1)·yr(-1) and potential erosion risk areas were found to occupy 28.3% of the basin, defined where soil losses are larger than soil loss tolerances. Soil losses in no conflict regions (11.2 t·ha(-1)·yr(-1)) were significantly different from those in class 2 (6.8 t·ha(-1)·yr(-1)) and class 3 regions (21.3 t·ha(-1)·yr(-1)) that in total occupy 2.62 km(2) (14.3% of the basin). When simulating a scenario of no conflict across the entire basin, whereby land use in class 2 conflict regions is set up to permanent pastures and in class 3 conflict regions to pine forests, it was concluded that A=0.95 t·ha(-1)·yr(-1) (class 2) or A=9.8 t·ha(-1)·yr(-1) (class 3), which correspond to drops of 86% and 54% in soil loss relative to the actual values. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. LAND SUITABILITY SCENARIOS FOR ARID COASTAL PLAINS USING GIS MODELING: SOUTHWESTERN SINAI COASTAL PLAIN, EGYPT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed Mohamed Wahid

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Site selection analysis was carried out to find the best suitable lands for development activities in an example of promising coastal plains, southwestern Sinai, Egypt. Two GIS models were developed to represent two scenarios of land use suitability in the study area using GIS Multi Criteria Analysis Modeling. The factors contributed in the analysis are the Topography, Land cover, Existing Land use, Flash flood index, Drainage lines and Water points. The first scenario was to classify the area according to various gradual ranges of suitability. According to this scenario, the area is classified into five classes of suitability. The percentage of suitability values are 51.16, 6.13, 22.32, 18.49 and 1.89% for unsuitable, least suitable, low suitable, suitable and high suitable, respectively. The second scenario is developed for a particular kind of land use planning; tourism and recreation projects. The suitability map of this scenario was classified into five values. Unsuitable areas represent 51.18% of the study area, least suitable 16.67%, low suitable 22.85%, suitable 8.61%, and high suitable 0.68%. The best area for locating development projects is the area surrounding El-Tor City and close to the coast. This area could be an urban extension of El-Tor City with more economical and environmental management.

  2. Evaluating Land Subsidence Rates and Their Implications for Land Loss in the Lower Mississippi River Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Zou

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available High subsidence rates, along with eustatic sea-level change, sediment accumulation and shoreline erosion have led to widespread land loss and the deterioration of ecosystem health around the Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB. A proper evaluation of the spatial pattern of subsidence rates in the LMRB is the key to understanding the mechanisms of the submergence, estimating its potential impacts on land loss and the long-term sustainability of the region. Based on the subsidence rate data derived from benchmark surveys from 1922 to 1995, this paper constructed a subsidence rate surface for the region through the empirical Bayesian kriging (EBK interpolation method. The results show that the subsidence rates in the region ranged from 1.7 to 29 mm/year, with an average rate of 9.4 mm/year. Subsidence rates increased from north to south as the outcome of both regional geophysical conditions and anthropogenic activities. Four areas of high subsidence rates were found, and they are located in Orleans, Jefferson, Terrebonne and Plaquemines parishes. A projection of future landscape loss using the interpolated subsidence rates reveals that areas below zero elevation in the LMRB will increase from 3.86% in 2004 to 19.79% in 2030 and 30.88% in 2050. This translates to a growing increase of areas that are vulnerable to land loss from 44.3 km2/year to 240.7 km2/year from 2011 to 2050. Under the same scenario, Lafourche, Plaquemines and Terrebonne parishes will experience serious loss of wetlands, whereas Orleans and Jefferson parishes will lose significant developed land, and Lafourche parish will endure severe loss of agriculture land.

  3. Land subsidence of coastal areas of Jiangsu Province, China: historical review and present situation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Q. Zhu

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Surface faults related to land subsidence have been observed in coastal cities, such as Nantong, Yancheng, and Lian Yungang, in Jiangsu Province (CAJS since the early 1970s. Nowadays, increases flooding and rising sea levels are attributed to subsidence caused by groundwater pumping. In this work we present a brief description of land subsidence in CAJS, we examine the mechanisms of land subsidence induced mainly by groundwater pumping and its evolution and economic implications as well as the implemented measures by the local government to prevent new damage.

  4. Land subsidence of coastal areas of Jiangsu Province, China: historical review and present situation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, J. Q.; Yang, Y.; Yu, J.; Gong, X. L.

    2015-11-01

    Surface faults related to land subsidence have been observed in coastal cities, such as Nantong, Yancheng, and Lian Yungang, in Jiangsu Province (CAJS) since the early 1970s. Nowadays, increases flooding and rising sea levels are attributed to subsidence caused by groundwater pumping. In this work we present a brief description of land subsidence in CAJS, we examine the mechanisms of land subsidence induced mainly by groundwater pumping and its evolution and economic implications as well as the implemented measures by the local government to prevent new damage.

  5. Shipborne LiDAR system for coastal change monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, chang hwan; Park, chang hong; Kim, hyun wook; hyuck Kim, won; Lee, myoung hoon; Park, hyeon yeong

    2016-04-01

    Coastal areas, used as human utilization areas like leisure space, medical care, ports and power plants, etc., are regions that are continuously changing and interconnected with oceans and land and the sea level has risen by about 8cm (1.9mm / yr) due to global warming from 1964 year to 2006 year in Korea. Coastal erosion due to sea-level rise has caused the problem of marine ecosystems and loss of tourism resources, etc. Regular monitoring of coastal erosion is essential at key locations with such volatility. But the survey method of land mobile LiDAR (light detection and ranging) system has much time consuming and many restrictions. For effective monitoring beach erosion, KIOST (Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology) has constructed a shipborne mobile LiDAR system. The shipborne mobile LiDAR system comprised a land mobile LiDAR (RIEGL LMS-420i), an INS (inertial navigation system, MAGUS Inertial+), a RTKGPS (LEICA GS15 GS25), and a fixed platform. The shipborne mobile LiDAR system is much more effective than a land mobile LiDAR system in the measuring of fore shore areas without shadow zone. Because the vessel with the shipborne mobile LiDAR system is continuously moved along the shoreline, it is possible to efficiently survey a large area in a relatively short time. Effective monitoring of the changes using the constructed shipborne mobile LiDAR system for seriously eroded coastal areas will be able to contribute to coastal erosion management and response.

  6. Preface to the Special Issue on Satellite Altimetry over Land and Coastal Zones: Applications and Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheinway Hwang

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This special issue publishes peer reviewed papers stemming from the International Workshop on Coast and Land applications of satellite altimetry, held 21 -22 July 2006, Beijing, China. This workshop is financially supported by the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, National Chiao Tung University, Asia GIS and GPS Co., Chung-Hsing Surv. Co., Huanyu Surv. Eng. Cons. Inc., and Real-World Eng. Cons. Inc. Twenty-two papers were submitted to this issue for review, and 16 papers were accepted following an iterative peer-review process. The accepted papers cover subjects on: ICESat coastal altimetry (1, satellite altimetry applications in solid earth sciences (2, hydrology (4, land/coast gravity field modeling (4, and coastal oceanography (5.

  7. Development of multi-year land cover data to assess wildfire impacts to coastal watersheds and the nearshore environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Katherine D.

    In the Mediterranean ecosystems of coastal California, wildfire is a common disturbance that can significantly alter vegetation in watersheds that transport sediment and nutrients to the adjacent nearshore oceanic environment. We assess the impact of two wildfires that burned in 2008 on land cover and to the nearshore environment along the Big Sur coast in central California. We created a multi-year land cover dataset to assess changes to coastal watersheds as a result of fire. This land cover dataset was then used to model changes in nonpoint source pollutants transported to the nearshore environment. Results indicate post-fire increases in percent export compared to pre-fire years and also link wildfire severity to the specific land cover changes that subsequently increase exports of pollutants and sediment to the nearshore environment. This approach is a replicable across watersheds and also provides a framework for including the nearshore environment as a value at risk terrestrial land management revolving around wildfire, including suppression, thinning, and other activities that change land cover at a landscape scale.

  8. Microeconomic motives of land use change in coastal zone area: agent based modelling approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Filatova, Tatiana; van der Veen, A.; Voinov, A.; Jakeman, A.; Rizolli, A.

    2006-01-01

    Economic growth causes growing urbanization, extension of tourist sector, infrastructure and change of natural landscape. These processes of land use change attract even more attention if they take place in coastal zone area. In that case not only the efficient allocation and preservation of natural

  9. Simulation of land use impacts on sediment and nutrient transfer in coastal areas of Western Cape, South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gebel Micha

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A major challenge for water resource management in Western Cape, South Africa, is the reduction of the growing sediment and nutrient loads in coastal areas, which belong to the areas most affected by land use change. We used the WebGIS based software STOFFBILANZ to simulate runoff, soil loss, sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen input in the surface water and groundwater of study area (ca. 6,450 km². The simulated runoff shows a large regional variability caused by the heterogeneous distribution of rainfall. For the reference catchment Klein River simulated total daily runoff fit the observed values of the reference year 2012. The calculation of potential input of sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen into waters is based on aggregated or generalized information on climate data, land use types, crop and fruit types, yields, mineral fertilizers, farm manure, nitrogen fixing by leguminous plants, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, and soil denitrification. Critical source areas for potential sediment input, particulate P input and diffuse N input are mainly agricultural areas. Additionally, point sources of high relevance for N and P are found in urban areas. Based on the potential input of sediment and nutrients the impacts of current land use change on water resources were estimated. We used the web-based information system WebLand for the simulation aiming at the provision of stakeholders with information for decision making in water resource management.

  10. Flocculated meltwater particles control Arctic land-sea fluxes of labile iron

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Markussen, Thor Nygaard; Elberling, Bo; Winter, Christian

    2016-01-01

    Glacial meltwater systems supply the Arctic coastal ocean with large volumes of sediment and potentially bioavailable forms of iron, nitrogen and carbon. The particulate fraction of this supply is significant but estuarine losses have been thought to limit the iron supply from land. Here, our...... the influence of terrestrial hotspots on the nutrient and solute cycles in Arctic coastal waters....

  11. Contribution of vertical land motions to coastal sea level variations: a global synthesis of multisatellite altimetry, tide gauge and GPS measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfeffer, Julia; Allemand, Pascal

    2016-04-01

    Coastal sea level variations result from a complex mix of climatic, oceanic and geodynamical processes driven by natural and anthropogenic constraints. Combining data from multiple sources is one solution to identify particular processes and progress towards a better understanding of the sea level variations and the assessment of their impacts at coast. Here, we present a global database merging multisatellite altimetry with tide gauges and Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements. Vertical land motions and sea level variations are estimated simultaneously for a network of 886 ground stations with median errors lower than 1 mm/yr. The contribution of vertical land motions to relative sea level variations is explored to better understand the natural hazards associated with sea level rise in coastal areas. Worldwide, vertical land motions dominate 30 % of observed coastal trends. The role of the crust is highly heterogeneous: it can amplify, restrict or counter the effects of climate-induced sea level change. A set of 182 potential vulnerable localities are identified by large coastal subsidence which increases by several times the effects of sea level rise. Though regional behaviours exist, principally caused by GIA (Glacial Isostatic Adjustment), the local variability in vertical land motion prevails. An accurate determination of the vertical motions observed at the coast is fundamental to understand the local processes which contribute to sea level rise, to appraise its impacts on coastal populations and make future predictions.

  12. Land-mobile satellite excess path loss measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hess, G. C.

    1980-05-01

    An experiment conducted with the ATS-6 satellite to determine the additional path loss over free-space loss experienced by land-mobile communication links is described. This excess path loss is measured as a function of 1) local environment, 2) vehicle heading, 3) link frequency, 4) satellite elevation angle, and 5) street side. A statistical description of excess loss developed from the data shows that the first two parameters dominate. Excess path loss on the order of 25 dB is typical in urban situations, but decreases to under 10 dB in suburban/rural areas. Spaced antenna selection diversity is found to provide only a slight decrease (4 dB, typically) in the urban excess path loss observed. Level crossing rates are depressed in satellite links relative to those of Rayleigh-faded terrestrial links, but increases in average fade durations tend to offset that advantage. The measurements show that the excess path loss difference between 860-MHz links and 1550-MHz links is generally negligible.

  13. Numerical Study on the Effect of Air–Sea–Land Interaction on the Atmospheric Boundary Layer in Coastal Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zixuan Yang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available We have performed large-eddy simulations (LES to study the effect of complex land topography on the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL in coastal areas. The areas under investigation are located at three beaches in Monterey Bay, CA, USA. The sharp-interface immersed boundary method is employed to resolve the land topography down to grid scale. We have considered real-time and what-if cases. In the real-time cases, measurement data and realistic land topographies are directly incorporated. In the what-if cases, the effects of different scenarios of wind speed, wind direction, and terrain pattern on the momentum flux at the beach are studied. The LES results are compared with simulations using the Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS and field measurement data. We find that the land topography imposes a critical influence on the ABL in the coastal area. The momentum fluxes obtained from our LES agree with measurement data. Our results indicate the importance of capturing the effects of land topographies in simulations.

  14. Arctic-COLORS (Coastal Land Ocean Interactions in the Arctic) - a NASA field campaign scoping study to examine land-ocean interactions in the Arctic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernes, P.; Tzortziou, M.; Salisbury, J.; Mannino, A.; Matrai, P.; Friedrichs, M. A.; Del Castillo, C. E.

    2014-12-01

    The Arctic region is warming faster than anywhere else on the planet, triggering rapid social and economic changes and impacting both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Yet our understanding of critical processes and interactions along the Arctic land-ocean interface is limited. Arctic-COLORS is a Field Campaign Scoping Study funded by NASA's Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program that aims to improve understanding and prediction of land-ocean interactions in a rapidly changing Arctic coastal zone, and assess vulnerability, response, feedbacks and resilience of coastal ecosystems, communities and natural resources to current and future pressures. Specific science objectives include: - Quantify lateral fluxes to the arctic inner shelf from (i) rivers and (ii) the outer shelf/basin that affect biology, biodiversity, biogeochemistry (i.e. organic matter, nutrients, suspended sediment), and the processing rates of these constituents in coastal waters. - Evaluate the impact of the thawing of Arctic permafrost within the river basins on coastal biology, biodiversity and biogeochemistry, including various rates of community production and the role these may play in the health of regional economies. - Assess the impact of changing Arctic landfast ice and coastal sea ice dynamics. - Establish a baseline for comparison to future change, and use state-of-the-art models to assess impacts of environmental change on coastal biology, biodiversity and biogeochemistry. A key component of Arctic-COLORS will be the integration of satellite and field observations with coupled physical-biogeochemical models for predicting impacts of future pressures on Arctic, coastal ocean, biological processes and biogeochemical cycles. Through interagency and international collaborations, and through the organization of dedicated workshops, town hall meetings and presentations at international conferences, the scoping study engages the broader scientific community and invites participation of

  15. Coastal landuse and land cover change and transformations of Kanyakumari coast, India using remote sensing and GIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Kaliraj

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The coastal landuse and land cover features in the South West coast of Kanyakumari are dynamically regulated due to marine and terrestrial processes and often controlling by natural and anthropogenic activities. The primary objective of this study is to estimate the decadal changes and their transformations of landuse and land cover (LULC features under Level II category of USGS-LULC Classification System using Landsat ETM+ and TM images using Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC algorithm for the period 2000–2011. The classified LULC features are categorized as beachface land cover, cultivable lands, plantation and shrub vegetation, fallow land, barren land, settlements and built-ups, water bodies, and mining area, etc. The geo-database is prepared for LULC feature class with an attributes of name, location, area and spatial distribution, etc. It shows the larger area in beachface land cover (sandy beaches, foredunes, uplands, Teri dunes (laterite and associated nearshore landforms, plantations, cultivable lands, fallows, and barren lands are converted into built-ups and it increases more than twice in the period of 10 years. Using GIS techniques, the analysis of change detection matrix reveals that the total area of 45.90 km2 in different LULC features periodically shifted or transformed from one state to another one or more states, i.e. the beachface land cover area of 1.24 km2 is encroached for built-ups and 0.63 km2 for placer mining during the decade. Meanwhile, the area of 0.21 km2 in this cover is transformed into wetlands and saltwater bodies. During the past decade, the expansion of area in the built-ups and settlements are directly proportional to the growth of population, which produces severe threat to the coastal resources. Accuracy assessment of classified images shows the overall accuracy is estimated as 81.16% and 77.52% and overall Kappa coeffient statistical values of 0.83 and 0.76 for the year 2000 and 2011 respectively

  16. Coastal vulnerability assessment for Chennai, east coast of India using geospatial techniques

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    ArunKumar, A.; Kunte, P.D.

    the high and low vulnerable areas, areas of inundation due to future SLR, and land loss due to coastal erosion. Both conventional and remotely sensed data were used and analyzed with the aid of the remote sensing and geographic information system tools...

  17. Temporal-spatial variations and driving factors analysis of coastal reclamation in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Weiqing; Hu, Beibei; He, Mengxuan; Liu, Baiqiao; Mo, Xunqiang; Li, Hongyuan; Wang, Zhongliang; Zhang, Yu

    2017-05-01

    Coastal reclamation is the gain of land from the sea or coastal wetlands for agricultural purposes, industrial use or port expansions. Large-scale coastal land reclamation can have adverse effects on the coastal environment, including loss of marine habitats and deterioration of coastal water quality. In recent decades, coastal land reclamation has occurred extensively to meet the increasing needs of rapid economic development and urbanization in China. The overall objective of this study is to understand the coastal reclamation status of China from 1979 to 2014 and analyzed its driving factors for mitigating negative ecological effects. The data of coastal reclamation were done with the ERDAS Imagine V9.2 platform and ArcGIS software based on remote images including Landsat, SPOT, ZY-2 and ZY-3. Potential driving factors for sea reclamation were selected based on statistics bulletins and the knowledge of experts in coastal management. In order to understand the relationships among possible impact factors and coastal reclamation, the Partial Least-Squares Regression models was constructed. The analysis results indicated that the total area of reclamation was 11162.89 km2 based on remote sensing images between 1979 and 2014. Shandong Province is the largest reclamation area, reaching 2736.54 km2, and the reclamation is mainly concentrated in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Liaoning, where the reclamation areas were all more than 1000 km2. According to the remote sensing images, there are three coastal reclamation hotspot regions including Bohai bay (in which is located Liaoning, Tianjin and Hebei), Jiangsu province coastal area and Hangzhou bay (in Zhejiang province). A large scale land reclamation plan of more than 5880 km2 has been made by local government and 2469 km2 has approved by the State Council. From the analyzed results, there is a significant collinearity between these indicators, and no significant correlation between the area of reclamation and selected

  18. Advancing Coastal Climate Adaptation in Denmark by Land Subsidence Mapping using Sentinel-1 Satellite Imagery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Carlo Sass; Broge, Niels H.; Mølgaard, Mads R.

    2016-01-01

    There are still large uncertainties in projections of climate change and sea level rise. Here, land subsidence is an additional factor that may adversely affect the vulnerability towards floods in low-lying coastal communities. The presented study performs an initial assessment of subsidence...

  19. Land-based sources of marine pollution: Pesticides, PAHs and phthalates in coastal stream water, and heavy metals in coastal stream sediments in American Samoa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polidoro, Beth A.; Comeros-Raynal, Mia T.; Cahill, Thomas; Clement, Cassandra

    2017-01-01

    The island nations and territories of the South Pacific are facing a number of pressing environmental concerns, including solid waste management and coastal pollution. Here we provide baseline information on the presence and concentration of heavy metals and selected organic contaminants (pesticides, PAHs, phthalates) in 7 coastal streams and in surface waters adjacent to the Futiga landfill in American Samoa. All sampled stream sediments contained high concentrations of lead, and some of mercury. Several coastal stream waters showed relatively high concentrations of diethyl phthalate and of organophosphate pesticides, above chronic toxicity values for fish and other aquatic organisms. Parathion, which has been banned by the US Environmental Protection Agency since 2006, was detected in several stream sites. Increased monitoring and initiatives to limit non-point source land-based pollution will greatly improve the state of freshwater and coastal resources, as well as reduce risks to human health in American Samoa. - Highlights: • Several coastal stream sediments in American Samoa are high in lead and mercury. • Organophosphate pesticides, including Parathion, are present in coastal streams. • More research is needed on the sources, fate and impacts of these contaminants.

  20. Drivers, trends, and potential impacts of long-term coastal reclamation in China from 1985 to 2010

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tian, Bo; Wu, Wenting; Yang, Zhaoqing; Zhou, Yunxuan

    2016-03-01

    Driven by rapid economic development, population growth, and urbanization, China has experienced severe coastal land reclamation over the last decades, which resulted in significant loss of coastal wetland and wildlife habitat, and degradation of marine ecosystems. This study used advanced remote-sensing techniques to analyze the spatial and temporal distributions of coastal reclamation in China and investigated the relationships between coastal land reclamation and coastal economy, population growth, and urbanization. Analysis of long-term Landsat images time series from 1985 to 2010 in 5-year intervals, in combination with remotely sensed image techniques, indicated a sharp increasing trend of land reclamation after 2005, which accounted for over 35% of China’s total reclamation during the 25-year period since 1985. High-intensity coastal reclamation in China was mainly driven by the booming economy associated with urbanization and industrial development in the coastal region. Analysis indicated that coastal land reclamation is closely correlated with the GDP per capita in China. Study results of Landsat images showed that 754,697 ha of coastal wetlands have been reclaimed across all coastal provinces and metropolises from 1985 to 2010, at an annual rate of 5.9%. Coastal areas within the three major economic zones (Bohai Bay, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta) were found to generally have higher reclamation rates. For example, the built-up area in Shanghai, which is located in the Yangtze River Delta, increased more than five times from 1985 to 2010. Approximately 35% of the reclamation occurred in Bohai Bay, in which the CRI between 2005 and 2010 was three times higher than the average CRI over the 25-year period.

  1. The landscape pattern characteristics of coastal wetlands in Jiaozhou Bay under the impact of human activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Dongqi; Zhang, Yuanzhi; Fu, Jun; Zhang, Xuliang

    2007-01-01

    In this study, we interpreted coastal wetland types from an ASTER satellite image in 2002, and then compared the results with the land-use status of coastal wetlands in 1952 to determine the wetland loss and degradation around Jiaozhou Bay. Seven types of wetland landscape were classified, namely: shallow open water, inter-tidal flats, estuarine water, brackish marshes, salt ponds, fishery ponds and ports. Several landscape pattern indices were analysed: the results indicate that the coastal wetlands have been seriously degraded. More and more natural wetlands have been transformed into artificial wetlands, which covered about 33.7% of the total wetlands in 2002. In addition, we used a defined model to assess the impacts of human activities on coastal wetlands. The results obtained show that the coastal wetlands of Jiaozhou Bay have suffered severe human disturbance. Effective coastal management and control is therefore needed to solve the issues of the coastal wetland loss and degradation existing in this area.

  2. Finite mixture models for sub-pixel coastal land cover classification

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ritchie, Michaela C

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Models for Sub- pixel Coastal Land Cover Classification M. Ritchie Dr. M. Lück-Vogel Dr. P. Debba Dr. V. Goodall ISRSE - 37 Tshwane, South Africa 10 May 2017 2Study Area Africa South Africa FALSE BAY 3Strand Gordon’s Bay Study Area WorldView-2 Image.../Urban 1 10 10 Herbaceous Vegetation 1 5 5 Shadow 1 8 8 Sparse Vegetation 1 3 3 Water 1 10 10 Woody Vegetation 1 5 5 11 Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) 12 Gaussian Mixture Discriminant Analysis (GMDA) 13 A B C t-distribution Mixture Discriminant...

  3. Estimates of vertical land motion along the southwestern coasts of Turkey from coastal altimetry and tide gauge data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yildiz, Hasan; Andersen, Ole Baltazar; Simav, Mehmet

    2013-01-01

    The differences between coastal altimetry and sea level time series of tide gauges in between March 1993 and December 2009 are used to estimate the rates of vertical land motion at three tide gauge locations along the southwestern coasts of Turkey. The CTOH/LEGOS along-track coastal altimetry...... retrieves altimetric sea level anomalies closer to the coast than the standard along-track altimetry products. However, the use of altimetry very close to the coast is not found to improve the results. On the contrary, the gridded and interpolated AVISO merged product exhibits the best agreement with tide...... the Aegean Sea) shows no significant vertical land motion. The results are compared and assessed with three independent geophysical vertical land motion estimates like from GPS. The GIA effect in the region is negligible. The VLM estimates from altimetry and tide gauge data are in good agreement both...

  4. The Identification of Land Utilization in Coastal Reclamation Areas in Tianjin Using High Resolution Remote Sensing Images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Y.; Cao, Y.; Tian, H.; Han, Z.

    2018-04-01

    In recent decades, land reclamation activities have been developed rapidly in Chinese coastal regions, especially in Bohai Bay. The land reclamation areas can effectively alleviate the contradiction between land resources shortage and human needs, but some idle lands that left unused after the government making approval the usage of sea areas are also supposed to pay attention to. Due to the particular features of land coverage identification in large regions, traditional monitoring approaches are unable to perfectly meet the needs of effectively and quickly land use classification. In this paper, Gaofen-1 remotely sensed satellite imagery data together with sea area usage ownership data were used to identify the land use classifications and find out the idle land resources. It can be seen from the result that most of the land use types and idle land resources can be identified precisely.

  5. Land-based sources of marine pollution: Pesticides, PAHs and phthalates in coastal stream water, and heavy metals in coastal stream sediments in American Samoa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polidoro, Beth A; Comeros-Raynal, Mia T; Cahill, Thomas; Clement, Cassandra

    2017-03-15

    The island nations and territories of the South Pacific are facing a number of pressing environmental concerns, including solid waste management and coastal pollution. Here we provide baseline information on the presence and concentration of heavy metals and selected organic contaminants (pesticides, PAHs, phthalates) in 7 coastal streams and in surface waters adjacent to the Futiga landfill in American Samoa. All sampled stream sediments contained high concentrations of lead, and some of mercury. Several coastal stream waters showed relatively high concentrations of diethyl phthalate and of organophosphate pesticides, above chronic toxicity values for fish and other aquatic organisms. Parathion, which has been banned by the US Environmental Protection Agency since 2006, was detected in several stream sites. Increased monitoring and initiatives to limit non-point source land-based pollution will greatly improve the state of freshwater and coastal resources, as well as reduce risks to human health in American Samoa. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Eco-Geography of Coastal Areas: Sosio-Economy Dynamic of Land Ownership of Coastal Areas of Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Baiquni

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Indonesia constitute an archipelagic state which passesses resource of ocean, ecosystem of coast area and social economy dynamics of various maritime society. The nation of Indonesia had ever been welknown as a maritime nation which dominated Nusantara territorial waters as far as neighbour state. Fish cultivation in embankruent  system has been being known since the era of Mojopahit Kingdom and likewise boat industry was held along the north-oast of Java which was ever glorius in the beginning of Dutch Colonialism. But, up to now why a large part of Indonesian fishermen are still using simple technology and method in fishery and fish cultivation? Change in policy within Dutch era development. Which was farm land oriented and plantation had influenced the maritime tradition slip off. Opening of railway and land tract transportation in Java had changed economic ativity pattern of the oast area to hinterland. Investment and human resource were councentrated to farmland development and plantation was directed to export so that it affected the coast area slip off which was basically fishery activity. Development after independence, mainly in the era of New Order, it started from farming activity raised to industry society. Coastal area came back to develop with industrial growth in the urbans of Java north coast. Nevertheless development in fishery does not yet return to show the sign of glorious untill the end of this age. It is  hoped that, with properly judment of the islands coastal area out of Java, goverment will direct  its policy and investment to develop the new maritime society to go against the glorious in the 21st century.

  7. Land-Sourced Pollution with an Emphasis on Domestic Sewage: Lessons from the Caribbean and Implications for Coastal Development on Indian Ocean and Pacific Coral Reefs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andre DeGeorges

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses land-sourced pollution with an emphasis on domestic sewage in the Caribbean in relation to similar issues in the Indian Ocean and Pacific. Starting on a large-scale in the 1980s, tropical Atlantic coastlines of Florida and Caribbean islands were over-developed to the point that traditional sewage treatment and disposal were inadequate to protect fragile coral reefs from eutrophication by land-sourced nutrient pollution. This pollution caused both ecological and public health problems. Coral reefs were smothered by macro-algae and died, becoming rapidly transformed into weedy algal lawns, which resulted in beach erosion, and loss of habitat that added to fisheries collapse previously caused by over-fishing. Barbados was one of the first countries to recognize this problem and to begin implementation of effective solutions. Eastern Africa, the Indian Ocean Islands, Pacific Islands, and South East Asia, are now starting to develop their coastlines for ecotourism, like the Caribbean was in the 1970s. Tourism is an important and increasing component of the economies of most tropical coastal areas. There are important lessons to be learned from this Caribbean experience for coastal zone planners, developers, engineers, coastal communities and decision makers in other parts of the world to assure that history does not repeat itself. Coral reef die-off from land-sourced pollution has been eclipsed as an issue since the ocean warming events of 1998, linked to global warming. Addressing ocean warming will take considerable international cooperation, but much of the land-sourced pollution issue, especially sewage, can be dealt with on a watershed by watershed basis by Indian Ocean and Pacific countries. Failure to solve this critical issue can adversely impact both coral reef and public health with dire economic consequences, and will prevent coral reef recovery from extreme high temperature events. Sewage treatment, disposal options

  8. Retoxification by heavy metals at land-sea interface in coastal aquifers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fidelibus, Maria Dolores

    2014-05-01

    Although during the last decades a significant number of countermeasures have been put in place with respect to the release of pollutants into the environment, and emissions of many of these are in fact ceased, the signs of a generalized pollution are found with increasing frequency. The appearance of new signals may surprise, given that common sense leads us to believe that in a period of reduced emissions the environment should be in an improved state rather than in a worse one: however, the environmental effects of previous pollution are clearly appearing after a build-up of pollutants in the environment over the past decades, with a lag with respect to the activities that generated it.In particular, soils are the final receptor (sink) of pollutants as heavy metals, pesticides and fertilizers: the common belief that the heavy metals remain forever locked may, however, give a false sense of security: today it is no longer possible to ignore the fact that the soils involve potential long-term impacts.With this in mind we can open a window on some aspects of the nonlinear behavior of soils and detrital aquifers. Researches on the former are more frequent and help extending some results to the latter. As matter of fact, in response to variations in environmental conditions, sudden releases of pollutants accumulated in soils occur with a considerable delay compared to the input. The attention of the study is on coastal aquifers. The coastal areas in general are dynamic non-linear systems at the land-sea interface in perpetual chemical-physical disequilibrium: these areas are complex with regard to the constituent elements and subject to a set of variable boundary conditions (oscillating borderswith periodic and aperiodic frequency), to cyclic and non-cyclic variations of climatic conditions and anthropogenic forcing (permanent or transient), whose behavior is not easily predictable, and that act on different temporal and spatial scales.The question is: can the

  9. Megacities and large urban agglomerations in the coastal zone: interactions between atmosphere, land, and marine ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Glasow, Roland; Jickells, Tim D; Baklanov, Alexander; Carmichael, Gregory R; Church, Tom M; Gallardo, Laura; Hughes, Claire; Kanakidou, Maria; Liss, Peter S; Mee, Laurence; Raine, Robin; Ramachandran, Purvaja; Ramesh, R; Sundseth, Kyrre; Tsunogai, Urumu; Uematsu, Mitsuo; Zhu, Tong

    2013-02-01

    Megacities are not only important drivers for socio-economic development but also sources of environmental challenges. Many megacities and large urban agglomerations are located in the coastal zone where land, atmosphere, and ocean meet, posing multiple environmental challenges which we consider here. The atmospheric flow around megacities is complicated by urban heat island effects and topographic flows and sea breezes and influences air pollution and human health. The outflow of polluted air over the ocean perturbs biogeochemical processes. Contaminant inputs can damage downstream coastal zone ecosystem function and resources including fisheries, induce harmful algal blooms and feedback to the atmosphere via marine emissions. The scale of influence of megacities in the coastal zone is hundreds to thousands of kilometers in the atmosphere and tens to hundreds of kilometers in the ocean. We list research needs to further our understanding of coastal megacities with the ultimate aim to improve their environmental management.

  10. Land reclamation and artificial islands: Walking the tightrope between development and conservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Su Yin Chee

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Coastal developments worldwide have put entire shoreline ecosystems at risk. Recently, land reclamation has been extended to the construction of whole new islands; a phenomenon that is particularly common in Asia and the Middle East and is recognised as a global conservation issue. Using Penang Island, Malaysia as a case study, we illustrate the relationship between rapid population growth and the simultaneous increase in urbanisation, land reclamation and extent of artificial shorelines; and decrease in the quality and extent of natural coastal habitats. Our goal was to provide an up-to-date assessment of the state of coastal habitats around Penang, identify knowledge gaps and identify locations that may be potentially suitable for eco-engineering. Comparisons of historical and current topographic maps revealed that land formerly consisting of coastal swamp and forest, mangrove forests, sandy beaches, and rubber and oil plantations have been lost to large-scale land reclamation and urbanisation. Between 1960 and 2015, there were increases in urbanised area, reclaimed land, and artificial shoreline extent. The total extent of mangrove forests has remained relatively stable but this balance is characterised by significant losses on the east coast coupled with increases on the west coast. Coastal development on the island is still on-going with plans for the construction of five artificial islands and another two coastal reclamation projects are either underway or scheduled for the near future. If the plans for future land reclamations are fully realized, 32.3 km2 of the 321.8 km2 island (10% will be reclaimed land and the associated negative effects on the island’s natural coastal habitats will be inevitable. This study highlights sections of the coast of Penang Island in need of effective monitoring, conservation and management and explores the possibility of incorporating ecological engineering into development projects, either

  11. The impact of land use/land cover changes on land degradation dynamics: a Mediterranean case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bajocco, S; De Angelis, A; Perini, L; Ferrara, A; Salvati, L

    2012-05-01

    In the last decades, due to climate changes, soil deterioration, and Land Use/Land Cover Changes (LULCCs), land degradation risk has become one of the most important ecological issues at the global level. Land degradation involves two interlocking systems: the natural ecosystem and the socio-economic system. The complexity of land degradation processes should be addressed using a multidisciplinary approach. Therefore, the aim of this work is to assess diachronically land degradation dynamics under changing land covers. This paper analyzes LULCCs and the parallel increase in the level of land sensitivity to degradation along the coastal belt of Sardinia (Italy), a typical Mediterranean region where human pressure affects the landscape characteristics through fires, intensive agricultural practices, land abandonment, urban sprawl, and tourism concentration. Results reveal that two factors mainly affect the level of land sensitivity to degradation in the study area: (i) land abandonment and (ii) unsustainable use of rural and peri-urban areas. Taken together, these factors represent the primary cause of the LULCCs observed in coastal Sardinia. By linking the structural features of the Mediterranean landscape with its functional land degradation dynamics over time, these results contribute to orienting policies for sustainable land management in Mediterranean coastal areas.

  12. The Impact of Land Use/Land Cover Changes on Land Degradation Dynamics: A Mediterranean Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bajocco, S.; De Angelis, A.; Perini, L.; Ferrara, A.; Salvati, L.

    2012-05-01

    In the last decades, due to climate changes, soil deterioration, and Land Use/Land Cover Changes (LULCCs), land degradation risk has become one of the most important ecological issues at the global level. Land degradation involves two interlocking systems: the natural ecosystem and the socio-economic system. The complexity of land degradation processes should be addressed using a multidisciplinary approach. Therefore, the aim of this work is to assess diachronically land degradation dynamics under changing land covers. This paper analyzes LULCCs and the parallel increase in the level of land sensitivity to degradation along the coastal belt of Sardinia (Italy), a typical Mediterranean region where human pressure affects the landscape characteristics through fires, intensive agricultural practices, land abandonment, urban sprawl, and tourism concentration. Results reveal that two factors mainly affect the level of land sensitivity to degradation in the study area: (i) land abandonment and (ii) unsustainable use of rural and peri-urban areas. Taken together, these factors represent the primary cause of the LULCCs observed in coastal Sardinia. By linking the structural features of the Mediterranean landscape with its functional land degradation dynamics over time, these results contribute to orienting policies for sustainable land management in Mediterranean coastal areas.

  13. Implications of sea level rise scenarios on land use /land cover classes of the coastal zones of Cochin, India..

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    ManiMurali, R.; DineshKumar, P.K.

    , it’s worth to plan from the ground level involving government, NGO’s, Public and industries. Adaptation to sea level rise situations should go with the improved versions of integrated coastal zone management projects. Mostly, agricultural lands... stream_size 35402 stream_content_type text/plain stream_name J_Environ_Manage_148_124a.pdf.txt stream_source_info J_Environ_Manage_148_124a.pdf.txt Content-Encoding UTF-8 Content-Type text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Author...

  14. Assessment Framework and Decision—Support System for Consolidating Urban-Rural Construction Land in Coastal China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fangfang Cai

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Urbanization transforms urban-rural landscape and profoundly affects ecological processes. To maintain a sustainable urbanization, two important issues of land-use need to be quantified: the comprehensive variation of urban-rural construction land and the specific models for consolidating these lands. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to assess the change of urban-rural construction land and build a decision-support system for consolidating these lands. Four sub-layers were first built in the assessment framework, including the characteristic layer, the coordination layer, the potential layer and the urgency layer. Each layer encompassed specific indices for evaluating the change of urban-rural construction land in different aspects. The entropy method was then applied to the data resources from Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper images, statistical data and overall land-use and land consolidation planning of Nantong city in coastal China to allocate weightings to the indices in each sub-layer. Finally, the decision-support system was built based on the assessment results and the degree of importance for consolidating urban and rural construction land, respectively. The results of our study show an overall investigation and quantitative description of the change of urban-rural construction land and provide an effective framework for land consolidation and land use management.

  15. Remotely sensed evidence of the rapid loss of tidal flats in the Yellow Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, N. J.; Phinn, S. R.; Clemens, R. S.; Possingham, H.; Fuller, R. A.

    2013-12-01

    In East Asia's Yellow Sea, intertidal wetlands are the frontline ecosystem protecting a coastal population of more than 150 million people from storms and sea-level rise. Despite widespread coastal change and severe modification of the region's major river systems, the magnitude and distribution of coastal wetland loss remains unquantified. We developed a novel remote sensing method to solve the difficult problem of mapping intertidal wetlands over large areas and mapped the extent of tidal flats, the region's primary coastal ecosystem, over 4000kms of coastline at two time periods: the 1980s and late 2000s. We used a regionally validated tide model to identify Landsat images acquired at high and low tides, allowing the area between the high and low tide waterlines to be mapped by differencing classified land-water images between the two tidal stages. Our analysis of the change in areal extent of tidal flats in the Yellow Sea indicates that of the 545,000 ha present in the 1980s, only 389,000 ha remained three decades later, equating to a net loss of 28% at a mean rate of 1.2 % yr-1. ). Comparing the three countries in our analysis, China lost more tidal flat and at a faster rate (39.8%, 1.8% yr-1) than South Korea (32.2%, 1.6% yr-1), and in North Korea minor gains of tidal flat were recorded at (8.5%, 0.3 yr-1). For the same mapped area, historical maps suggest that tidal flats occupied up to 1.14 million ha in the mid-1950s, equating to a potential net loss of up to 65% over ~50 years. Coastal land reclamation for agriculture, aquaculture and urban development is a major driver of tidal flat loss, particularly in China and South Korea, although region-wide declines in sediment replenishment from rivers is also occurring. To conserve the ecosystem services provided by tidal flats and ensure protection of the region's coastal biodiversity, conservation actions should target protection of tidal flats and encourage collaborative and properly planned development

  16. Coastal wetland adaptation to sea level rise: Quantifying potential for landward migration and coastal squeeze

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borchert, Sinéad M.; Osland, Michael J.; Enwright, Nicholas M.; Griffith, Kereen

    2018-01-01

    Coastal wetland ecosystems are expected to migrate landwards in response to rising seas. However, due to differences in topography and coastal urbanization, estuaries vary in their ability to accommodate migration. Low‐lying urban areas can constrain migration and lead to wetland loss (i.e. coastal squeeze), especially where existing wetlands cannot keep pace with rising seas via vertical adjustments. In many estuaries, there is a pressing need to identify landward migration corridors and better quantify the potential for landward migration and coastal squeeze.We quantified and compared the area available for landward migration of tidal saline wetlands and the area where urban development is expected to prevent migration for 39 estuaries along the wetland‐rich USA Gulf of Mexico coast. We did so under three sea level rise scenarios (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m by 2100).Within the region, the potential for wetland migration is highest within certain estuaries in Louisiana and southern Florida (e.g. Atchafalaya/Vermilion Bays, Mermentau River, Barataria Bay, and the North and South Ten Thousand Islands estuaries).The potential for coastal squeeze is highest in estuaries containing major metropolitan areas that extend into low‐lying lands. The Charlotte Harbor, Tampa Bay, and Crystal‐Pithlachascotee estuaries (Florida) have the highest amounts of urban land expected to constrain wetland migration. Urban barriers to migration are also high in the Galveston Bay (Texas) and Atchafalaya/Vermilion Bays (Louisiana) estuaries.Synthesis and applications. Coastal wetlands provide many ecosystem services that benefit human health and well‐being, including shoreline protection and fish and wildlife habitat. As the rate of sea level rise accelerates in response to climate change, coastal wetland resources could be lost in areas that lack space for landward migration. Migration corridors are particularly important in highly urbanized estuaries where, due to low‐lying coastal

  17. Characterizing Coastal Ecosystem Service Trade-offs with Future Urban Development in a Tropical City.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Daniel R; Friess, Daniel A

    2017-11-01

    With rapid urbanization in the coastal zone and increasing habitat losses, it is imperative to understand how urban development affects coastal biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Furthermore, it is important to understand how habitat fragments can best be incorporated into broader land use planning and coastal management, in order to maximize the environmental benefits they provide. In this study, we characterized the trade-offs between (a) urban development and individual mangrove environmental indicators (habitat quality and ecosystem services), and (b) between different environmental indicators in the tropical nation of Singapore. A range of biological, biophysical, and cultural indicators, including carbon, charcoal production, support for offshore fisheries, recreation, and habitat quality for a threatened species were quantified using field-based, remote sensing, and expert survey methods. The shape of the trade-off Pareto frontiers was analyzed to assess the sensitivity of environmental indicators for development. When traded off individually with urban development, four out of five environmental indicators were insensitive to development, meaning that relatively minor degradation of the indicator occurred while development was below a certain threshold, although indicator loss accelerated once this threshold was reached. Most of the pairwise relationships between the five environmental indicators were synergistic; only carbon storage and charcoal production, and charcoal production and recreational accessibility showed trade-offs. Trade-off analysis and land use optimization using Pareto frontiers could be a useful decision-support tool for understanding how changes in land use and coastal management will impact the ability of ecosystems to provide environmental benefits.

  18. Characterizing Coastal Ecosystem Service Trade-offs with Future Urban Development in a Tropical City

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Daniel R.; Friess, Daniel A.

    2017-11-01

    With rapid urbanization in the coastal zone and increasing habitat losses, it is imperative to understand how urban development affects coastal biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Furthermore, it is important to understand how habitat fragments can best be incorporated into broader land use planning and coastal management, in order to maximize the environmental benefits they provide. In this study, we characterized the trade-offs between (a) urban development and individual mangrove environmental indicators (habitat quality and ecosystem services), and (b) between different environmental indicators in the tropical nation of Singapore. A range of biological, biophysical, and cultural indicators, including carbon, charcoal production, support for offshore fisheries, recreation, and habitat quality for a threatened species were quantified using field-based, remote sensing, and expert survey methods. The shape of the trade-off Pareto frontiers was analyzed to assess the sensitivity of environmental indicators for development. When traded off individually with urban development, four out of five environmental indicators were insensitive to development, meaning that relatively minor degradation of the indicator occurred while development was below a certain threshold, although indicator loss accelerated once this threshold was reached. Most of the pairwise relationships between the five environmental indicators were synergistic; only carbon storage and charcoal production, and charcoal production and recreational accessibility showed trade-offs. Trade-off analysis and land use optimization using Pareto frontiers could be a useful decision-support tool for understanding how changes in land use and coastal management will impact the ability of ecosystems to provide environmental benefits.

  19. Effects of road decommissioning on carbon stocks, losses, and emissions in north coastal California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madej, Mary Ann; Seney, Joseph; van Mantgem, Philip

    2013-01-01

    During the last 3 decades, many road removal projects have been implemented on public and private lands in the United States to reduce erosion and other impacts from abandoned or unmaintained forest roads. Although effective in decreasing sediment production from roads, such activities have a carbon (C) cost as well as representing a carbon savings for an ecosystem. We assessed the carbon budget implications of 30 years of road decommissioning in Redwood National Park in north coastal California. Road restoration techniques, which evolved during the program, were associated with various carbon costs and savings. Treatment of 425 km of logging roads from 1979 to 2009 saved 72,000 megagrams (Mg) C through on-site soil erosion prevention, revegetation, and soil development on formerly compacted roads. Carbon sequestration will increase in time as forests and soils develop more fully on the restored sites. The carbon cost for this road decommissioning work, based on heavy equipment and vehicle fuel emissions, short-term soil loss, and clearing of vegetation, was 23,000 Mg C, resulting in a net carbon savings of 49,000 Mg C to date. Nevertheless, the degree to which soil loss is a carbon sink or source in steep mountainous watersheds needs to be further examined. The ratio of carbon costs to savings will differ by ecosystem and road removal methodology, but the procedure outlined here to assess carbon budgets on restoration sites should be transferable to other systems.

  20. The use of cartographic modeling to assess the impacts of coastal flooding: a case study of Port Said Governorate, Egypt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abou Samra, Rasha M

    2017-09-01

    Low-set coastal areas are expected to aggravate inundation on account of sea level rise (SLR). The present study is planned to appraise the impacts of coastal flooding in Port Said city, Egypt by using remote sensing, GIS, and cartographic modeling techniques. To accomplish this scope, Landsat 8-OLI image dated 2016 and SRTM 1Arc-Second Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data were used. Landsat image was classified into seven land use and land cover (LULC) classes by using remote sensing and GIS's software. Different inundation scenarios 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0-m coastal elevation were used to figure the influence of SLR on the study area. Estimation of potential losses under SLR was made by overlaying the expected scenarios on land use. The inundation areas under the expected SLR scenarios of 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 m were estimated at 827.49, 1072.67, and 1179.41 km 2 , respectively. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that expected coastal flooding scenarios will lead up to serious impacts on LULC classes and coastal features in the study area.

  1. New satellite altimetry products for coastal oceans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dufau, Claire; Mercier, F.; Ablain, M.; Dibarboure, G.; Carrere, L.; Labroue, S.; Obligis, E.; Sicard, P.; Thibaut, P.; Birol, F.; Bronner, E.; Lombard, A.; Picot, N.

    Since the launch of Topex-Poseidon in 1992, satellite altimetry has become one of the most essential elements of the Earth's observing system. Its global view of the ocean state has permitted numerous improvements in the environment understanding, particularly in the global monitoring of climate changes and ocean circulation. Near the coastlines where human activities have a major impact on the ocean, satellite altimeter techniques are unfortunately limited by a growth of their error budget. This quality loss is due to land contamination in the altimetric and radiometric footprints but also to inaccurate geophysical corrections (tides, high-frequency processes linked to atmospheric forcing).Despite instrumental perturbations by emerged lands until 10 km (altimeter) and 50 km (radiometer) off the coasts, measurements are made and may contain useful information for coastal studies. In order to recover these data close to the coast, the French Spatial Agency (CNES) has funded the development of the PISTACH prototype dedicated to Jason-2 altimeter processing in coastal ocean. Since November 2008, these new satellite altimeter products have been providing new retracking solutions, several state-of-the-art or with higher resolution corrections in addition to standard fields. This presentation will present and illustrate this new set of satellite data for the coastal oceans.

  2. US State Submerged Lands

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. Section 1301 et seq.) grants coastal states title to natural resources located within their coastal submerged lands and navigable...

  3. Development of a Bi-National Great Lakes Coastal Wetland and Land Use Map Using Three-Season PALSAR and Landsat Imagery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Bourgeau-Chavez

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Methods using extensive field data and three-season Landsat TM and PALSAR imagery were developed to map wetland type and identify potential wetland stressors (i.e., adjacent land use for the United States and Canadian Laurentian coastal Great Lakes. The mapped area included the coastline to 10 km inland to capture the region hydrologically connected to the Great Lakes. Maps were developed in cooperation with the overarching Great Lakes Consortium plan to provide a comprehensive regional baseline map suitable for coastal wetland assessment and management by agencies at the local, tribal, state, and federal levels. The goal was to provide not only land use and land cover (LULC baseline data at moderate spatial resolution (20–30 m, but a repeatable methodology to monitor change into the future. The prime focus was on mapping wetland ecosystem types, such as emergent wetland and forested wetland, as well as to delineate wetland monocultures (Typha, Phragmites, Schoenoplectus and differentiate peatlands (fens and bogs from other wetland types. The overall accuracy for the coastal Great Lakes map of all five lake basins was 94%, with a range of 86% to 96% by individual lake basin (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.

  4. Environmental variation and macrofauna response in a coastal area influenced by land runoff

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akoumianaki, Ioanna; Papaspyrou, Sokratis; Kormas, Konstantinos Ar.; Nicolaidou, Artemis

    2013-11-01

    Macrofauna community interactions with environmental variables in the water column (salinity, temperature, turbidity, transparency, suspended particulate matter, particulate organic matter, choloroplastic pigments) and in the sediment (granulometric variables, organic carbon and pigments) were investigated in a coastal area with high land runoff due to riverine and temporary stream discharges (Greece, Aegean Sea, Maliakos Gulf). Samples were taken along a distance-depositional gradient from the river mouth to the open sea at eight stations, at times of different precipitation regime from August 2000 to May 2001. The physical variables, such as transparency and median grain size, generally increased seawards, and parallelled the depositional gradient as opposed to measures of food inputs and hydrodynamic regime. High environmental heterogeneity was observed during peak precipitation. The total number of species increased seawards and from August (122 species) to May (170 species). Maximum abundance also increased from August (4953 m-2) to May (10,220 individuals m-2), irrespective of distance from river mouth. Species belonging to different functional groups, as to recolonization, feeding, motility and substrate preferences, coexisted at all times indicating high functional diversity. Non-parametric multivariate regression showed that at times of low, rising and falling precipitation 78-81% of community variation was explained by environmental variables, indicating that macrofauna distribution and species composition respond to food inputs and sediment characteristics. During peak land runoff the community-environment relationship weakened (57% of the variability explained). The diversity of functional traits of the most abundant species indicates that the macrofauna community can absorb the impact of increased turbidity, sedimentation and current-driven dispersion. The study offers baseline information for the integrated coastal zone management in microtidal areas

  5. Systematically variable planktonic carbon metabolism along a land-to-lake gradient in a Great Lakes coastal zone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinke, Anthony D; Kendall, Scott T; Kroll, Daniel J; Strickler, Eric A; Weinert, Maggie E; Holcomb, Thomas M; Defore, Angela A; Dila, Deborah K; Snider, Michael J; Gereaux, Leon C; Biddanda, Bopaiah A

    2014-11-01

    During the summers of 2002-2013, we measured rates of carbon metabolism in surface waters of six sites across a land-to-lake gradient from the upstream end of drowned river-mouth Muskegon Lake (ML) (freshwater estuary) to 19 km offshore in Lake Michigan (LM) (a Great Lake). Despite considerable inter-year variability, the average rates of gross production (GP), respiration (R) and net production (NP) across ML (604 ± 58, 222 ± 22 and 381 ± 52 µg C L -1 day -1 , respectively) decreased steeply in the furthest offshore LM site (22 ± 3, 55 ± 17 and -33 ± 15 µg C L -1 day -1 , respectively). Along this land-to-lake gradient, GP decreased by 96 ± 1%, whereas R only decreased by 75 ± 9%, variably influencing the carbon balance along this coastal zone. All ML sites were consistently net autotrophic (mean GP:R = 2.7), while the furthest offshore LM site was net heterotrophic (mean GP:R = 0.4). Our study suggests that pelagic waters of this Great Lakes coastal estuary are net carbon sinks that transition into net carbon sources offshore. Reactive and dynamic estuarine coastal zones everywhere may contribute similarly to regional and global carbon cycles.

  6. Weibull Wind-Speed Distribution Parameters Derived from a Combination of Wind-Lidar and Tall-Mast Measurements Over Land, Coastal and Marine Sites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gryning, Sven-Erik; Floors, Rogier Ralph; Peña, Alfredo

    2016-01-01

    Wind-speed observations from tall towers are used in combination with observations up to 600 m in altitude from a Doppler wind lidar to study the long-term conditions over suburban (Hamburg), rural coastal (Høvsøre) and marine (FINO3) sites. The variability in the wind field among the sites is ex...... of the vertical profile of the shape parameter fits well with observations over land, coastal regions and over the sea. An applied model for the dependence of the reversal height on the surface roughness is in good agreement with the observations over land....

  7. Land use compounds habitat losses under projected climate change in a threatened California ecosystem.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erin Coulter Riordan

    Full Text Available Given the rapidly growing human population in mediterranean-climate systems, land use may pose a more immediate threat to biodiversity than climate change this century, yet few studies address the relative future impacts of both drivers. We assess spatial and temporal patterns of projected 21(st century land use and climate change on California sage scrub (CSS, a plant association of considerable diversity and threatened status in the mediterranean-climate California Floristic Province. Using a species distribution modeling approach combined with spatially-explicit land use projections, we model habitat loss for 20 dominant shrub species under unlimited and no dispersal scenarios at two time intervals (early and late century in two ecoregions in California (Central Coast and South Coast. Overall, projected climate change impacts were highly variable across CSS species and heavily dependent on dispersal assumptions. Projected anthropogenic land use drove greater relative habitat losses compared to projected climate change in many species. This pattern was only significant under assumptions of unlimited dispersal, however, where considerable climate-driven habitat gains offset some concurrent climate-driven habitat losses. Additionally, some of the habitat gained with projected climate change overlapped with projected land use. Most species showed potential northern habitat expansion and southern habitat contraction due to projected climate change, resulting in sharply contrasting patterns of impact between Central and South Coast Ecoregions. In the Central Coast, dispersal could play an important role moderating losses from both climate change and land use. In contrast, high geographic overlap in habitat losses driven by projected climate change and projected land use in the South Coast underscores the potential for compounding negative impacts of both drivers. Limiting habitat conversion may be a broadly beneficial strategy under climate change

  8. Coastal erosion problem, modelling and protection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yılmaz, Nihal; Balas, Lale; İnan, Asu

    2015-09-01

    Göksu Delta, located in the south of Silifke County of Mersin on the coastal plain formed by Göksu River, is one of the Specially Protected Areas in Turkey. Along the coastal area of the Delta, coastline changes at significant rates are observed, concentrating especially at four regions; headland of İncekum, coast of Paradeniz Lagoon, river mouth of Göksu and coast of Altınkum. The coast of Paradeniz Lagoon is suffering significantly from erosion and the consequent coastal retreating problem. Therefore, the narrow barrier beach which separates Paradeniz Lagoon from the Mediterranean Sea is getting narrower, creating a risk of uniting with the sea, thus causing the disappearance of the Lagoon. The aim of this study was to understand the coastal transport processes along the coastal area of Göksu Delta to determine the coastal sediment transport rates, and accordingly, to propose solutions to prevent the loss of coastal lands in the Delta. To this end, field measurements of currents and sediment grain sizes were carried out, and wind climate, wave climate, circulation patterns and longshore sediment transport rates were numerically modeled by HYDROTAM-3D, which is a three dimensional hydrodynamic transport model. Finally, considering its special importance as an environmentally protected region, some coastal structures of gabions were proposed as solutions against the coastal erosion problems of the Delta. The effects of proposed structures on future coastline changes were also modeled, and the coastlines predicted for the year 2017 are presented and discussed in the paper.

  9. Economic impact studies on development project of New Yogyakarta International Airport to aquaculture in Kulonprogo Coastal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rachman, F.; Satriagasa, M. C.; Riasasi, W.

    2018-03-01

    New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA) is being constructed in Temon Sub District, Kulonprogo District. It lies on 587.2 ha area in the southern part of Java Island coastal area. Many areas of Kulonprogro coastal area are used for aquaculture of vanname shrimp. In that case, the aquaculture land needs to be cleared for the airport construction necessity and requires compensation. The value of the compensation needs to be right calculated by both sides, regarding the aquaculture land are local community assets. This study uses spatial analysis and visual interpretation. Whereas, the calculation of the acquisition value and income capital value uses Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method. The result shows the area of aquaculture land which impacted to be cleared is 83 ha, means decreasing of shrimp ponds area in Temon Sub District, Kulonprogo District. The calculation of acquisition value for airport development indicates higher value than the income from the aquaculture activity. The results mean the aquaculture landlords do not incur losses due to the airport development project. These findings can be used for local government and related stakeholders to formulate a policy of aquaculture relocation and to estimate projection for aquaculture land suitability in Yogyakarta coastal area.

  10. Managing for No Net Loss of Ecological Services: An Approach for Quantifying Loss of Coastal Wetlands due to Sea Level Rise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kassakian, Jennifer; Jones, Ann; Martinich, Jeremy; Hudgens, Daniel

    2017-05-01

    Sea level rise has the potential to substantially alter the extent and nature of coastal wetlands and the critical ecological services they provide. In making choices about how to respond to rising sea level, planners are challenged with weighing easily quantified risks (e.g., loss of property value due to inundation) against those that are more difficult to quantify (e.g., loss of primary production or carbon sequestration services provided by wetlands due to inundation). Our goal was to develop a cost-effective, appropriately-scaled, model-based approach that allows planners to predict, under various sea level rise and response scenarios, the economic cost of wetland loss-with the estimates proxied by the costs of future restoration required to maintain the existing level of wetland habitat services. Our approach applies the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model to predict changes in wetland habitats over the next century, and then applies Habitat Equivalency Analysis to predict the cost of restoration projects required to maintain ecological services at their present, pre-sea level rise level. We demonstrate the application of this approach in the Delaware Bay estuary and in the Indian River Lagoon (Florida), and discuss how this approach can support future coastal decision-making.

  11. Erosion Losses of Soils on Arable Land in the European part of Russia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maltsev, K. A.; Yermolaev, O. P.

    2018-01-01

    The quantitative assessment of potential soil losses in arable lands of the European part of Russia is carried out in the article. The assessment was carried out using a mathematical model based on the mathematical dependencies of the universal soil loss equation and the mathematical dependencies of the State Hydrological Institute of Russia. Assessment of potential soil losses was performed using calculations in a geographic information system. To perform the calculations the database was created containing information on: the relief; properties of soils; climate and land use. The raster model of data organization was used to create the database and subsequent calculations. The assessment shows that the average amount of soil loss in the plowed land of the European territory of Russia is 11 t/ha per year. At the same time, about half of the territories are located in conditions where the soil loss value does not exceed 0.5 t/ha per year. The potential loss of soil taking into account the soil protection role of vegetation is 3.3 tons/ha per year. In addition, a spatial analysis of the distribution of soil loss by landscape zones shows that there is a consistent reduction in the potential loss of soil from the forest zone (20.92 t/ha per year) to the forest-steppe (10.84 t / ha per year), steppe (8.13 t/ha per year) and semi-desert (4.7 tons/ha per year) zone.

  12. An analysis of coastal zone management in England and the Netherlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, S.D.R.

    1998-08-01

    The coastal zone is an area of crucial economic and ecological significance, which has increasingly been recognised in land-use planning. Within the coastal zone, integrating land-use planning and environmental management is recognised as one way to minimise trade-offs of interest between economic development and environmental objectives. Many governments are currently discussing the potential role of integrated coastal zone management (CZM) within their planning systems, while some international organisations promote CZM as a means to counter the loss of coastal resources due to human occupation of the coast. This thesis examines how the coastal zone in the United Kingdom is perceived and how effectively CZM is being promoted as a planning model to secure sustainable coastal development through the integration of planning policies. Policy integration is not a quixotic quest, but a model suggesting appropriate methods to manage and reduce conflicts. Any planning model can be traceable to varying assumptions and propositions from political thought, which in turn arises from different political practices. Each CZM plan thus reflects the planning and policy culture of its national system. In order to provide a context within which to assess the UK approach, the development of CZM in the Netherlands is also examined. Both national planning systems have comprehensive statutory land-use planning systems, while marine issues are controlled sectorally by central government. Neither administration has a national CZM policy framework. This thesis therefore includes a comparison of two management plans: the Wash Estuary Management Plan and Integraal Beleidsplan Voordelta. By comparing the organisational structures, policy development and implementation, the case studies provide an insight into the national CZM planning strategy currently being followed in the UK. Finally, the thesis concludes by identifying ways in which CZM might be further improved in the UK and also

  13. Where the Sea Meets Land: The Coastal Zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Environmental Science and Technology, 1976

    1976-01-01

    The first Coastal Society Conference discussed the present status of the coasts, coastal legislation, United States offshore oil policies, assessment of coastal environmental impacts and food and energy as resources or threats. The Society finds that management and legislation are needed for our coasts. (BT)

  14. Nitrate-nitrogen losses through subsurface drainage under various agricultural land covers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Zhiming; Helmers, Matthew J; Christianson, Reid D; Pederson, Carl H

    2011-01-01

    Nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N) loading to surface water bodies from subsurface drainage is an environmental concern in the midwestern United States. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of various land covers on NO₃-N loss through subsurface drainage. Land-cover treatments included (i) conventional corn ( L.) (C) and soybean [ (L.) Merr.] (S); (ii) winter rye ( L.) cover crop before corn (rC) and before soybean (rS); (iii) kura clover ( M. Bieb.) as a living mulch for corn (kC); and (iv) perennial forage of orchardgrass ( L.) mixed with clovers (PF). In spring, total N uptake by aboveground biomass of rye in rC, rye in rS, kura clover in kC, and grasses in PF were 14.2, 31.8, 87.0, and 46.3 kg N ha, respectively. Effect of land covers on subsurface drainage was not significant. The NO₃-N loss was significantly lower for kC and PF than C and S treatments (p rye cover crop did not reduce NO₃-N loss, but NO₃-N concentration was significantly reduced in rC during March to June and in rS during July to November (p rye cover crop on NO-N loss reduction needs further investigation under conditions of different N rates, wider weather patterns, and fall tillage. by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  15. Urban Expansion: a Geo-Spatial Approach for Temporal Monitoring of Loss of Agricultural Land

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumari, N. S.; Shao, Z.; Huang, M.; Sanga, C. A.; Van Genderen, J. L.

    2017-09-01

    This paper presents some preliminary results from research on monitoring the urban growth of Shenzhen in China. Agriculture is still the pillar of national economies in many countries including China. Thus, agriculture contributes to population growth. Population growth follows either exponential or logistic growth models. These models can be examined using a time-series of geospatial data, mainly historical earth observation imagery from satellites such as LANDSAT. Such multitemporal data may provide insights into settlement analysis as well as on population dynamics and hence, quantify the loss of agricultural land. In this study, LANDSAT data of ten dates, at approximately five yearly intervals from 1977 to 2017 were used. The remote sensing techniques used for analysis of data for 40 years were image selection, then followed by geometric and radiometric corrections and mosaicking. Also, classification, remote sensing image fusion, and change detection methods were used. This research extracted the information on the amount, direction, and speed of urbanization, and hence, the number of hectares of agricultural land lost due to urban expansion. Several specific elements were used in the descriptive model of landscape changes and population dynamics of the city of Shenzhen in China. These elements are: i) quantify the urban changes, from a small town (37.000 people in the early 1970's) to the megalopolis of around 20 million habitants today. ii) Examining the rate of urban extension on the loss of agricultural landscape and population growth. iii) The loss of food production was analysed against the economic growth in the region. iv) The aspects of loss of agricultural land, area of built-up urban land, and increase in population are studied quantitatively, by the temporal analysis of earth observation geospatial data. The experimental results from this study show that the proposed method is effective in determining loss of agricultural land in any city due to

  16. Scientific, Social, and Institutional Constraints Facing Coastal Restoration in Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleiss, B.; Shabman, L. A.; Brown, G.

    2017-12-01

    Due to multiple stressors, including subsidence, accelerated sea level rise, canal construction, tropical storm damages, and basin-wide river management decisions, southern Louisiana is experiencing some of the world's highest rates of coastal land loss. Although ideas abound, the solutions proposed to mitigate for land loss are often uncertain, complex, expensive, and difficult. There are significant scientific uncertainties associated with fundamental processes including the spatial distribution of rates of subsidence, the anticipated impacts of increased inundation on marsh plant species and questions about the resilience of engineered solutions. Socially and politically, there is the need to balance navigation, flood risk management and environmental restoration with the fact that the land involved is largely privately owned and includes many communities and towns. And layered within this, there are federal and state regulatory constraints which seek to follow a myriad of existing State and Federal laws, protect the benefits realized from previous federal investments, and balance the conflicting interests of a large number of stakeholders. Additionally, current practice when implementing some environmental regulations is to assess impacts against the baseline of current conditions, not projected future, non-project conditions, making it difficult to receive a permit for projects which may have a short-term detriment, but hope for a long-term benefit. The resolution (or lack thereof) of these issues will serve to inform similar future struggles in other low lying coastal areas around the globe.

  17. Preliminary assessment of coastal erosion and local community adaptation in Sayung coastal area, central Java – Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Marfai, Muh Aris

    2012-01-01

    Dynamic environment in coastal area, especially due to coastal erosion process, has negative impact on human environment. Sayung coastal area, located in Central Java-Indonesia, has experienced severe impact of coastal erosion. As the result of the coastal erosion, hundreds of settlement located in coastal area has been destructed. Moreover, fishponds as the land use dominated in the coastal area also has been severely destroyed. Besides the coastal erosion, increasing of inundated area due t...

  18. Correlations between land covers and honey bee colony losses in a country with industrialized and rural regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clermont, Antoine; Eickermann, Michael; Kraus, François; Hoffmann, Lucien; Beyer, Marco

    2015-11-01

    High levels of honey bee colony losses were recently reported from Canada, China, Europe, Israel, Turkey and the United States, raising concerns of a global pollinator decline and questioning current land use practices, in particular intense agricultural cropping systems. Sixty-seven crops (data from the years 2010-2012) and 66 mid-term stable land cover classes (data from 2007) were analysed for statistical relationships with the honey bee colony losses experienced over the winters 2010/11-2012/13 in Luxembourg (Western Europe). The area covered by each land cover class, the shortest distance between each land cover class and the respective apiary, the number of plots covered by each land use class and the size of the biggest plot of each land cover class within radii of 2 km and 5 km around 166 apiaries (2010), 184 apiaries (2011) and 188 apiaries (2012) were tested for correlations with honey bee colony losses (% per apiary) experienced in the winter following the season when the crops were grown. Artificial water bodies, open urban areas, large industrial facilities including heavy industry, railways and associated installations, buildings and installations with socio-cultural purpose, camping-, sports-, playgrounds, golf courts, oilseed crops other than oilseed rape like sunflower or linseed, some spring cereals and former forest clearcuts or windthrows were the land cover classes most frequently associated with high honey bee colony losses. Grain maize, mixed forest and mixed coniferous forest were the land cover classes most frequently associated with low honey bee colony losses. The present data suggest that land covers related to transport, industry and leisure may have made a more substantial contribution to winter honey bee colony losses in developed countries than anticipated so far. Recommendations for the positioning of apiaries are discussed. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. Marginality Phenomena and New Uses on the Agricultural Land. Diachronic and Spatial Analyses of the Molise Coastal Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donatella Cialdea

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the evolution of land use in the Molise Region. The attention is focused on the changes that occurred primarily on the rural area of the coastal area in this Region.  The presence of urban centers of limited dimension, both for the demographic performance and for the dimensional order, is the main characteristic of this area. The historic part of rural tradition, at the same time, no longer emerges as a primary component of the regional landscape. This trend is particularly evident in the coastal zone, which is analyzed in this work not only in the range of areas that directly bordering the Adriatic Sea, but also in its pre-coastal zone, which remains imprinted on a matrix rural, but suffering from marginalization phenomena

  20. [Nitrogen Losses Under the Action of Different Land Use Types of Small Catchment in Three Gorges Region].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Cheng-long; Gao, Ming; Ni, Jiu-pai; Xie, De-ti; Deng, Hua

    2016-05-15

    As an independent water-collecting area, small catchment is the source of non-point source pollution in Three Gorges Region. Choosing 3 kinds of the most representative land-use types and using them to lay monitoring points of overland runoff within the small catchment of Wangjiagou in Fuling of Three Gorges Region, the author used the samples of surface runoff collected through the twelve natural rainfalls from May to December to analyze the feature of spatial-temporal change of Nitrogen's losses concentrations under the influence of different land use types and the hillslopes and small catchments composed by those land use types, revealing the relation between different land-use types and Nitrogen's losses of small catchments in Three Gorges Region. The result showed: the average losses concentration of TN showed the biggest difference for different land use types during the period of spring crops, and the average value of dry land was 1. 61 times and 6.73 times of the values of interplanting field of mulberry and paddy field, respectively; the change of the losses concentration of TN was most conspicuous in the 3 periods of paddy field. The main element was NO₃⁻-N, and the relation between TN and NO₃⁻-N showed a significant linear correlation. TN's and NO₃⁻-N's losses concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with the area ratio of corn and mustard, but got a significant negative correlation with the area ratio of paddy and mulberry; NH₄⁺-N's losses concentrations got a significant positive correlation with the area ratio of mustard. Among all the hillslopes composed by different land use types, TN's average losses concentration of surface runoff of the hillslope composed by interplantating field of mulberry and paddy land during the three periods was the lowest, and the values were 2.55, 11.52, 8.58 mg · L⁻¹, respectively; the hillslope of rotation plough land of corn and mustard had the maximum value, and the values were

  1. Sea-level rise modeling handbook: Resource guide for coastal land managers, engineers, and scientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doyle, Thomas W.; Chivoiu, Bogdan; Enwright, Nicholas M.

    2015-08-24

    Global sea level is rising and may accelerate with continued fossil fuel consumption from industrial and population growth. In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted more than 30 training and feedback sessions with Federal, State, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) coastal managers and planners across the northern Gulf of Mexico coast to evaluate user needs, potential benefits, current scientific understanding, and utilization of resource aids and modeling tools focused on sea-level rise. In response to the findings from the sessions, this sea-level rise modeling handbook has been designed as a guide to the science and simulation models for understanding the dynamics and impacts of sea-level rise on coastal ecosystems. The review herein of decision-support tools and predictive models was compiled from the training sessions, from online research, and from publications. The purpose of this guide is to describe and categorize the suite of data, methods, and models and their design, structure, and application for hindcasting and forecasting the potential impacts of sea-level rise in coastal ecosystems. The data and models cover a broad spectrum of disciplines involving different designs and scales of spatial and temporal complexity for predicting environmental change and ecosystem response. These data and models have not heretofore been synthesized, nor have appraisals been made of their utility or limitations. Some models are demonstration tools for non-experts, whereas others require more expert capacity to apply for any given park, refuge, or regional application. A simplified tabular context has been developed to list and contrast a host of decision-support tools and models from the ecological, geological, and hydrological perspectives. Criteria were established to distinguish the source, scale, and quality of information input and geographic datasets; physical and biological constraints and relations; datum characteristics of water and land components

  2. Determination of Soft Lithology Causes The Land Subsidence in Coastal Semarang City by Resistivity Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widada, Sugeng; Saputra, Sidhi; Hariadi

    2018-02-01

    Semarang City is located in the northern coastal plain of Java which is geologically composed of alluvial deposits. The process of the sediment diagenesis has caused a land subsidence. On the other hand, the development of the industrial, service, education and housing sectors has increased the number of building significantly. The number of building makes the pressure of land surface increased, and finally, this also increased the rate of land subsidence. The drilling data indicates that not all layers of lithology are soft layers supporting the land subsidence. However, vertical distribution of the soft layer is still unclear. This study used Resistivity method to map out the soft zone layers of lithology. Schlumberger electrode configuration with sounding system method was selected to find a good vertical resolution and maximum depth. The results showed that the lithology layer with resistivity less than 3 ohm is a layer of clay and sandy clay that has the low bearing capacity so easily compressed by pressure load. A high land subsidence is happening in the thick soft layer. The thickness of that layer is smaller toward the direction of avoiding the beach. The improvement of the bearing capacity of this layer is expected to be a solution to the problem of land subsidence.

  3. Using SST and land cover data from EO Missions for improved mesoscale modelling of the coastal zone

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karagali, Ioanna; Floors, Rogier Ralph; Lea, Guillaume

    was to evaluate the uncertainty of the modelled wind in the coastal zone and further improve it. Moreover LIDAR measurements were used to evaluate the wind speed retrieval from high resolution SAR systems (Sentinel-1 and TerraSAR-X). The WRF model used a high-resolution satellite SST reanalysis product from...... be implemented in the meso-scale model to better represent the actual conditions in the study area. Such improvements are expected to strengthen the model’s ability to represent land- sea and air-sea interactions, the atmospheric stability and the local topographic features that partly affect the coastal zone......Existing wind measurements in near-shore and offshore areas are sparse and scarce, therefore simulations from state-of-the-art meso-scale models are used for wind resource predictions. In coastal and near-shore areas, models are inaccurate and uncertain, mainly because of numerical approximations...

  4. Stakeholder perspectives on land-use strategies for adapting to climate-change-enhanced coastal hazards: Sarasota, Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frazier, Tim G.; Wood, Nathan; Yarnal, Brent

    2010-01-01

    Sustainable land-use planning requires decision makers to balance community growth with resilience to natural hazards. This balance is especially difficult in many coastal communities where planners must grapple with significant growth projections, the persistent threat of extreme events (e.g., hurricanes), and climate-change-driven sea level rise that not only presents a chronic hazard but also alters the spatial extent of sudden-onset hazards such as hurricanes. We examine these stressors on coastal, long-term land-use planning by reporting the results of a one-day community workshop held in Sarasota County, Florida that included focus groups and participatory mapping exercises. Workshop participants reflected various political agendas and socioeconomic interests of five local knowledge domains: business, environment, emergency management and infrastructure, government, and planning. Through a series of alternating domain-specific focus groups and interactive plenary sessions, participants compared the county 2050 comprehensive land-use plan to maps of contemporary hurricane storm-surge hazard zones and projected storm-surge hazard zones enlarged by sea level rise scenarios. This interactive, collaborative approach provided each group of domain experts the opportunity to combine geographically-specific, scientific knowledge on natural hazards and climate change with local viewpoints and concerns. Despite different agendas, interests, and proposed adaptation strategies, there was common agreement among participants for the need to increase community resilience to contemporary hurricane storm-surge hazards and to explore adaptation strategies to combat the projected, enlarged storm-surge hazard zones.

  5. Coastal sediment elevation change following anthropogenic mangrove clearing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayden, Heather L.; Granek, Elise F.

    2015-11-01

    Coastal mangrove forests along tropical shorelines serve as an important interface between land and sea. They provide a physical buffer protecting the coastline from erosion and act as sediment "traps" catching terrestrial sediment, thus preventing smothering of subtidal coral reefs. Coastal development that removes mangrove habitat may impact adjacent nearshore coral reefs through sedimentation and nutrient loading. We examined differences in sediment elevation change between patches of open-coast intact and anthropogenically cleared red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) on the east side of Turneffe Atoll, Belize, to quantify changes following mangrove clearing. Samples were collected over a 24 month period at five study sites, each containing paired intact (+mangrove) and cleared (-mangrove) plots. Five sediment elevation pins were deployed in each plot: behind areas cleared of mangroves (-mangrove) and behind adjacent intact mangroves (+mangrove). Sediment elevation increased at intact mangrove sites (M = +3.83 mm, SE = 0.95) whereas cleared mangrove areas suffered elevation loss (M = -7.30 mm, SE = 3.38). Mangroves inshore of partial or continuous gaps in the adjacent fringing reefs had higher rates of elevation loss (M = -15.05 mm) than mangroves inshore of continuous fringing reefs (M = -1.90 mm). Our findings provide information on potential effects of mangrove clearing and the role of offshore habitat characteristics on coastal sediment trapping and maintenance of sediment elevation by mangroves. With implications for coastline capacity to adjust to sea level rise, these findings are relevant to management of coastal fringing mangrove forests across the Caribbean.

  6. Temporal Land Cover Analysis for Net Ecosystem Improvement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ke, Yinghai; Coleman, Andre M.; Diefenderfer, Heida L.

    2013-04-09

    We delineated 8 watersheds contributing to previously defined river reaches within the 1,468-km2 historical floodplain of the tidally influenced lower Columbia River and estuary. We assessed land-cover change at the watershed, reach, and restoration site scales by reclassifying remote-sensing data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Change Analysis Program’s land cover/land change product into forest, wetland, and urban categories. The analysis showed a 198.3 km2 loss of forest cover during the first 6 years of the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program, 2001–2006. Total measured urbanization in the contributing watersheds of the estuary during the full 1996-2006 change analysis period was 48.4 km2. Trends in forest gain/loss and urbanization differed between watersheds. Wetland gains and losses were within the margin of error of the satellite imagery analysis. No significant land cover change was measured at restoration sites, although it was visible in aerial imagery, therefore, the 30-m land-cover product may not be appropriate for assessment of early-stage wetland restoration. These findings suggest that floodplain restoration sites in reaches downstream of watersheds with decreasing forest cover will be subject to increased sediment loads, and those downstream of urbanization will experience effects of increased impervious surfaces on hydrologic processes.

  7. Land-margin ecosystem hydrologic data for the coastal Everglades, Florida, water years 1996-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Gordon H.; Smith, Thomas J.; Balentine, Karen M.

    2014-01-01

    Mangrove forests and salt marshes dominate the landscape of the coastal Everglades (Odum and McIvor, 1990). However, the ecological effects from potential sea-level rise and increased water flows from planned freshwater Everglades restoration on these coastal systems are poorly understood. The National Park Service (NPS) proposed the South Florida Global Climate Change Project (SOFL-GCC) in 1990 to evaluate climate change and the effect from rising sea levels on the coastal Everglades, particularly at the marsh/mangrove interface or ecotone (Soukup and others, 1990). A primary objective of SOFL-GCC project was to monitor and synthesize the hydrodynamics of the coastal Everglades from the upstream freshwater marsh to the downstream estuary mangrove. Two related hypotheses were set forward (Nuttle and Cosby, 1993): 1. There exists hydrologic conditions (tide, local rainfall, and upstream water deliveries), which characterize the location of the marsh/mangrove ecotone along the marine and terrestrial hydrologic gradient; and 2. The marsh/mangrove ecotone is sensitive to fluctuations in sea level and freshwater inflow from inland areas. Hydrologic monitoring of the SOFL-GCC network began in 1995 after startup delays from Hurricane Andrew (August 1992) and organizational transfers from the NPS to the National Biological Survey (October 1993) and the merger with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Biological Research Division in 1996 (Smith, 2004). As the SOFL-GCC project progressed, concern by environmental scientists and land managers over how the diversion of water from Everglades National Park would affect the restoration of the greater Everglades ecosystem. Everglades restoration scenarios were based on hydrodynamic models, none of which included the coastal zone (Fennema and others, 1994). Modeling efforts were expanded to include the Everglades coastal zone (Schaffranek and others, 2001) with SOFL-GCC hydrologic data assisting the ecological modeling needs. In 2002

  8. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2010 Forest Fragmentation Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  9. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 2006 Forest Fragmentation Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  10. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1985 Forest Fragmentation Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  11. NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) 1996 Forest Fragmentation Data - Coastal United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

  12. Ecological risk caused by land use change in the coastal zone: a case study in the Yellow River Delta High-Efficiency Ecological Economic Zone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di, X H; Wang, Y D; Hou, X Y

    2014-01-01

    China's coastal zone plays an important role in ecological services production and social-economic development; however, extensive and intensive land resource utilization and land use change have lead to high ecological risk in this area during last decade. Regional ecological risk assessment can provide fundamental knowledge and scientific basis for better understanding of the relationship between regional landscape ecosystem and human activities or climate changes, facilitating the optimization strategy of land use structure and improving the ecological risk prevention capability. In this paper, the Yellow River Delta High-Efficiency Ecological Economic Zone is selected as the study site, which is undergoing a new round of coastal zone exploitation and has endured substantial land use change in the past decade. Land use maps of 2000, 2005 and 2010 were generated based on Landsat images by visual interpretation method, and the ecological risk index was then calculated. The index was 0.3314, 0.3461 and 0.3176 in 2000, 2005 and 2010 respectively, which showed a positive transition of regional ecological risk in 2005

  13. Nuisance Flooding and Relative Sea-Level Rise: the Importance of Present-Day Land Motion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karegar, Makan A; Dixon, Timothy H; Malservisi, Rocco; Kusche, Jürgen; Engelhart, Simon E

    2017-09-11

    Sea-level rise is beginning to cause increased inundation of many low-lying coastal areas. While most of Earth's coastal areas are at risk, areas that will be affected first are characterized by several additional factors. These include regional oceanographic and meteorological effects and/or land subsidence that cause relative sea level to rise faster than the global average. For catastrophic coastal flooding, when wind-driven storm surge inundates large areas, the relative contribution of sea-level rise to the frequency of these events is difficult to evaluate. For small scale "nuisance flooding," often associated with high tides, recent increases in frequency are more clearly linked to sea-level rise and global warming. While both types of flooding are likely to increase in the future, only nuisance flooding is an early indicator of areas that will eventually experience increased catastrophic flooding and land loss. Here we assess the frequency and location of nuisance flooding along the eastern seaboard of North America. We show that vertical land motion induced by recent anthropogenic activity and glacial isostatic adjustment are contributing factors for increased nuisance flooding. Our results have implications for flood susceptibility, forecasting and mitigation, including management of groundwater extraction from coastal aquifers.

  14. Land Use and Land Cover Change Analysis along the Coastal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Agribotix GCS 077

    are carried out on the land usually effect changes in its cover. ... The FAO document on land cover classification systems, (2000) partly answers this ... over the surface land, including water, vegetation, bare soils and or artificial structures. ... diseases may occur more readily in areas exposed by Land Use and Land Cover ...

  15. Analysis of change in marsh types of coastal Louisiana, 1978-2001

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linscombe, Robert G.; Hartley, Stephen B.

    2011-01-01

    Scientists and geographers have provided multiple datasets and maps to document temporal changes in vegetation types and land-water relationships in coastal Louisiana. Although these maps provide useful historical information, technological limitations prevented these and other mapping efforts from providing sufficiently detailed calculations of areal changes and shifts in habitat coverage. The current analysis of habitat change draws upon these past mapping efforts but is based on an advanced, geographic information system dataset that was created by using Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper imagery and digital orthophoto quarter quadrangles. The objective of building this dataset was to more specifically define land-water relationships over time in coastal Louisiana, and it provides the most detailed analysis of vegetation shifts to date. In the current study, we have attempted to explain these vegetation shifts by interpreting them in the context of rainfall records, data from the Palmer Drought Severity Index, and salinity data. During the 23 years we analyzed, total marsh acreage decreased, with conversion of marsh to open water. Furthermore, the general trend across coastal Louisiana was a shift to increasingly fresh marsh types. Although fresh marsh remained almost the same during the 1978-88 study period, there were greater increases during the 1988-2001 study periods. Intermediate marsh followed the same pattern, whereas brackish marsh showed a reverse (decreasing) pattern. Changes in saline (saltwater) marsh were minimal. Interpreting shifts in marsh vegetation types by using climate and salinity data provides better understanding of factors influencing these changes and, therefore, can improve our ability to make predictions about future marsh loss related to vegetation changes. Results of our study indicate that precipitation fluctuations prior to vegetation surveys impacted salinities differently across the coast. For example, a wet 6 months prior to the survey

  16. U.S. Coastal Relief Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  17. Assessing the recovery of coastal wetlands from oil spills

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendelssohn, I.A.; Hester, M.W.; Hill, J.M.

    1993-01-01

    The impact of oil spills on coastal environments and the ability of these systems to exhibit long-term recovery has received increased attention in recent years. Although oil spills can have significant short-term impacts on coastal marshes, the long-term effects and eventual recovery are not well documented. Estuarine marshes have sometimes been reported to exhibit slow recovery after oil spills, whereas in other instances they appear to have great resiliency, with complete recovery after one or two years. To document and understand this phenomenon better, we have investigated the long-term recovery of a south Louisiana estuarine marsh exposed to an accidental spill of crude oil. Although a pipeline rupture releasing Louisiana crude oil caused the near complete mortality of a brackish marsh dominated by Spartina patens and S. alterniflora, this marsh completely recovered four years after the spill with no differences in plant species cover between oiled and reference marshes. Remotely sensed imagery of the study site confirmed the relatively rapid recovery demonstrated by the ground truth data. Louisiana's coastal marshes are naturally experiencing rapid rates of deterioration. Land loss rates, determined from aerial imagery, at the spill site and adjacent reference areas before and after the spill demonstrated that the long-term loss rates were not affected by the spill event

  18. Land claim and loss of tidal flats in the Yangtze Estuary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ying; Dong, Jinwei; Xiao, Xiangming; Zhang, Min; Tian, Bo; Zhou, Yunxuan; Li, Bo; Ma, Zhijun

    2016-04-01

    Tidal flats play a critical role in supporting biodiversity and in providing ecosystem services but are rapidly disappearing because of human activities. The Yangtze Estuary is one of the world's largest alluvial estuaries and is adjacent to the most developed economic zone in China. Using the Yangtze Estuary as a study region, we developed an automatic algorithm to estimate tidal flat areas based on the Land Surface Water Index and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. The total area of tidal flats in the Yangtze Estuary has decreased by 36% over the past three decades, including a 38% reduction in saltmarshes and a 31% reduction in barren mudflats. Meanwhile, land claim has accumulated to 1077 km(2), a value that exceeds the area of the remaining tidal flats. We divided the Yangtze Estuary into Shanghai and Jiangsu areas, which differ in riverine sediment supply and tidal flat management patterns. Although land claim has accelerated in both areas, the decline in tidal flat area has been much greater in Jiangsu than in Shanghai because of abundant supplies of sediment and artificial siltation in the latter area. The results highlight the need for better coastal planning and management based on tidal flat dynamics.

  19. Soil respiration and carbon loss relationship with temperature and land use conversion in freeze-thaw agricultural area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouyang, Wei; Lai, Xuehui; Li, Xia; Liu, Heying; Lin, Chunye; Hao, Fanghua

    2015-11-15

    Soil respiration (Rs) was hypothesized to have a special response pattern to soil temperature and land use conversion in the freeze-thaw area. The Rs differences of eight types of land use conversions during agricultural development were observed and the impacts of Rs on soil organic carbon (SOC) loss were assessed. The land use conversions during last three decades were categorized into eight types, and the 141 SOC sampling sites were grouped by conversion type. The typical soil sampling sites were subsequently selected for monitoring of soil temperature and Rs of each land use conversion types. The Rs correlations with temperature at difference depths and different conversion types were identified with statistical analysis. The empirical mean error model and the biophysical theoretical model with Arrhenius equation about the Rs sensitivity to temperature were both analyzed and shared the similar patterns. The temperature dependence of soil respiration (Q10) analysis further demonstrated that the averaged value of eight types of land use in this freeze-thaw agricultural area ranged from 1.15 to 1.73, which was lower than the other cold areas. The temperature dependence analysis demonstrated that the Rs in the top layer of natural land covers was more sensitive to temperature and experienced a large vertical difference. The natural land covers exhibited smaller Rs and the farmlands had the bigger value due to tillage practices. The positive relationships between SOC loss and Rs were identified, which demonstrated that Rs was the key chain for SOC loss during land use conversion. The spatial-vertical distributions of SOC concentration with the 1.5-km grid sampling showed that the more SOC loss in the farmland, which was coincided with the higher Rs in farmlands. The analysis of Rs dynamics provided an innovative explanation for SOC loss in the freeze-thaw agricultural area. The analysis of Rs dynamics provided an innovative explanation for SOC loss in the freeze

  20. Drivers of coastal shoreline change: case study of hon dat coast, Kien Giang, Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Hai-Hoa; McAlpine, Clive; Pullar, David; Leisz, Stephen Joseph; Galina, Gramotnev

    2015-05-01

    Coastal shorelines are naturally dynamic, shifting in response to coastal geomorphological processes. Globally, land use change associated with coastal urban development and growing human population pressures is accelerating coastal shoreline change. In southern Vietnam, coastal erosion currently is posing considerable risks to shoreline land use and coastal inhabitants. The aim of this paper is to quantify historical shoreline changes along the Hon Dat coast between 1995 and 2009, and to document the relationships between coastal mangrove composition, width and density, and rates of shoreline change. The generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to quantify the major biophysical and land-use factors influencing shoreline change rates. Most significant drivers of the rates of change are cutting of mangroves, the dominant mangrove genus, changes in adjacent shoreline land use, changes of shoreline land cover, and width of fringing mangroves. We suggest that a possible and inexpensive strategy for robust mangrove shoreline defense is direct mangrove planting to promote mangrove density with the presence of breakwater structures. In the shorter term, construction of coastal barriers such as fence-structured melaleuca poles in combination with mangrove restoration schemes could help retain coastal sediments and increase the elevation of the accretion zone, thereby helping to stabilize eroding fringe shorelines. It also is recommended that implementation of a system of payments for mangrove ecosystem services and the stronger regulation of mangrove cutting and unsustainable land-use change to strengthen the effectiveness of mangrove conservation programs and coastal land-use management.

  1. Drivers of Coastal Shoreline Change: Case Study of Hon Dat Coast, Kien Giang, Vietnam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Hai-Hoa; McAlpine, Clive; Pullar, David; Leisz, Stephen Joseph; Galina, Gramotnev

    2015-05-01

    Coastal shorelines are naturally dynamic, shifting in response to coastal geomorphological processes. Globally, land use change associated with coastal urban development and growing human population pressures is accelerating coastal shoreline change. In southern Vietnam, coastal erosion currently is posing considerable risks to shoreline land use and coastal inhabitants. The aim of this paper is to quantify historical shoreline changes along the Hon Dat coast between 1995 and 2009, and to document the relationships between coastal mangrove composition, width and density, and rates of shoreline change. The generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to quantify the major biophysical and land-use factors influencing shoreline change rates. Most significant drivers of the rates of change are cutting of mangroves, the dominant mangrove genus, changes in adjacent shoreline land use, changes of shoreline land cover, and width of fringing mangroves. We suggest that a possible and inexpensive strategy for robust mangrove shoreline defense is direct mangrove planting to promote mangrove density with the presence of breakwater structures. In the shorter term, construction of coastal barriers such as fence-structured melaleuca poles in combination with mangrove restoration schemes could help retain coastal sediments and increase the elevation of the accretion zone, thereby helping to stabilize eroding fringe shorelines. It also is recommended that implementation of a system of payments for mangrove ecosystem services and the stronger regulation of mangrove cutting and unsustainable land-use change to strengthen the effectiveness of mangrove conservation programs and coastal land-use management.

  2. Protecting biodiversity in coastal environments: Introduction and overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beatley, T.

    1991-01-01

    Much less attention has been paid in recent years to the threats to coastal and marine biodiversity, compared to biodiversity in more terrestrial habitats. The tremendous biodiversity at risk and the severity and magnitude of the pressures being exerted on coastal habitats suggest the need for much greater attention to be focused here by both the policy and scientific communities. The threats to coastal biodiversity are numerous and include air and water pollution; over exploitation and harvesting; the introduction of exotic species; the dramatic loss of habitat due to urbanization, agricultural expansion, and other land use changes; and the potentially serious effects of global climate change. These threats suggest the need for swift action at a number of jurisdictional and governmental levels. Major components of such an effort are identified and described. These include the need for comprehensive management approaches, the expansion of parks and protected areas, restoration and mitigation, multinational and international initiatives, and efforts to promote sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles. Suggestions for future research are also provided

  3. Urbanisation, coastal development and vulnerability, and catchments

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ntombela, Cebile

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The growth of urban areas that form coastal cities, especially in the WIO, places an increasing demand on natural coastal extractive and non-extractive resources. The use and conversion of coastal land and catchments is considered a permanent effect...

  4. Effects of Urbanization-Induced Cultivated Land Loss on Ecosystem Services in the North China Plain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Song

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Since the implementation of market oriented economic reform in 1978, China has been on the track of rapid urbanization. The unprecedented urbanization in China has resulted in substantial cultivated land loss and rapid expansion of urban areas. The cultivated land loss due to urbanization not only threatens food security in China, but has also led to ecological system degradation to which close attention should be paid. Therefore, we examined the effects of the conversion from cultivated to urban areas on the ecosystem service in the North China Plain on the basis of a net primary productivity based ecosystem service model (NESM and a buffer comparison method. Cultivated land loss due to urbanization in the North China Plain led to a total loss of ecosystem service value of 34.66% during the period 1988–2008. Urban expansion significantly decreased the ecosystem service function of water conservation (–124.03%, nutrient cycling (–31.91%, gas regulation (−7.18%, and organic production (–7.18%, while it improved the soil conservation function (2.40%. Land use change accounted for 57.40% of the changes in ecosystem service and had a major influence on the changes in nutrient cycling and water conservation. However, climate change mainly determined the changes in gas regulation, organic production, and soil conservation.

  5. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Hawaii

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  6. Policies for Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glickson, D.; Johnson, S.

    2014-12-01

    Hurricane- and coastal storm-related economic losses have increased substantially over the past century, largely due to expanding population and development in susceptible coastal areas. Concurrent with this growth, the federal government has assumed an increasing proportion of the financial responsibility associated with U.S. coastal storms, which may discourage state and local governments from taking appropriate actions to reduce risk and enhance resilience. Strategies to manage coastal storm risks fall into two categories: reducing the probability of flooding or wave impact (such as seawalls, storm surge barriers, beach nourishment, dune building, restoration/expansion of oyster reefs, salt marshes, and mangroves) and reducing the number or vulnerability of people or structures (such as relocation, land-use planning, and elevating or floodproofing buildings). Over the past century, most coastal risk management programs have emphasized coastal armoring, while doing little to decrease development in harm's way. This National Research Council report calls for the development of a national vision for managing coastal risks that includes a long-term view, regional solutions, and recognition of all benefits. A national coastal risk assessment is needed to identify high priority areas. Benefit-cost analysis provides a reasonable framework to evaluate national investments in coastal risk reduction, if constrained by other important environmental, social, and life-safety factors. Extensive collaboration and additional policy changes will be necessary to move from a nation that is primarily reactive to coastal disasters to one that invests wisely in coastal risk reduction and builds resilience among coastal communities.

  7. Integrated Community Based Coastal Management: Lesson From The Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadi, Sudharto P.

    2018-02-01

    Coastal abrasion has been occurred throughout coastline of Java reaching 745 km at length, account for 44% of total Java’s coastline. This phenomena is caused by reclamation, cutting of mangrove, land-use change and other human activities specifically at coastal area. Coastal abrasion stimulates flood or tidal flood, when sea level rise, the sea water flows to the land undated fish pond, settlement and other infrastructures standing at coastal area. Tidal flood destroys settlement lead to significant decrease of property value: land and house. Coastal abrasion caused lose people’s job and income. One measure taken by local community is mangrove cultivation intended to prevent sea level rise flowing to the inland. However many efforts taken by community frequently fail because of un-integrated approach. This paper reviews a mangrove plantations in Mangunharjo, district of Tugu, Semarang, Central Java by utilizing an innovative approach integrating environmental, economic and social aspect. These mangrove cultivations environmentally useful to prevent coastal abrasion, economically creating income for local people and socially supported by local community. These three approaches ensure sustainability of mangrove’s culture.

  8. Soil quality succession of mudflat in coastal area of China under different types of man-made land uses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Haiying; Shao, Hongbo; Xu, Zhaolong; Peng, Cheng

    2017-04-01

    Marshy reclamation in coastal area is becoming an important strategy for food safety security and economic development in China. After the reclamation of mudflat, the nutrient concentration in soil is one of the dominated factors restricting the development of marshy agriculture. However, little information is available for soil nutrient dynamics and its driving mechanisms under different types of man-made land uses. In this review, we summarized the soil nutrient dynamics under different types of man-made land uses (bare mudflat soil, rice-wheat rotation soil, aquaculture soil, and forest soil), including the change of physical and chemical features of the reclaimed soil; ii) the dynamics of soil organic matters and its driving mechanism in marshy land; iii) the migration of N, P, and K in marshy soil; and iv) the oriented cultivation and improvement for soil nutrient in marshy soil. This study contributes not only to understanding the soil nutrient cycling in marshy land, but also to providing valuable information for the sustainable development of salt-soil agriculture in marshy land along seaside cities of China.

  9. [Runoff loss of soil mineral nitrogen and its relationship with grass coverage on Loess slope land].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yali; Li, Huai'en; Zhang, Xingchang; Xiao, Bo

    2006-12-01

    In a simulated rainfall experiment on Loess slope land, this paper determined the rainfall, surface runoff and the effective depth of interaction (EDI) between rainfall and soil mineral nitrogen, and studied the effects of grass coverage on the EDI and the runoff loss of soil mineral nitrogen. The results showed that with the increase of EDI, soil nitrogen in deeper layers could be released into surface runoff through dissolution and desorption. The higher the grass coverage, the deeper the EDI was. Grass coverage promoted the interaction between surface runoff and surface soil. On the slope land with 60%, 80% and 100% of grass coverage, the mean content of runoff mineral nitrogen increased by 34.52%, 32.67% and 6.00%, while surface runoff decreased by 4.72%, 9.84% and 12.89%, and eroded sediment decreased by 83.55%, 87.11% and 89.01%, respectively, compared with bare slope land. The total runoff loss of soil mineral nitrogen on the lands with 60%, 80%, and 100% of grass coverage was 95.73%, 109.04%, and 84.05% of that on bare land, respectively. Grass cover had dual effects on the surface runoff of soil mineral nitrogen. On one hand, it enhanced the influx of soil mineral nitrogen to surface runoff, and on the other hand, it markedly decreased the runoff, resulting in the decrease of soil mineral nitrogen loss through runoff and sediment. These two distinct factors codetermined the total runoff loss of soil mineral nitrogen.

  10. Coastal wetlands: an integrated ecosystem approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perillo, G. M. E.; Wolanski, E.; Cahoon, D.R.; Brinson, M.M.

    2009-01-01

    Coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea level and the intervention of human populations both along the estuary and in the river catchment. Direct impacts include the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures. Indirect impacts derive from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations. As sea level rises, coastal wetlands in most areas of the world migrate landward to occupy former uplands. The competition of these lands from human development is intensifying, making the landward migration impossible in many cases. This book provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide, and suggestions for their management. In this book a CD is included containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world.

  11. Comparison between the Coastal Impacts of Cyclone Nargis and the Indian Ocean Tsunami

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritz, H. M.; Blount, C.

    2009-12-01

    On 26 December 2004 a great earthquake with a moment magnitude of 9.3 occurred off the North tip of Sumatra, Indonesia. The Indian Ocean tsunami claimed 230,000 lives making it the deadliest in recorded history. Less than 4 years later tropical cyclone Nargis (Cat. 4) made landfall in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady delta on 2 May 2008 causing the worst natural disaster in Myanmar’s recorded history. Official death toll estimates exceed 138,000 fatalities making it the 7th deadliest cyclone ever recorded worldwide. The Bay of Bengal counts seven tropical cyclones with death tolls in excess of 100,000 striking India and Bangladesh in the past 425 years, which highlights the difference in return periods between extreme cyclones and tsunamis. Damage estimates at over $10 billion made Nargis the most damaging cyclone ever recorded in the Indian Ocean. Although the two natural disasters are completely different in their generation mechanisms they both share massive coastal inundations as primary damage and death cause. While the damage patterns exhibit similarities the forcing differs. The primary tsunami impact is dominated by the runup of a few main waves washing rapidly ashore and inducing high lateral forces. On the contrary the tropical cyclone storm surge damage is the result of numerous storm waves continuously hitting the flooded structures on the elevated storm tide level. While coastal vegetation such as mangroves may be effective at reducing superimposed storm waves they are limited at reducing storm surge. Unfortunately, mangroves have been significantly cut for charcoal and land use as rice paddies in Myanmar due to rapid population growth and economic reasons, thereby increasing coastal vulnerability and land loss due to erosion (Figure 1). The period of a storm surge is typically an order of magnitude longer than the period of a tsunami resulting in significantly larger inundation distances along coastal plains and river deltas. The storm surge of cyclone Nargis

  12. Land use/land cover changes around Rameshwaram Island, east coast of India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Gowthaman, R.; Dwarakish, G.S.; Sanilkumar, V.

    Land-use/land cover changes are studied using the Indian Remote Sensing satellite (IRS-1C, IRS-6) Linear Image Self-scan Sensor (LISS) III data of 1998 and 2010 Coastal land use categories such as sand, vegetation, coral reef and water have been...

  13. Managing coastal resources in the 21st century

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weinstein, Michael P.; Baird, Ronald C.; Conover, David O.; Gross, Matthias; Keulartz, Jozef; Loomis, David K.; Naveh, Zev; Peterson, Susan B.; Reed, Denise J.; Roe, Emery; Swanson, R. Lawrence; Swart, Jacques A. A.; Teal, John M.; Turner, R. Eugene; van der Windt, Henny J.

    Coastal ecosystems are increasingly dominated by humans. Consequently, the human dimensions of sustainability science have become an integral part of emerging coastal governance and management practices. But if we are to avoid the harsh lessons of land management, coastal decision makers must

  14. Coastal Vulnerability to Erosion Processes: Study Cases from Different Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anfuso, Giorgio; Martinez Del Pozo, Jose Angel; Rangel-Buitrago, Nelson

    2010-05-01

    When natural processes affect or threaten human activities or infrastructures they become a natural hazard. In order to prevent the natural hazards impact and the associated economic and human losses, coastal managers need to know the intrinsic vulnerability of the littoral, using information on the physical and ecological coastal features, human occupation and present and future shoreline trends. The prediction of future coastline positions can be based on the study of coastal changes which have occurred over recent decades. Vertical aerial photographs, satellite imagery and maps are very useful data sources for the reconstruction of coast line changes at long (>60 years) and medium (between 60 and 10 years) temporal and spatial scales. Vulnerability maps have been obtained for several coastal sectors around the world through the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), computer-assisted multivariate analysis and numerical models. In the USA, "Flood Insurance Rate Maps" have been created by the government and "Coastal Zone Hazard Maps" have been prepared for coastal stretches affected by hurricane Hugo. In Spain, the vulnerability of the Ebro and an Andalusia coastal sector were investigated over different time scales. McLaughlin et al., (2002) developed a GIS based coastal vulnerability index for the Northern Ireland littoral that took into account socio-economic activities and coastal resistance to erosion and energetic characteristics. Lizárraga et al., (2001) combined beach reduction at Rosario (Mexico) with the probability of damage to landward structures, obtaining a vulnerability matrix. In this work several coastal vulnerability maps have also been created by comparing data on coastal erosion/accretion and land use along different coastal sectors in Italy, Morocco and Colombia. Keywords: Hazard, Vulnerability, Coastal Erosion, Italy, Morocco, Colombia.

  15. Historical bathymetry and bathymetric change in the Mississippi-Alabama coastal region, 1847-2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buster, Noreen A.; Morton, Robert A.

    2011-01-01

    Land loss and seafloor change around the Mississippi and Alabama (MS-AL) barrier islands are of great concern to the public and to local, state, and federal agencies. The islands provide wildlife protected areas and recreational land, and they serve as a natural first line of defense for the mainland against storm activity (index map on poster). Principal physical conditions that drive morphological seafloor and coastal change in this area include decreased sediment supply, sea-level rise, storms, and human activities (Otvos, 1970; Byrnes and others, 1991; Morton and others, 2004; Morton, 2008). Seafloor responses to the same processes can also affect the entire coastal zone. Sediment eroded from the barrier islands is entrained in the littoral system, where it is redistributed by alongshore currents. Wave and current activity is partially controlled by the profile of the seafloor, and this interdependency along with natural and anthropogenic influences has significant effects on nearshore environments. When a coastal system is altered by human activity such as dredging, as is the case of the MS-AL coastal region, the natural state and processes are altered, and alongshore sediment transport can be disrupted. As a result of deeply dredged channels, adjacent island migration is blocked, nearshore environments downdrift in the littoral system become sediment starved, and sedimentation around the channels is modified. Sediment deposition and erosion are reflected through seafloor evolution. In a rapidly changing coastal environment, understanding historically where and why changes are occurring is essential. To better assess the comprehensive dynamics of the MS-AL coastal zone, a 160-year evaluation of the bathymetry and bathymetric change of the region was conducted.

  16. Erosi Pantai, Ekosistem Hutan Bakau dan Adaptasi Masyarakat Terhadap Bencana Kerusakan Pantai Di negara Tropis (Coastal Erosion, Mangrove Ecosystems and Community Adaptation to Coastal Disasters in Tropical Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aji Ali Akbar

    2017-05-01

    result of land conversion into roads, settlements, agricultural/ plantation, aquaculture, and sand mining. Coastal degradation affects the socio-economic conditions of local communities such as loss roads, settlements, land and public facilities as a result of coastal erosion. Efforts to cope to the coastal degradation as part of human adaptation to sustain life in the form of construction of breakwaters and rehabilitation of mangrove ecosystems. The disaster relief certainly require a plenty of cost and time than prevention. Therefore, changes in the mindset of both the government and the public in using, managing and conserving natural resources should be increased through improvement of information, knowledge, and holistic planning strategies. Keywords: coastal erosion, mangrove ecosystem degradation, land use, breakwaters, rehabilitation Cara sitasi: Akbar,A.,A., Sartohadi., J., Djohan, T.S. and Ritohardoyo, S. (2017. Erosi Pantai, Ekosistem Hutan Bakau dan Adaptasi Masyarakat Terhadap Bencana Kerusakan Pantai Di negara Tropis. Jurnal Ilmu Lingkungan,15(1,1-10, doi:10.14710/jil.15.1.1-10

  17. Eastern Africa Coastal Forest Programme

    OpenAIRE

    Younge, A.

    2002-01-01

    The eastern African coastal forest ecoregion is recognised as one of Africa’s centres of species endemism, and is distributed over six countries (Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi). Most is found in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, which form our focal region. The coastal forests are fragmented, small and surrounded by poor communities that have a high demand for land and forest resources. Although coastal forests have significant cultural and traditional...

  18. NODC Standard Format Coastal Ocean Wave and Current (F181) Data from the Atlantic Remote Sensing Land/Ocean Experiment (ARSLOE) (1980) (NODC Accession 0014202)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains time series coastal ocean wave and current data collected during the Atlantic Remote Sensing Land/Ocean Experiment (ARSLOE). ARSLOE was...

  19. Governing change: land-use change and the prevention of nonpoint source pollution in the north coastal basin of California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Short, Anne G

    2013-01-01

    Many rural areas in the United States and throughout much of the postindustrial world are undergoing significant ecological, socioeconomic, and political transformations. The migration of urban and suburban dwellers into rural areas has led to the subdivision of large tracts of land into smaller parcels, which can complicate efforts to govern human-environmental problems. Non-point source (NPS) pollution from private rural lands is a particularly pressing human-environmental challenge that may be aggravated by changing land tenure. In this article, I report on a study of the governance and management of sediment (a common NPS pollutant) in the North Coastal basin of California, a region undergoing a transition from traditional extractive and agricultural land uses to rural residential and other alternative land uses. I focus on the differences in the governance and management across private timber, ranch, residential, vacation, and other lands in the region. I find that (1) the stringency and strength of sediment regulations differ by land use, (2) nonregulatory programs tend to target working landscapes, and (3) rural residential landowners have less knowledge of sediment control and report using fewer sediment-control techniques than landowners using their land for timber production or ranching. I conclude with an exploration of the consequences of these differences on an evolving rural landscape.

  20. Characteristics and environmental carrying capacities of coastal area in Yogyakarta Special Region for aquaculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triyatmo, B.; Rustadi; Priyono, S. B.

    2018-03-01

    The purpose of this study were to determine characteristics and environmental carrying capacities of coastal area in Yogyakarta Special Region for aquaculture. This study was conducted in 2015 by characterizing land and water dynamics, land use, and the suitability of coastal environments for aquaculture. Evaluation on the coastal environments suitability for aquaculture ponds was based on the landforms, soil properties, water quality and land. Selection of coastal locations for aquaculture development was based on the level of suitability of coastal environment. The results showed that the coastal in Kulon Progo and Bantul Regencies were characterized by sand dune and beach ridge with sandy soil texture, while in Gunungkidul Regency was characterized by limestone hill with rocky texture. Water sources of the coastal area were the sea, river, and ground water with the salinity of 31–37, 7–11, 7–31 ppt and pH of 7.4–8.4 7.0–8.2 and 7.4–9.9, respectively. The coastal lands were used for seasonal/annual planting, ponds, fish landing sites, tourism areas and conservation areas. The coastal carrying capacity was rather suitable for aquaculture, especially in the sandy soil area. Aquaculture in that area can be done intensively for shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), using biocrete (biological material) or plastic sheet.

  1. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Northwest Pacific

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  2. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Southeast Atlantic

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  3. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Central Pacific

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  4. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Southern California

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  5. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Northeast Atlantic

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  6. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Puerto Rico

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  7. Effects of land use changes on eutrophication indicators in five coastal lagoons of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Gallego, Lorena; Achkar, Marcel; Defeo, Omar; Vidal, Leticia; Meerhoff, Erika; Conde, Daniel

    2017-03-01

    Five catchment areas in Uruguay were selected to conduct a nutrient exportation analysis and to evaluate the effects of current land use on the eutrophication of coastal lagoons. Satellite images and national agriculture censuses were used for a quantitative analysis of land use changes from 1974 to 2005, and a nutrient export coefficient approximation was used to determine long-term changes in annual loads. Several eutrophication indicators (water, sediment and autotrophic communities) were assessed seasonally in the lagoon basins during 2005 and 2006. The areal annual load of nutrients exported to the lagoons increased over time. Population and extensive livestock ranching were the most important nutrient sources, while agriculture is increasing in importance. Buffer effects of riparian forests on eutrophication indicators were observed in contrast to the wetlands surrounding the lagoons, which seem to be acting as a source of nutrients. Catchment size was inversely related to most eutrophication indicators. Afforestation and agriculture were found not to directly impact eutrophication indicators, however, catchments with larger agricultural areas showed higher concentrations of suspended solids, which may indicate the export of particulate nutrients. Salinity was inversely related to most eutrophication indicators, suggesting that the manipulation of the sand bar of the lagoons is a critical management issue. Sediment-related eutrophication indicators were more sensitive to changes in land uses and covers, in contrast with the more variable water column indicators, suggesting their potential use as enduring indicators. This research provides a rapid and integral assessment for qualitatively linking catchment changes with eutrophication indicators in coastal environments, which can easily be replicated to track pollutants in locations that lack standardized monitoring programs needed for more complex catchment modeling approaches.

  8. How Shall We Tell Our People? The Art and Science of Communicating Sea-Level Rise to Coastal Audiences (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moser, S. C.

    2010-12-01

    Improved sea-level rise projections and translation into decision-relevant information (e.g., changed flood frequencies and elevations, increased rates in coastal erosion, salinity changes in coastal aquifers) are critical for coastal managers, planners, and local elected officials to feel more confident in bringing climate change and its related coastal impacts to the attention of their communities. Those who have done so or are considering doing so, however, are not just concerned with “getting the science right” or getting the most credible and relevant information. They immediately, and sometimes primarily, are concerned with the reactions of coastal residents, developers, and business interests to the prospects of potentially difficult and substantial changes in coastal land use, their property rights, and the potential loss of their homes and establishments. How to engage the public constructively in developing adaptation strategies is a largely unmet challenge for most coastal managers. Similarly, they have not been trained in how to effectively communicate an issue that is ripe with the potential for loss, danger, and social and legal conflict - more so than they already face. Better physical science on sea-level rise alone will not meet these needs. Meanwhile, the social sciences have only begun to study public attitudes toward local impacts and adaptation responses. This paper will summarize key insights available at this time and point to important research and education/training needs to better assist practitioners faced with developing and implementing coastal adaptation strategies.

  9. 49 CFR 1105.9 - Coastal Zone Management Act requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Coastal Zone Management Act requirements. 1105.9... ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS § 1105.9 Coastal Zone Management Act requirements. (a) If the proposed action affects land or water uses within a State coastal zone designated pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C...

  10. Environmental application of remote sensing methods to coastal zone land use and marine resource management. Appendix F: User's guide for advection, convection prototype. [southeastern Virginia

    Science.gov (United States)

    1972-01-01

    A user's manual is provided for the environmental computer model proposed for the Richmond-Cape Henry Environmental Laboratory (RICHEL) application project for coastal zone land use investigations and marine resources management. The model was developed around the hydrologic cycle and includes two data bases consisting of climate and land use variables. The main program is described, along with control parameters to be set and pertinent subroutines.

  11. NODC Standard Format Marine Birds from Coastal Alaska and Puget Sound Data (1975-1980): Marine Bird Sighting, Land Census (F034) (NODC Accession 0014156)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Standard Marine Bird Sighting, Land Census (F034) is one of a group of seven datasets related to Marine Birds from Coastal Alaska and Puget Sound Data (1975...

  12. Climate Change and Coastal Zones. An Overview of the State-of-the-Art on Regional and Local Vulnerability Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sterr, H.; Klein, R.J.T.; Reese, S.

    2000-06-01

    This paper provides an overview of the latest developments in methodologies for assessing the vulnerability of coastal zones to climate change at regional and local scales. The focus of vulnerability assessment in coastal zones used to be on erosion and land loss due to sea-level rise. Methodologies now increasingly consider the wide range of climate and impact variables that play a part in determining coastal vulnerability, as well as non-climatic developments. The paper presents a conceptual framework for vulnerability assessment that identifies a number of system components that can be considered determinants of vulnerability. It then goes on to outline a number of steps that are required for the actual assessment of coastal vulnerability, such as scenario development, data collection and impact assessment. The approach is illustrated using a regional and local case study in Germany

  13. Impacts of Coastal Inundation Due to Climate Change in a CLUSTER of Urban Coastal Communities in Ghana, West Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Kwabena Ofori-Danson

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The increasing rates of sea level rise caused by global warming within the 21st century are expected to exacerbate inundation and episodic flooding tide in low-lying coastal environments. This development threatens both human development and natural habitats within such coastal communities. The impact of sea level rise will be more pronounced in developing countries where there is limited adaptation capacity. This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the expected impacts of sea level rise in three communities in the Dansoman coastal area of Accra, Ghana. Future sea level rises were projected based on global scenarios and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization General Circulation Models—CSIRO_MK2_GS GCM. These were used in the SimCLIM model based on the modified Bruun rule and the simulated results overlaid on near vertical aerial photographs taken in 2005. It emerged that the Dansoman coastline could recede by about 202 m by the year 2100 with baseline from 1970 to 1990. The potential impacts on the socioeconomic and natural systems of the Dansoman coastal area were characterized at the Panbros, Grefi and Gbegbeyise communities. The study revealed that about 84% of the local dwellers is aware of the rising sea level in the coastal area but have poor measures of adapting to the effects of flood disasters. Analysis of the likely impacts of coastal inundation revealed that about 650,000 people, 926 buildings and a total area of about 0.80 km2 of land are vulnerable to permanent inundation by the year 2100. The study has shown that there will be significant losses to both life and property by the year 2100 in the Dansoman coastal community in the event of sea level rise.

  14. Assessing biodiversity loss due to land use with Life Cycle Assessment: are we there yet?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souza, Danielle M; Teixeira, Ricardo F M; Ostermann, Ole P

    2015-01-01

    Ecosystems are under increasing pressure from human activities, with land use and land-use change at the forefront of the drivers that provoke global and regional biodiversity loss. The first step in addressing the challenge of how to reverse the negative outlook for the coming years starts with measuring environmental loss rates and assigning responsibilities. Pinpointing the global pressures on biodiversity is a task best addressed using holistic models such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA is the leading method for calculating cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of products and services; it is actively promoted by many public policies, and integrated as part of environmental information systems within private companies. LCA already deals with the potential biodiversity impacts of land use, but there are significant obstacles to overcome before its models grasp the full reach of the phenomena involved. In this review, we discuss some pressing issues that need to be addressed. LCA mainly introduces biodiversity as an endpoint category modeled as a loss in species richness due to the conversion and use of land over time and space. The functional and population effects on biodiversity are mostly absent due to the emphasis on species accumulation with limited geographic and taxonomical reach. Current land-use modeling activities that use biodiversity indicators tend to oversimplify the real dynamics and complexity of the interactions of species among each other and with their habitats. To identify the main areas for improvement, we systematically reviewed LCA studies on land use that had findings related to global change and conservation ecology. We provide suggestion as to how to address some of the issues raised. Our overall objective was to encourage companies to monitor and take concrete steps to address the impacts of land use on biodiversity on a broader geographical scale and along increasingly globalized supply chains. © 2014 The Authors. Global Change

  15. Applying post classification change detection technique to monitor an Egyptian coastal zone (Abu Qir Bay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mamdouh M. El-Hattab

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Land cover changes considered as one of the important global phenomena exerting perhaps one of the most significant effects on the environment than any other factor. It is, therefore, vital that accurate data on land cover changes are made available to facilitate the understanding of the link between land cover changes and environmental changes to allow planners to make effective decisions. In this paper, the post classification approach was used to detect and assess land cover changes of one of the important coastal zones in Egypt, Abu Qir Bay zone, based on the comparative analysis of independently produced classification images of the same area at different dates. In addition to satellite images, socioeconomic data were used with the aid of land use model EGSLR to indicate relation between land cover and land use changes. Results indicated that changes in different land covers reflected the changes in occupation status in specific zones. For example, in the south of Idku Lake zone, it was observed that the occupation of settlers changed from being unskilled workers to fishermen based on the expansion of the area of fish farms. Change rates increased dramatically in the period from 2004 to 2013 as remarkable negative changes were found especially in fruits and palm trees (i.e. loss of about 66 km2 of land having fruits and palm trees due to industrialization in the coastal area. Also, a rapid urbanization was monitored along the coastline of Abu Qir Bay zone due to the political conditions in Egypt (25th of January Revolution within this period and which resulted to the temporary absence of monitoring systems to regulate urbanization.

  16. Identification of land cover changes in the coastal area of Dakshina Kannada district, South India during the year 2004–2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Jayanth

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates land cover (LC changes in the coastal area of Dakshina Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, South India, during the years 2004–2008 as a case study. IRS P-6, Linear Imaging Self Scanning sensor (LISS-IV satellite images were used in the present work. Classification was carried out using artificial bee colony algorithm and support vector machine (SVM which gave a better result compared to other traditional classification techniques. The best overall classification accuracy for the study area was achieved with an ABC classifier with an OCA of 80.35% for 2004 year data and OCA of 80.40% for 2008 year data, whereas the OCA in SVM, for the same training set is 71.42% for 2004 data and 71.38% for 2008 data on study area 1 and the results were optimised with respect to multispectral data. In study area 2, ABC algorithm achieved an OCA of 78.17% and MLC of 62.63% which was used to check the universality of the classifier. The classification results with post-classification technique for study area 1 indicate that urbanisation in the study area has almost increased twice. During the same time there is an increase in the forest plantation, agricultural plantation and a decrease in crop land and land without scrubs, indicates rapid changes in the coastal environment.

  17. The near coastal environment monitored from space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szekielda, K.H.

    1977-01-01

    The optical information required for monitoring the marine environment from space is discussed and applied for the near coastal area. By categorizing coastal features it is possible to recognize coastal regions to a high degree and to indentify water masses derived from land sources and sewage dumping sites. It is concluded that monitoring from space can be used as a tool in environmental planning. (orig.) [de

  18. Understanding and Projecting Climate and Human Impacts on Terrestrial-Coastal Carbon and Nutrient Fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohrenz, S. E.; Cai, W. J.; Tian, H.; He, R.; Fennel, K.

    2017-12-01

    Changing climate and land use practices have the potential to dramatically alter coupled hydrologic-biogeochemical processes and associated movement of water, carbon and nutrients through various terrestrial reservoirs into rivers, estuaries, and coastal ocean waters. Consequences of climate- and land use-related changes will be particularly evident in large river basins and their associated coastal outflow regions. Here, we describe a NASA Carbon Monitoring System project that employs an integrated suite of models in conjunction with remotely sensed as well as targeted in situ observations with the objectives of describing processes controlling fluxes on land and their coupling to riverine, estuarine and ocean ecosystems. The nature of our approach, coupling models of terrestrial and ocean ecosystem dynamics and associated carbon processes, allows for assessment of how societal and human-related land use, land use change and forestry and climate-related change affect terrestrial carbon transport as well as export of materials through watersheds to the coastal margins. Our objectives include the following: 1) Provide representation of carbon processes in the terrestrial ecosystem to understand how changes in land use and climatic conditions influence the export of materials to the coastal ocean, 2) Couple the terrestrial exports of carbon, nutrients and freshwater to a coastal biogeochemical model and examine how different climate and land use scenarios influence fluxes across the land-ocean interface, and 3) Project future changes under different scenarios of climate and human impact, and support user needs related to carbon management and other activities (e.g., water quality, hypoxia, ocean acidification). This research is providing information that will contribute to determining an overall carbon balance in North America as well as describing and predicting how human- and climate-related changes impact coastal water quality including possible effects of coastal

  19. The role of atmospheric boundary layer-surface interactions on the development of coastal fronts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Malda

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Frictional convergence and thermal difference between land and sea surface are the two surface conditions that govern the intensity and evolution of a coastal front. By means of the mesoscale model MM5, we investigate the influence of these two processes on wind patterns, temperature and precipitation amounts, associated with a coastal front, observed on the west coast of The Netherlands in the night between 12 and 13 August 2004. The mesoscale model MM5 is further compared with available observations and the results of two operational models (ECMWF and HIRLAM. HIRLAM is not capable to reproduce the coastal front, whereas ECMWF and MM5 both calculate precipitation for the coastal region. The precipitation pattern, calculated by MM5, agrees satisfactorily with the accumulated radar image. The failure of HIRLAM is mainly due to a different stream pattern at the surface and consequently, a different behaviour of the frictional convergence at the coastline.

    The sensitivity analysis of frictional convergence is carried out with the MM5 model, by varying land surface roughness length (z0. For the sensitivity analysis of thermal difference between sea and land surface, we changed the sea surface temperature (SST. Increasing surface roughness implies stronger convergence near the surface and consequently stronger upward motions and intensification of the development of the coastal front. Setting land surface roughness equal to the sea surface roughness means an elimination of frictional convergence and results in a diminishing coastal front structure of the precipitation pattern. The simulation with a high SST produces much precipitation above the sea, but less precipitation in the coastal area above land. A small increment of the SST results in larger precipitation amounts above the sea; above land increments are calculated for areas near the coast. A decrease of the SST shifts the precipitation maxima inland, although the

  20. The role of atmospheric boundary layer-surface interactions on the development of coastal fronts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Malda

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Frictional convergence and thermal difference between land and sea surface are the two surface conditions that govern the intensity and evolution of a coastal front. By means of the mesoscale model MM5, we investigate the influence of these two processes on wind patterns, temperature and precipitation amounts, associated with a coastal front, observed on the west coast of The Netherlands in the night between 12 and 13 August 2004. The mesoscale model MM5 is further compared with available observations and the results of two operational models (ECMWF and HIRLAM. HIRLAM is not capable to reproduce the coastal front, whereas ECMWF and MM5 both calculate precipitation for the coastal region. The precipitation pattern, calculated by MM5, agrees satisfactorily with the accumulated radar image. The failure of HIRLAM is mainly due to a different stream pattern at the surface and consequently, a different behaviour of the frictional convergence at the coastline. The sensitivity analysis of frictional convergence is carried out with the MM5 model, by varying land surface roughness length (z0. For the sensitivity analysis of thermal difference between sea and land surface, we changed the sea surface temperature (SST. Increasing surface roughness implies stronger convergence near the surface and consequently stronger upward motions and intensification of the development of the coastal front. Setting land surface roughness equal to the sea surface roughness means an elimination of frictional convergence and results in a diminishing coastal front structure of the precipitation pattern. The simulation with a high SST produces much precipitation above the sea, but less precipitation in the coastal area above land. A small increment of the SST results in larger precipitation amounts above the sea; above land increments are calculated for areas near the coast. A decrease of the SST shifts the precipitation maxima inland, although the precipitation amounts

  1. Coastal urbanization leads to remarkable seaweed species loss and community shifts along the SW Atlantic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherner, Fernando; Horta, Paulo Antunes; de Oliveira, Eurico Cabral; Simonassi, José Carlos; Hall-Spencer, Jason M; Chow, Fungyi; Nunes, José Marcos C; Pereira, Sonia Maria Barreto

    2013-11-15

    Coastal urbanization is rapidly expanding worldwide while its impacts on seaweed communities remain poorly understood. We assessed the impact of urbanization along an extensive latitudinal gradient encompassing three phycogeographical regions in the SW Atlantic. Human population density, number of dwellings, and terrestrial vegetation cover were determined for each survey area and correlated with diversity indices calculated from seaweed percent cover data. Urban areas had significantly lower calcareous algal cover (-38%), and there was significantly less carbonate in the sediment off urban areas than off reference areas. Seaweed richness averaged 26% less in urban areas than in areas with higher vegetation cover. We observed a remarkable decline in Phaeophyceae and a substantial increase of Chlorophyta in urban areas across a wide latitudinal gradient. Our data show that coastal urbanization is causing substantial loss of seaweed biodiversity in the SW Atlantic, and is considerably changing seaweed assemblages. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Impacts of agricultural land use on biological integrity: A causal analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riseng, C.M.; Wiley, M.J.; Black, R.W.; Munn, M.D.

    2011-01-01

    Agricultural land use has often been linked to nutrient enrichment, habitat degradation, hydrologic alteration, and loss of biotic integrity in streams. The U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment Program sampled 226 stream sites located in eight agriculture-dominated study units across the United States to investigate the geographic variability and causes of agricultural impacts on stream biotic integrity. In this analysis we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to develop a national and set of regional causal models linking agricultural land use to measured instream conditions. We then examined the direct, indirect, and total effects of agriculture on biotic integrity as it acted through multiple water quality and habitat pathways. In our nation-wide model, cropland affected benthic communities by both altering structural habitats and by imposing water quality-related stresses. Regionspecific modeling demonstrated that geographic context altered the relative importance of causal pathways through which agricultural activities affected stream biotic integrity. Cropland had strong negative total effects on the invertebrate community in the national, Midwest, and Western models, but a very weak effect in the Eastern Coastal Plain model. In theWestern Arid and Eastern Coastal Plain study regions, cropland impacts were transmitted primarily through dissolved water quality contaminants, but in the Midwestern region, they were transmitted primarily through particulate components of water quality. Habitat effects were important in the Western Arid model, but negligible in the Midwest and Eastern Coastal Plain models. The relative effects of riparian forested wetlands also varied regionally, having positive effects on biotic integrity in the Eastern Coastal Plain andWestern Arid region models, but no statistically significant effect in the Midwest. These differences in response to cropland and riparian cover suggest that best management practices and

  3. Future C loss in mid-latitude mineral soils: climate change exceeds land use mitigation potential in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meersmans, Jeroen; Arrouays, Dominique; Van Rompaey, Anton J J; Pagé, Christian; De Baets, Sarah; Quine, Timothy A

    2016-11-03

    Many studies have highlighted significant interactions between soil C reservoir dynamics and global climate and environmental change. However, in order to estimate the future soil organic carbon sequestration potential and related ecosystem services well, more spatially detailed predictions are needed. The present study made detailed predictions of future spatial evolution (at 250 m resolution) of topsoil SOC driven by climate change and land use change for France up to the year 2100 by taking interactions between climate, land use and soil type into account. We conclude that climate change will have a much bigger influence on future SOC losses in mid-latitude mineral soils than land use change dynamics. Hence, reducing CO 2 emissions will be crucial to prevent further loss of carbon from our soils.

  4. Land use intensification alters ecosystem multifunctionality via loss of biodiversity and changes to functional composition

    OpenAIRE

    Allan, Eric; Manning, Pete; et al

    2015-01-01

    Global change, especially land-use intensification, affects human well-being by impacting the deliv-ery of multiple ecosystem services (multifunctionality). However, whether biodiversity loss is amajor component of global change effects on multifunctionality in real-world ecosystems, as inexperimental ones, remains unclear. Therefore, we assessed biodiversity, functional compositionand 14 ecosystem services on 150 agricultural grasslands differing in land-use intensity. We alsointroduce five mu...

  5. Land use intensification alters ecosystem multifunctionality via loss of biodiversity and changes to functional composition.

    OpenAIRE

    Allan Eric; Manning Pete; Alt Fabian; Binkenstein Julia; Blaser Stefan; Blüthgen Nico; Böhm Stefan; Grassein Fabrice; Hölzel Norbert; Klaus Valentin H.; Kleinebecker Till; Morrys Elisabeth Kathryn; Oelmann Yvonne; Prati Daniel; Renner Sven C.

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Global change, especially land?use intensification, affects human well?being by impacting the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (multifunctionality). However, whether biodiversity loss is a major component of global change effects on multifunctionality in real?world ecosystems, as in experimental ones, remains unclear. Therefore, we assessed biodiversity, functional composition and 14 ecosystem services on 150 agricultural grasslands differing in land?use intensity. We also int...

  6. Patterns of plant diversity loss and species turnover resulting from land abandonment and intensification in semi-natural grasslands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchida, Kei; Koyanagi, Tomoyo F; Matsumura, Toshikazu; Koyama, Asuka

    2018-07-15

    Land-use changes cause biodiversity loss in semi-natural ecosystems worldwide. Biotic homogenization has led to biodiversity loss, mainly through declines in species composition turnover. Elucidating patterns of turnover in species composition could enhance our understanding of how anthropogenic activities affect community assembly. Here, we focused on whether the decreasing patterns in plant diversity and turnover of species composition resulting from land-use change vary in two regions. We estimated the species diversity and composition of semi-natural grasslands surrounding paddy fields in satoyama landscapes. We examined the differences in species diversity and composition across three land-use types (abandoned, traditional, and intensified) in two regions (Hyogo and Niigata Prefectures, Japan), which were characterized by different climatic conditions. We then assessed alpha-, beta-, and gamma-diversity to compare the patterns of diversity losses in the two regions as a result of land-use changes. In each region, gamma-diversity was consistently higher in the traditional sites compared to abandoned or intensified sites. The analyses revealed that most of the beta-diversity in traditional sites differed significantly from those of abandoned and intensified sites in both regions. However, the beta-diversity of total and perennial species did not differ between traditional and abandoned sites in the Hyogo region. We noted that the beta-diversity of total and perennial species in intensified sites was much lower than that in the traditional sites of the Niigata region. Overall, the patterns of alpha- and gamma-diversity loss were similar in both study regions. Although the biotic homogenization was caused by intensified land-use in the Niigata region, this hypothesis did not completely explain the loss of biodiversity in the abandoned sites in the Hyogo region. The present study contributes to the growing body of work investigating changes in biodiversity as a

  7. Assessment on the Impact of Arable Land Protection Policies in a Rapidly Developing Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiadan Li

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available To investigate the effect of arable land protection policies in China, a practical framework that integrates geographic information systems (GIS, soil quality assessment and landscape metrics analysis was employed to track and analyze arable land transformations and landscape changes in response to rampant urbanization within the Ningbo region (China from 2005 to 2013. The results showed that arable land loss and degradation have continued, despite the development of a comprehensive legal framework for arable land protection. The implementation of arable land protection policies is judged to be effective, but not entirely successful, because it guarantees the overall amount of arable land but does not consider soil quality and spatial distribution. In addition, there are distinct variations in arable land change dynamics between two temporal intervals. From 2005–2009, the transformation of arable land was diversified, with intensified conversion among arable land, built-up land, water and orchards. Moreover, many new arable land parcels were adjacent to built-up land, and are in danger of being occupied again through urban sprawl. By 2009–2013, most of the arable land was occupied by urban expansion, whereas a majority of newly increased arable land was reclaimed from coastal tideland. Although the newly increased arable land was contiguous and far from the urban area, it is of poor quality and has limited use. The permanent loss of high-quality arable land due to intensified urban sprawl may threaten sustainable development and food security on a larger scale.

  8. PENATAAN RUANG LAUT BERDASARKAN INTEGRATED COASTAL MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dina Sunyowati

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available The planning of coastal spatial arrangement must be put in the valid spatial planning system. Law Number 26 of 2007 on Spatial Planning and it is in fact related with land spatial planning, although that ocean and air spatial management will be arranged in separate law. The legal for coastal zone management is determined by using the principles of integrated coastal management by focusing on area or zone authority system. The integrated of coastal zones management regulations should be followed by the planning of coastal spatial arrange­ment. Therefore, certain synchronization at coastal zones governance is very important issue since by integrating and coordinating other related regulations and therefore conflict of norm can be minimized in the spatial planning coastal zone.

  9. Geomorphometry in coastal morphodynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guisado-Pintado, Emilia; Jackson, Derek

    2017-04-01

    Geomorphometry is a cross-cutting discipline that has interwoven itself into multiple research themes due to its ability to encompass topographic quantification on many fronts. Its operational focus is largely defined as the extraction of land-surface parameters and earth surface characterisation. In particular, the coastal sciences have been enriched by the use of digital terrain production techniques both on land and in the nearshore/marine area. Numerous examples exist in which the utilisation of field instrumentation (e.g. LIDAR, GPS, Terrestrial Laser Scanning, multi-beam echo-sounders) are used for surface sampling and development of Digital Terrain Models, monitoring topographic change and creation of nearshore bathymetry, and have become central elements in modern investigations of coastal morphodynamics. The coastal zone is a highly dynamic system that embraces variable and at times, inter-related environments (sand dunes, sandy beaches, shoreline and nearshore) all of which require accurate and integrated monitoring. Although coastal studies can be widely diverse (with interconnected links to other related disciplines such as geology or biology), the characterisation of the landforms (coastal geomorphology) and associated processes (morphodynamics, hydrodynamics, aeolian processes) is perhaps where geomorphometry (topo-bathymetry quantification) is best highlighted. In this respect, many tools have been developed (or improved upon) for the acquisition of topographic data that now commands a high degree of accuracy, simplicity, and ultimately acquisition cost reduction. We present a series of field data acquisitions examples that have produced land surface characterisation using a range of techniques including traditional GPS surveys to more recent Terrestrial Laser Scanning and airborne LIDAR. These have been conducted within beach and dune environments and have helped describe erosion and depositional processes driven by wind and wave energy (high

  10. Coastal hazards: hurricanes, tsunamis, coastal erosion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandas, Stephen; Mersfelder, Lynne; Farrar, Frank; France, Rigoberto Guardado; Yajimovich, Oscar Efraín González; Muñoz, Aurora R.; Rivera, María del C.

    1996-01-01

    Oceans are the largest geographic feature on the surface of the Earth, covering approximately 70% of the planet's surface. As a result, oceans have a tremendous impact on the Earth, its climate, and its inhabitants. The coast or shoreline is the boundary between ocean environments and land habitats. By the year 2025, it is estimated that approximately two-thirds of the world's population will be living within 200 kilometers of a coast. In many ways, we treat the coast just like any other type of land area, as a safe and stable place to live and play. However, coastal environments are dynamic, and they constantly change in response to natural processes and to human activities.

  11. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Western Gulf of Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  12. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Central Gulf of Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  13. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Southern California Version 2

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides a comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a seamless...

  14. Do ENSO and Coastal Development Enhance Coastal Burial of Terrestrial Carbon?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macreadie, Peter I; Rolph, Timothy C; Boyd, Ron; Schröder-Adams, Claudia J; Skilbeck, Charles G

    2015-01-01

    Carbon cycling on the east coast of Australia has the potential to be strongly affected by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) intensification and coastal development (industrialization and urbanization). We performed paleoreconstructions of estuarine sediments from a seagrass-dominated estuary on the east coast of Australia (Tuggerah Lake, New South Wales) to test the hypothesis that millennial-scale ENSO intensification and European settlement in Australia have increased the transfer of organic carbon from land into coastal waters. Our data show that carbon accumulation rates within coastal sediments increased significantly during periods of maximum millennial-scale ENSO intensity ("super-ENSO") and coastal development. We suggest that ENSO and coastal development destabilize and liberate terrestrial soil carbon, which, during rainfall events (e.g., La Niña), washes into estuaries and becomes trapped and buried by coastal vegetation (seagrass in this case). Indeed, periods of high carbon burial were generally characterized as having rapid sedimentation rates, higher content of fine-grained sediments, and increased content of wood and charcoal fragments. These results, though preliminary, suggest that coastal development and ENSO intensification--both of which are predicted to increase over the coming century--can enhance capture and burial of terrestrial carbon by coastal ecosystems. These findings have important relevance for current efforts to build an understanding of terrestrial-marine carbon connectivity into global carbon budgets.

  15. Developing Coastal Surface Roughness Maps Using ASTER and QuickBird Data Sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spruce, Joe; Berglund, Judith; Davis, Bruce

    2006-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation regards one element of a larger project on the integration of NASA science models and data into the Hazards U.S. Multi-Hazard (HAZUS-MH) Hurricane module for hurricane damage and loss risk assessment. HAZUS-MH is a decision support tool being developed by the National Institute of Building Sciences for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It includes the Hurricane Module, which employs surface roughness maps made from National Land Cover Data (NLCD) maps to estimate coastal hurricane wind damage and loss. NLCD maps are produced and distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey. This presentation discusses an effort to improve upon current HAZUS surface roughness maps by employing ASTER multispectral classifications with QuickBird "ground reference" imagery.

  16. Land Use Adaptation to Climate Change: Economic Damages from Land-Falling Hurricanes in the Atlantic and Gulf States of the USA, 1900–2005

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asim Zia

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Global climate change, especially the phenomena of global warming, is expected to increase the intensity of land-falling hurricanes. Societal adaptation is needed to reduce vulnerability from increasingly intense hurricanes. This study quantifies the adaptation effects of potentially policy driven caps on housing densities and agricultural cover in coastal (and adjacent inland areas vulnerable to hurricane damages in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal regions of the U.S. Time series regressions, especially Prais-Winston and Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA models, are estimated to forecast the economic impacts of hurricanes of varying intensity, given that various patterns of land use emerge in the Atlantic and Gulf coastal states of the U.S. The Prais-Winston and ARMA models use observed time series data from 1900 to 2005 for inflation adjusted hurricane damages and socio-economic and land-use data in the coastal or inland regions where hurricanes caused those damages. The results from this study provide evidence that increases in housing density and agricultural cover cause significant rise in the de-trended inflation-adjusted damages. Further, higher intensity and frequency of land-falling hurricanes also significantly increase the economic damages. The evidence from this study implies that a medium to long term land use adaptation in the form of capping housing density and agricultural cover in the coastal (and adjacent inland states can significantly reduce economic damages from intense hurricanes. Future studies must compare the benefits of such land use adaptation policies against the costs of development controls implied in housing density caps and agricultural land cover reductions.

  17. GlobeLand30 shows little cropland area loss but greater fragmentation in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Qiangyi; Hu, Qiong; van Vliet, Jasper; Verburg, Peter H.; Wu, Wenbin

    2018-04-01

    Understanding of cropland dynamics in a large geographical extent is mostly based on observations of area change, while the changes in landscape pattern are hardly assessed. The total amount of cropland in China has remained relatively stable in recent years, which might suggest there was little change. In this analysis, we combine the number of cropland patches (NP) with the total cropland area (TA) for a more comprehensive characterization of cropland change in China. We use GlobeLand30-a global land cover dataset with a 30 m resolution for the years 2000 and 2010-and characterize changes in TA and NP for each county as increase, stable, or decrease. This characterization shows that 703 out of 2420 counties experienced both cropland loss and increased fragmentation. The predominant cropland loss in these areas, especially in the North China Plain, is converted to artificial land. Another 212 are characterized by the opposite developments: an increase in cropland and decreased fragmentation. These counties, are mainly characterized by a conversion of forest areas and grassland areas. It suggests that the cropland conservation policy in China effectively protected the total cropland area in overall, but the consequences in terms of fragmentation might be underestimated. Counties with no obvious change in both indicators, measuring 279 counties, are mainly located in the Southeast. Our results are further compared with local level case studies: the fair consistency indicates alternatives of applying GlobeLand30 for analyzing landscape changes across scales and for cross-site comparisons.

  18. Coastal Land Air Sea Interaction: "the" beach towers

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacMahan, J. H.; Koscinski, J. S.; Ortiz-Suslow, D. G.; Haus, B. K.; Thornton, E. B.

    2016-12-01

    As part of the Coastal Land Air Sea Interaction (CLASI) experiment, an alongshore array of 6-m high towers instrumented with ultrasonic 3D anemometers and temperature-relative humidity sensors were deployed at five sandy beaches near the high-tide line in Monterey Bay, CA, in May-June 2016. A cross-shore array of towers was also deployed from within the active surfzone to the toe of the dune at one beach. In addition, waves and ocean temperature were obtained along the 10m isobath for each beach. The dissipative surfzone was O(80m) wide. The wave energy varies among the beaches owing to sheltering and refraction by the Monterey Canyon and headlands. The tides are semi-diurnal mixed, meso-tidal with a maximum tidal range of 2m. This results in a variable beach width from the tower to the tidal line. Footprint analysis for estimating the source region for the turbulent momentum fluxes, suggests that the observations represent three scenarios described as primarily ocean, mixed beach and ocean, and primarily beach. The direct-estimate of the atmospheric stability by the sonic anemometer suggest that all of the beaches are mostly unstable except for a few occurrences in the evening during low wind conditions. The onshore neutral drag coefficient (Cd) estimated at 10m heights is 3-5 times larger than open ocean estimates. Minimal variability was found in Cd based on the footprint analysis. Beach-specific spatial variability in Cd was found related to atmospheric stability and wave energy.

  19. Resilience from coastal protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ewing, Lesley C

    2015-10-28

    Coastal areas are important residential, commercial and industrial areas; but coastal hazards can pose significant threats to these areas. Shoreline/coastal protection elements, both built structures such as breakwaters, seawalls and revetments, as well as natural features such as beaches, reefs and wetlands, are regular features of a coastal community and are important for community safety and development. These protection structures provide a range of resilience to coastal communities. During and after disasters, they help to minimize damages and support recovery; during non-disaster times, the values from shoreline elements shift from the narrow focus on protection. Most coastal communities have limited land and resources and few can dedicate scarce resources solely for protection. Values from shore protection can and should expand to include environmental, economic and social/cultural values. This paper discusses the key aspects of shoreline protection that influence effective community resilience and protection from disasters. This paper also presents ways that the economic, environmental and social/cultural values of shore protection can be evaluated and quantified. It presents the Coastal Community Hazard Protection Resilience (CCHPR) Index for evaluating the resilience capacity to coastal communities from various protection schemes and demonstrates the use of this Index for an urban beach in San Francisco, CA, USA. © 2015 The Author(s).

  20. Satellite Images and Aerial Photographs of the Effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Coastal Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barras, John A.

    2007-01-01

    Introduction Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the eastern coastline of Louisiana on August 29, 2005; Hurricane Rita made landfall on the western coastline of Louisiana on September 24, 2005. Comparison of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite imagery acquired before and after the landfalls of Katrina and Rita and classified to identify land and water demonstrated that water area increased by 217 mi2 (562 km2) in coastal Louisiana as a result of the storms. Approximately 82 mi2 (212 km2) of new water areas were in areas primarily impacted by Hurricane Katrina (Mississippi River Delta basin, Breton Sound basin, Pontchartrain basin, and Pearl River basin), whereas 99 mi2 (256 km2) were in areas primarily impacted by Hurricane Rita (Calcasieu/Sabine basin, Mermentau basin, Teche/Vermilion basin, Atchafalaya basin, and Terrebonne basin). Barataria basin contained new water areas caused by both hurricanes, resulting in some 18 mi2 (46.6 km2) of new water areas. The fresh marsh and intermediate marsh communities' land areas decreased by 122 mi2 (316 km2) and 90 mi2 (233.1 km2), respectively, and the brackish marsh and saline marsh communities' land areas decreased by 33 mi2 (85.5 km2) and 28 mi2 (72.5 km2), respectively. These new water areas represent land losses caused by direct removal of wetlands. They also indicate transitory changes in water area caused by remnant flooding, removal of aquatic vegetation, scouring of marsh vegetation, and water-level variation attributed to normal tidal and meteorological variation between satellite images. Permanent losses cannot be estimated until several growing seasons have passed and the transitory impacts of the hurricanes are minimized. The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary information on water area changes in coastal Louisiana acquired shortly after the landfalls of both hurricanes (detectable with Landsat TM imagery) and to serve as a regional baseline for monitoring posthurricane wetland recovery. The land

  1. Predicting the economic costs and property value losses attributed to sudden oak death damage in California (2010-2020).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovacs, Kent; Václavík, Tomáš; Haight, Robert G; Pang, Arwin; Cunniffe, Nik J; Gilligan, Christopher A; Meentemeyer, Ross K

    2011-04-01

    Phytophthora ramorum, cause of sudden oak death, is a quarantined, non-native, invasive forest pathogen resulting in substantial mortality in coastal live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and several other related tree species on the Pacific Coast of the United States. We estimate the discounted cost of oak treatment, removal, and replacement on developed land in California communities using simulations of P. ramorum spread and infection risk over the next decade (2010-2020). An estimated 734 thousand oak trees occur on developed land in communities in the analysis area. The simulations predict an expanding sudden oak death (SOD) infestation that will likely encompass most of northwestern California and warrant treatment, removal, and replacement of more than 10 thousand oak trees with discounted cost of $7.5 million. In addition, we estimate the discounted property losses to single family homes of $135 million. Expanding the land base to include developed land outside as well as inside communities doubles the estimates of the number of oak trees killed and the associated costs and losses. The predicted costs and property value losses are substantial, but many of the damages in urban areas (e.g. potential losses from increased fire and safety risks of the dead trees and the loss of ecosystem service values) are not included. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Hydrogeologic controls on chemical transport at Malibu Lagoon, CA: Implications for land to sea exchange in coastal lagoon systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Dimova

    2017-06-01

    New hydrological insights for the region: Nearshore lagoons that are seasonally disconnected from the coastal ocean occupy about 10% of coastal areas worldwide. Lagoon systems often are poorly flushed and thus sensitive to nutrient over-enrichment that can lead to eutrophication, oxygen depletion, and/or pervasive algal blooms. This sensitivity is exacerbated in lagoons that are intermittently closed to surface water exchange with the sea and occur in populous coastal areas. Such estuarine systems are disconnected from the sea during most of the year by wave-built barriers, but during the rainy season these berms can breach, enabling direct water exchange. Using naturally-occurring 222Rn as groundwater tracer, we estimate that groundwater discharge to Malibu Lagoon during open berm conditions was one order of magnitude higher (21 ± 17 cm/day than during closed berm conditions (1.8 ± 1.4 cm/day. The SGD (submarine groundwater discharge into nearshore coastal waters at the SurferRider and Colony Malibu was 4.2 cm/day on average. The exported total dissolved nitrogen (TDN through the berm during closed berm was 1.6 × 10−3 mol/day, whereas during open berm (exported by the Creek was 3.5 × 103 mol/day. Although these evaluations are specific to the collection campaigns the 2009 and 2010 hydro years, these two distinct hydrologic scenarios play an important role in the seasonality and geochemical impact of land/sea exchange, and highlight the sensitivity of such systems to future impacts such as sea level rise and increasing coastal populations.

  3. Modeling mesoscale diffusion and transport processes for releases within coastal zones during land/sea breezes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyons, W.A.; Keen, C.S.; Schuh, J.A.

    1983-12-01

    This document discusses the impacts of coastal mesoscale regimes (CMRs) upon the transport and diffusion of potential accidental radionuclide releases from a shoreline nuclear power plant. CMRs exhibit significant spatial (horizontal and vertical) and temporal variability. Case studies illustrate land breezes, sea/lake breeze inflows and return flows, thermal internal boundary layers, fumigation, plume trapping, coastal convergence zones, thunderstorms and snow squalls. The direct application of a conventional Gaussian straight-line dose assessment model, initialized only by on-site tower data, can potentially produce highly misleading guidance as to plume impact locations. Since much is known concerning CMRs, there are many potential improvements to modularized dose assessment codes, such as by proper parameterization of TIBLs, forecasting the inland penetration of convergence zones, etc. A three-dimensional primitive equation prognostic model showed excellent agreement with detailed lake breeze field measurements, giving indications that such codes can be used in both diagnostic and prognostic studies. The use of relatively inexpensive supplemental meteorological data especially from remote sensing systems (Doppler sodar, radar, lightning strike tracking) and computerized data bases should save significantly on software development costs. Better quality assurance of emergency response codes could include systems of flags providing personnel with confidence levels as to the applicability of a code being used during any given CMR

  4. Management-focused approach to investigating coastal water-quality drivers and impacts in the Baltic Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vigouroux, G.; Destouni, G.; Chen, Y.; Bring, A.; Jönsson, A.; Cvetkovic, V.

    2017-12-01

    Coastal areas link human-driven conditions on land with open sea conditions, and include crucial and vulnerable ecosystems that provide a variety of ecosystem services. Eutrophication is a common problem that is not least observed in the Baltic Sea, where coastal water quality is influenced both by land-based nutrient loading and by partly eutrophic open sea conditions. Robust and adaptive management of coastal systems is essential and necessitates integration of large scale catchment-coastal-marine systems as well as consideration of anthropogenic drivers and impacts, and climate change. To address this coastal challenge, relevant methodological approaches are required for characterization of coupled land, local coastal, and open sea conditions under an adaptive management framework for water quality. In this paper we present a new general and scalable dynamic characterization approach, developed for and applied to the Baltic Sea and its coastal areas. A simple carbon-based water quality model is implemented, dividing the Baltic Sea into main management basins that are linked to corresponding hydrological catchments on land, as well as to each other though aggregated three-dimensional marine hydrodynamics. Relevant hydrodynamic variables and associated water quality results have been validated on the Baltic Sea scale and show good accordance with available observation data and other modelling approaches. Based on its scalability, this methodology is further used on coastal zone scale to investigate the effects of hydrodynamic, hydro-climatic and nutrient load drivers on water quality and management implications for coastal areas in the Baltic Sea.

  5. Geospatial Method for Computing Supplemental Multi-Decadal U.S. Coastal Land-Use and Land-Cover Classification Products, Using Landsat Data and C-CAP Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spruce, J. P.; Smoot, James; Ellis, Jean; Hilbert, Kent; Swann, Roberta

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses the development and implementation of a geospatial data processing method and multi-decadal Landsat time series for computing general coastal U.S. land-use and land-cover (LULC) classifications and change products consisting of seven classes (water, barren, upland herbaceous, non-woody wetland, woody upland, woody wetland, and urban). Use of this approach extends the observational period of the NOAA-generated Coastal Change and Analysis Program (C-CAP) products by almost two decades, assuming the availability of one cloud free Landsat scene from any season for each targeted year. The Mobile Bay region in Alabama was used as a study area to develop, demonstrate, and validate the method that was applied to derive LULC products for nine dates at approximate five year intervals across a 34-year time span, using single dates of data for each classification in which forests were either leaf-on, leaf-off, or mixed senescent conditions. Classifications were computed and refined using decision rules in conjunction with unsupervised classification of Landsat data and C-CAP value-added products. Each classification's overall accuracy was assessed by comparing stratified random locations to available reference data, including higher spatial resolution satellite and aerial imagery, field survey data, and raw Landsat RGBs. Overall classification accuracies ranged from 83 to 91% with overall Kappa statistics ranging from 0.78 to 0.89. The accuracies are comparable to those from similar, generalized LULC products derived from C-CAP data. The Landsat MSS-based LULC product accuracies are similar to those from Landsat TM or ETM+ data. Accurate classifications were computed for all nine dates, yielding effective results regardless of season. This classification method yielded products that were used to compute LULC change products via additive GIS overlay techniques.

  6. Spatiotemporal Changes of Built-Up Land Expansion and Carbon Emissions Caused by the Chinese Construction Industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuai, Xiaowei; Huang, Xianjin; Lu, Qinli; Zhang, Mei; Zhao, Rongqin; Lu, Junyu

    2015-11-03

    China is undergoing rapid urbanization, enlarging the construction industry, greatly expanding built-up land, and generating substantial carbon emissions. We calculated both the direct and indirect carbon emissions from energy consumption (anthropogenic emissions) in the construction sector and analyzed built-up land expansion and carbon storage losses from the terrestrial ecosystem. According to our study, the total anthropogenic carbon emissions from the construction sector increased from 3,905×10(4) to 103,721.17×10(4) t from 1995 to 2010, representing 27.87%-34.31% of the total carbon emissions from energy consumption in China. Indirect carbon emissions from other industrial sectors induced by the construction sector represented approximately 97% of the total anthropogenic carbon emissions of the sector. These emissions were mainly concentrated in seven upstream industry sectors. Based on our assumptions, built-up land expansion caused 3704.84×10(4) t of carbon storage loss from vegetation between 1995 and 2010. Cropland was the main built-up land expansion type across all regions. The study shows great regional differences. Coastal regions showed dramatic built-up land expansion, greater carbon storage losses from vegetation, and greater anthropogenic carbon emissions. These regional differences were the most obvious in East China followed by Midsouth China. These regions are under pressure for strong carbon emissions reduction.

  7. Coastal dynamics vs beach users attitudes and perceptions to enhance environmental conservation and management effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aretano, Roberta; Parlagreco, Luca; Semeraro, Teodoro; Zurlini, Giovanni; Petrosillo, Irene

    2017-10-15

    This work carries out a landscape analysis for the last 60years to compare the degree of preservation of two areas on the same Italian coastline characterized by different environmental protection levels: a National designated protected areas and a highly tourist coastal destination. The conversion of natural land-covers into human land uses were detected for protected and unprotected coastal stretches highlighting that the only establishment of a protected area is not enough to stem undesirable land-use outcomes. A survey analysis was also conducted to assess attitudes of beach users and to evaluate their perception of natural habitats, beach and coastal water quality, and coastal dynamic over time. The results of 2071 questionnaires showed that there is similarity between subjective and objective data. However, several beach users perceived a bad quality of coastal water in the legally unprotected coastal area. The implications from a planning and management perspective are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The effects of precipitation, river discharge, land use and coastal circulation on water quality in coastal Maine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilburg, Charles E; Jordan, Linda M; Carlson, Amy E; Zeeman, Stephan I; Yund, Philip O

    2015-07-01

    Faecal pollution in stormwater, wastewater and direct run-off can carry zoonotic pathogens to streams, rivers and the ocean, reduce water quality, and affect both recreational and commercial fishing areas of the coastal ocean. Typically, the closure of beaches and commercial fishing areas is governed by the testing for the presence of faecal bacteria, which requires an 18-24 h period for sample incubation. As water quality can change during this testing period, the need for accurate and timely predictions of coastal water quality has become acute. In this study, we: (i) examine the relationship between water quality, precipitation and river discharge at several locations within the Gulf of Maine, and (ii) use multiple linear regression models based on readily obtainable hydrometeorological measurements to predict water quality events at five coastal locations. Analysis of a 12 year dataset revealed that high river discharge and/or precipitation events can lead to reduced water quality; however, the use of only these two parameters to predict water quality can result in a number of errors. Analysis of a higher frequency, 2 year study using multiple linear regression models revealed that precipitation, salinity, river discharge, winds, seasonality and coastal circulation correlate with variations in water quality. Although there has been extensive development of regression models for freshwater, this is one of the first attempts to create a mechanistic model to predict water quality in coastal marine waters. Model performance is similar to that of efforts in other regions, which have incorporated models into water resource managers' decisions, indicating that the use of a mechanistic model in coastal Maine is feasible.

  9. Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) Export from Watersheds to Coastal Oceans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, R. F.; Gardner, G. B.; Peri, F.

    2016-02-01

    Dissolved organic matter (DOM) from terrestrial plants and soils is transported by surface waters and groundwaters to coastal ocean waters. Along the way, photochemical and biological degradation can remove DOM, and in situ processes such as phytoplankton leaching and sediment sources can add to the DOM in the river water. Wetlands, especially coastal wetlands can add significant amounts of DOM that is carried by rivers and is exported through estuaries to coastal systems. We will present observational data from a variety of coastal systems (San Francisco Bay, Boston Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, Hudson River, the Mississippi River, and a small salt marsh in the Gulf of Mexico). High resolution measurements of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) can be correlated with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) so can be used to estimate DOC in specific systems and seasons. Gradients in CDOM/DOC combined with water fluxes can be used to estimate DOC fluxes from a variety of coastal watersheds to coastal systems. Influences of land use, system size, residence time, DOM quality, and photochemical and biological degradation will be discussed. The significance of coastal wetlands in the land-to-ocean export of DOC will be emphasized.

  10. Characterizations of pumping-induced land subsidence in coastal aquifers - model development and field-scale implementations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, C.; Huang, Y.; Lu, C.

    2012-12-01

    The pumping-induced land subsidence events are typically founded in coastal aquifers in Taiwan especially in the areas of lower alluvial fans. Previous investigations have recognized the irreversible situation for an aquifer deformation even if the pumped water is significantly reduced or stopped. Long-term monitoring projects on land subsidence in Choshui alluvial fan in central Taiwan have improved the understanding of the deformations in the aquifer system. To characterization the detailed land subsidence mechanism, this study develops an inverse numerical model to estimate the deformation parameters such as the specific storage (Ss) and vertical hydraulic conductivity (Kv) for interbeds. Similar to the concept of Hydraulic tomography survey (HTS), the developed model employs the iterative cokriging estimator to improve the accuracy of estimating deformation parameters. A one-dimensional numerical example is employed to assess the accuracy of the developed inverse model. The developed model is then applied to field-scale data from compaction monitoring wells (CMW) installed in the lower Choshui River fan. Results of the synthetic example show that the developed inverse model can reproduce well the predefined geologic features of the synthetic aquifer. The model provides better estimations of Kv patterns and magnitudes. Slightly less detail of the Ss was obtained due to the insensitivity of transient stresses for specified sampling times. Without prior information from field measurements, the developed model associated with deformation measurements form CMW can estimate Kv and Ss fields with great spatial resolution.

  11. The coastal landscape of the river of silver basis for management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez, A.; Fernandez, E.; Cendom, A.; Vila, L.

    2013-01-01

    A complex of morphogenic, ecologic and cultural factors converge in coastal landscape modelling. The goal of this research is to identify the coastal environment as a water-land interphase in the Rio de la Plata, Uruguay. The area of work is within Punta Gorda, Colonia Department, and Maldonado River, in the Maldonado Department. An integrated landscape approach is used to interpret the complex of natural areas. The knowledge of natural complex is the goal of this research using the vegetation dynamic as an expression of site condition. Cartography at scale 1:50.000, colour composition of Landsat images at scale 1:100.000 (1994), aerial photographs at scale 1:10.000 (1994), are the source of information. A methodology of three components was organized: a typology of the coastal border, scale 1:500.000, a littoral morphology analysis using maps and aerial photographs, scale 1:10.000 and the coastal landscape, scale 1:100.000. A land cover legend was organized to integrate: geomorphology, vegetation and human intervention. It has 12 classes y 4 subclasses of land cover. This information was integrated in an analysis of an ideal coastal outline that represents the ideal disposition of the landscape elements in a cross and vertical perspective. The final goal of this research is an inventory of coastal uniform sectors. The research was performed within an approach of environmental factors equilibrium, such as geomorphology, environment, biologic and anthropogenic, and natural’s process in progress. Specific and general coastal problems are identified. A conceptual coastal landscape approach, a coastal cartography and setting of landscape units are the final products

  12. UAS-SfM for coastal research: Geomorphic feature extraction and land cover classification from high-resolution elevation and optical imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturdivant, Emily; Lentz, Erika; Thieler, E. Robert; Farris, Amy; Weber, Kathryn; Remsen, David P.; Miner, Simon; Henderson, Rachel

    2017-01-01

    The vulnerability of coastal systems to hazards such as storms and sea-level rise is typically characterized using a combination of ground and manned airborne systems that have limited spatial or temporal scales. Structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry applied to imagery acquired by unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offers a rapid and inexpensive means to produce high-resolution topographic and visual reflectance datasets that rival existing lidar and imagery standards. Here, we use SfM to produce an elevation point cloud, an orthomosaic, and a digital elevation model (DEM) from data collected by UAS at a beach and wetland site in Massachusetts, USA. We apply existing methods to (a) determine the position of shorelines and foredunes using a feature extraction routine developed for lidar point clouds and (b) map land cover from the rasterized surfaces using a supervised classification routine. In both analyses, we experimentally vary the input datasets to understand the benefits and limitations of UAS-SfM for coastal vulnerability assessment. We find that (a) geomorphic features are extracted from the SfM point cloud with near-continuous coverage and sub-meter precision, better than was possible from a recent lidar dataset covering the same area; and (b) land cover classification is greatly improved by including topographic data with visual reflectance, but changes to resolution (when <50 cm) have little influence on the classification accuracy.

  13. UAS-SfM for Coastal Research: Geomorphic Feature Extraction and Land Cover Classification from High-Resolution Elevation and Optical Imagery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily J. Sturdivant

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The vulnerability of coastal systems to hazards such as storms and sea-level rise is typically characterized using a combination of ground and manned airborne systems that have limited spatial or temporal scales. Structure-from-motion (SfM photogrammetry applied to imagery acquired by unmanned aerial systems (UAS offers a rapid and inexpensive means to produce high-resolution topographic and visual reflectance datasets that rival existing lidar and imagery standards. Here, we use SfM to produce an elevation point cloud, an orthomosaic, and a digital elevation model (DEM from data collected by UAS at a beach and wetland site in Massachusetts, USA. We apply existing methods to (a determine the position of shorelines and foredunes using a feature extraction routine developed for lidar point clouds and (b map land cover from the rasterized surfaces using a supervised classification routine. In both analyses, we experimentally vary the input datasets to understand the benefits and limitations of UAS-SfM for coastal vulnerability assessment. We find that (a geomorphic features are extracted from the SfM point cloud with near-continuous coverage and sub-meter precision, better than was possible from a recent lidar dataset covering the same area; and (b land cover classification is greatly improved by including topographic data with visual reflectance, but changes to resolution (when <50 cm have little influence on the classification accuracy.

  14. Modelling forest loss and other land use change dynamics in Ashanti Region of Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koranteng Addo

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Forest losses amid land use dynamics have become issues of outermost concern in the light of climate change phenomenon which has captivated the world’s attention. It is imperative to monitor land use change and to forecast forms of future land use change on a temporal and spatial basis. The main thrust of this study is to assess land use change in the lower half of the Ashanti Region of Ghana within a 40 year period. The analysis of land use change uses a combination method in Remote Sensing (RS and Geographic Information System (GIS. Cellular Automata and Markov Chain (Cellular Automata-Markov are utilized to predict for land use land cover (LULC change for 2020 and 2030. The processes used include: (i a data pre-processing (geometric corrections, radiometric corrections, subset creation and image enhancement of epoch Landsat images acquired in 1990, 2000, and Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC 2010; (ii classification of multispectral imagery (iii Change detection mapping (iv using Cellular Automata-Markov to generate land use change in the next 20 years. The results illustrate that in years 2020 to 2030 in the foreseeable future, there will an upsurge in built up areas, while a decline in agricultural land use is envisaged. Agricultural land use would still be the dominant land use type. Forests would be drastically reduced from close to 50% in 1990 to just fewer than 10% in 2030. Land use decision making must be very circumspect, especially in an era where Ghana has opted to take advantage of REDD+. Studies such as this provide vital pieces of information which may be used to monitor, direct and influence land use change to a more beneficial and sustainable manner

  15. Recognizing loss of open forest ecosystems by tree densification and land use intensification in the Midwestern USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brice B. Hanberry; Marc D. Abrams

    2018-01-01

    Forests and grasslands have changed during the past 200 years in the eastern USA, and it is now possible to quantify loss and conversion of vegetation cover at regional scales. We quantified historical (ca. 1786-1908) and current land cover and determined long-term ecosystem change to either land use or closed forests in eight states of the Great Lakes and Midwest....

  16. Scoping study on coastal squeeze in the Ayeyarwady Delta

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kroon, M.E.N.; Rutten, M.M.; Stive, M.J.F.; Wunna, S.

    2015-01-01

    Coastal squeeze is the reduction in the space of coastal habitats to operate (Phan et al, 2014) and an important cause for coastline retreat, increase in flood risk, salinity intrusion etc. Land use changes, such as deforestation and urbanization, reduce the space of natural habitats, such as

  17. Land-use and Land-cover Change from 1974 to 2008 around Mobile Bay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Jean; Spruce, Joseph; Smoot, James; Hilbert, Kent; Swann, Roberta

    2008-01-01

    This project is a Gulf of Mexico Application Pilot in which NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) is working within a regional collaboration network of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. NASA researchers, with support from the NASA SSC Applied Science Program Steering Committee, employed multi-temporal Landsat data to assess land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes in the coastal counties of Mobile and Baldwin, AL, between 1974 and 2008. A multi-decadal time-series, coastal LULC product unique to NASA SSC was produced. The geographic extent and nature of change was quantified for the open water, barren, upland herbaceous, non-woody wetland, upland forest, woody wetland, and urban landscapes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Coastal Development Data Center (NCDDC) will assist with the transition of the final product to the operational end user, which primarily is the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP). We found substantial LULC change over the 34-year study period, much more than is evident when the change occurring in the last years. Between 1974 and 2008, the upland forest landscape lost almost 6% of the total acreage, while urban land cover increased by slightly more than 3%. With exception to open water, upland forest is the dominant landscape, accounting for about 25-30% of the total area.

  18. How Can a Little Shrimp Do so Much Damage?: Ecosystem Service Losses Associated with Land Cover Change in Mangroves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kauffman, J. B.; Bhomia, R. K.

    2014-12-01

    Mangroves provide a number of ecosystem services including habitats for many species of fish and shellfish, storm protection, influences on water quality, wood, aesthetics, and a source of nutrients and energy for adjacent marine ecosystems. C stocks of mangroves are among the highest of any forest type on Earth. We have measured the ecosystem carbon stocks in mangroves across the world and found them to range from 250 to >2000 Mg C/ha which is a CO2 equivalence of 917 to 7340 Mg/ha. Because the numerous values of mangroves are well known, it is ironic that rates of deforestation largely relating to land use/land cover change are among the highest of any forest type on earth exceeding that of tropical rain forests. Dominant causes of deforestation include conversion to aquaculture (shrimp), agricultural conversion, and coastal development. The carbon emissions arising from conversion of mangroves to other uses is exceptionally high. This is because vulnerability of the soil carbon stocks to losses with conversion. Emissions from conversion of mangrove to shrimp ponds range from about 800 to over 3000 Mg CO2e/ha. This places the carbon footprint of shrimp arising from such ponds as among the highest of any food product available. Of great interest is the potential value of mangroves in carbon marketing strategies and other financial incentives that are derived from the conservation of standing forests. This is because of the combination of high carbon stocks in intact mangroves, the high greenhouse gas emissions arising from their conversion, and the conservation of other valuable ecosystem services provided by intact mangroves.

  19. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Florida and East Gulf of Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  20. Land-Use and Land-Cover Change around Mobile Bay, Alabama from 1974-2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Jean; Spruce, Joseph P.; Swann, Roberta; Smooth, James C.

    2009-01-01

    This document summarizes the major findings of a Gulf of Mexico Application Pilot project led by NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) in conjunction with a regional collaboration network of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA). NASA researchers processed and analyzed multi-temporal Landsat data to assess land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes in the coastal counties of Mobile and Baldwin, AL between 1974 and 2008. Our goal was to create satellite-based LULC data products using methods that could be transferable to other coastal areas of concern within the Gulf of Mexico. The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) is the primary end-user, however, several other state and local groups may benefit from the project s data products that will be available through NOAA-NCDDC s Regional Ecosystem Data Management program. Mobile Bay is a critical ecologic and economic region in the Gulf of Mexico and to the entire country. Mobile Bay was designated as an estuary of national significance in 1996. This estuary receives the fourth largest freshwater inflow in the United States. It provides vital nursery habitat for commercially and recreationally important fish species. It has exceptional aquatic and terrestrial bio-diversity, however, its estuary health is influenced by changing LULC patterns, such as urbanization. Mobile and Baldwin counties have experienced a population growth of 1.1% and 20.5% from 2000-2006. Urban expansion and population growth are likely to accelerate with the construction and operation of the ThyssenKrupp steel mill in the northeast portion of Mobile County. Land-use and land-cover change can negatively impact Gulf coast water quality and ecological resources. The conversion of forest to urban cover types impacts the carbon cycle and increases the freshwater and sediment in coastal waters. Increased freshwater runoff decreases salinity and increases the turbidity of coastal waters, thus impacting the growth potential of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV

  1. Application of MODIS Products to Infer Possible Relationships Between Basin Land Cover and Coastal Waters Turbidity Using the Magdalena River, Colombia, as a Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madrinan, Max Jacobo Moreno; Cordova, Africa Flores; Olivares, Francisco Delgado; Irwin, Dan

    2012-01-01

    Basin development and consequent change in basin land cover have been often associated with an increased turbidity in coastal waters because of sediment yield and nutrients loading. The later leads to phytoplankton abundance further exacerbating water turbidity. This subsequently affects biological and physical processes in coastal estuaries by interfering with sun light penetration to coral reefs and sea grass, and even affecting public health. Therefore, consistent estimation of land cover changes and turbidity trend lines is crucial to design environmental and restoration management plans, to predict fate of possible pollutants, and to estimate sedimentary fluxes into the ocean. Ground solely methods to estimate land cover change would be unpractical and traditional methods of monitoring in situ water turbidity can be very expensive and time consuming. Accurate monitoring on the status and trends of basin land cover as well as the water quality of the receiving water bodies are required for analysis of relationships between the two variables. Use of remote sensing (RS) technology provides a great benefit for both fields of study, facilitating monitoring of changes in a timely and cost effective manner and covering wide areas with long term measurements. In this study, the Magdalena River basin and fixed geographical locations in the estuarine waters of its delta are used as a case to study the temporal trend lines of both, land cover change and the reflectance of the water turbidity using satellite technology. Land cover data from a combined product between sensors Terra and Aqua (MCD12Q1) from MODIS will be adapted to the conditions in the Magdalena basin to estimate changes in land cover since year 2000 to 2009. Surface reflectance data from a MODIS, Terra (MOD09GQ), band 1, will be used in lieu of in situ water turbidity for the time period between 2000 and present. Results will be compared with available existing data.

  2. Ecosystem-based coastal defence in the face of global change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Temmerman, S.; Meire, P.; Bouma, T.J.; Herman, P.M.J.; Ysebaert, T.; de Vriend, H.J.

    2013-01-01

    The risk of flood disasters is increasing for many coastal societies owing to global and regional changes in climate conditions, sea-level rise, land subsidence and sediment supply. At the same time, in many locations, conventional coastal engineering solutions such as sea walls are increasingly

  3. Evaluation of mitigation strategies to reduce ammonia losses from slurry fertilisation on arable lands

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carozzi, M., E-mail: marco.carozzi@unimi.it [University of Milan, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan (Italy); Ferrara, R.M.; Rana, G. [Consiglio per la Ricerca e sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Research Unit for Cropping Systems in Dry Environments, via C. Ulpiani, 5 – 70125 Bari (Italy); Acutis, M. [University of Milan, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan (Italy)

    2013-04-01

    To evaluate the best practices in reducing ammonia (NH{sub 3}) losses from fertilised arable lands, six field trials were carried out in three different locations in northern Italy. NH{sub 3} emissions from cattle slurry were estimated considering the spreading techniques and the field incorporation procedures. The measurements were performed using long term exposure samplers associated to the determination of the atmospheric turbulence and the use of the backward Lagrangian stochastic (bLS) model WindTrax. The results obtained indicate that the NH{sub 3} emission process was exhausted in the first 24–48 h after slurry spreading. The slurry incorporation technique was able to reduce the NH{sub 3} losses with respect to the surface spreading, where a contextual incorporation led to reductions up to 87%. However, the best abatement strategy for NH{sub 3} losses from slurry applications has proved to be the direct injection into the soil, with a reduction of about 95% with respect to the surface spreading. The results obtained highlight the strong dependence of the volatilisation phenomenon by soil and weather conditions. - Highlights: ► Ammonia emissions from land-application of slurry were quantified. ► We examined and compared six different agronomic treatments in three locations. ► The faster was the soil-incorporation of slurry, the lower was the ammonia loss. ► The direct injection of slurry was found to be the best abatement strategy. ► The environmental factors were able to strongly influence the ammonia emission.

  4. Evaluation of Dynamic Coastal Response to Sea-level Rise Modifies Inundation Likelihood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lentz, Erika E.; Thieler, E. Robert; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Stippa, Sawyer R.; Horton, Radley M.; Gesch, Dean B.

    2016-01-01

    Sea-level rise (SLR) poses a range of threats to natural and built environments, making assessments of SLR-induced hazards essential for informed decision making. We develop a probabilistic model that evaluates the likelihood that an area will inundate (flood) or dynamically respond (adapt) to SLR. The broad-area applicability of the approach is demonstrated by producing 30x30m resolution predictions for more than 38,000 sq km of diverse coastal landscape in the northeastern United States. Probabilistic SLR projections, coastal elevation and vertical land movement are used to estimate likely future inundation levels. Then, conditioned on future inundation levels and the current land-cover type, we evaluate the likelihood of dynamic response versus inundation. We find that nearly 70% of this coastal landscape has some capacity to respond dynamically to SLR, and we show that inundation models over-predict land likely to submerge. This approach is well suited to guiding coastal resource management decisions that weigh future SLR impacts and uncertainty against ecological targets and economic constraints.

  5. Change detection studies in coastal zone features of Goa, India by remote sensing

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    ManiMurali, R.; Vethamony, P.; Saran, A.K.; Jayakumar, S.

    is the prime tourist destination of India, and the tourism industry is growing rapidly. Ass o- ciated with this growth, c hanges could be d e tected in the land - use, especially along the coastal belt such as co n- struction of buildings, environment...) have been studied using r e mote sensing data 3,4 . As Goa is one of the global tourist destination s of the world, more develo p- ment is expected along the coastal zone , and subs e quently there will be changes in the land - use/ land...

  6. The challenges of coastal oceanography. Prediction limits and new applications based on Sentinel data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Arcilla, Agustín; Carniel, Sandro; Badger, Merete; Bidlot, Jean; Boye Hansen, Lars; Bolaños-Sanchez, Rodolfo; Cipollini, Paolo; Espino, Manuel; Marcello Miglietta, Mario; Saulter, Andy; Staneva, Joanna

    2017-04-01

    The increasing quality and quantity (resolution in space, coverage in time, combinations of sensors in the Sentinel family) of information provided by Copernicus offer the possibility to analyse and predict coastal meteo-oceanography at an unprecedented level. This is a unique opportunity to develop the Copernicus coastal dimension to tackle the pressures of increasing population and activities. The combination of ocean/atmosphere/land observations from the Sentinel (S) 1/2/3, aligned with the availability of an increasing number of high-resolution numerical simulations (e.g. wave and current fields) in the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) catalogue, should allow users to access proven representations of the coastal environment at a new level of understanding (e.g. wave diffraction at coastal "obstacles"), coupling (e.g. incorporating the land discharge into the coastal sea) and reliability for applications (e.g. hazards for coastal navigation). By adding periodic bathymetric up-dating and incorporating new assimilation routines it will be possible to achieve a new level of analysis for coastal seas. In the paper we shall present the CEASELESS project that addresses the multiple scales coexisting in littoral areas by developing new shallow water parameterizations, introducing them into coupled model suites (wind-wave-surge-current-land discharge) and producing new standards for coastal simulations and analyses. This will demonstrate the technical feasibility of an operational coastal service. The set of derived products will be ingested into the users' work routines, proving the economic feasibility of such a coastal extension. The level of conflicts in squeezed coastal zones, expected to grow in the face of climate change, will, thus, benefit directly from CEASELESS, establishing tangible contributions for a wide range of economic sectors. The mutual validation of satellite data, numerical results and in-situ observations will generate

  7. The loss of ecosystem services due to land degradation. Integration of mechanistic and probabilistic models in an Ethiopian case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerretelli, Stefania; Poggio, Laura; Gimona, Alessandro; Peressotti, Alessandro; Black, Helaina

    2017-04-01

    Land and soil degradation are widespread especially in dry and developing countries such as Ethiopia. Land degradation leads to ecosystems services (ESS) degradation, because it causes the depletion and loss of several soil functions. Ethiopia's farmland faces intense degradation due to deforestation, agricultural land expansion, land overexploitation and overgrazing. In this study we modelled the impact of physical factors on ESS degradation, in particular soil erodibility, carbon storage and nutrient retention, in the Ethiopian Great Rift Valley, northwestern of Hawassa. We used models of the Sediment retention/loss, the Nutrient Retention/loss (from the software suite InVEST) and Carbon Storage. To run the models we coupled soil local data (such as soil organic carbon, soil texture) with remote sensing data as input in the parametrization phase, e.g. to derive a land use map, to calculate the aboveground and belowground carbon, the evapotraspiration coefficient and the capacity of vegetation to retain nutrient. We then used spatialised Bayesian Belief Networks (sBBNs) predicting ecosystem services degradation on the basis of the results of the three mechanistic models. The results show i) the importance of mapping of ESS degradation taking into consideration the spatial heterogeneity and the cross-correlations between impacts ii) the fundamental role of remote sensing data in monitoring and modelling in remote, data-poor areas and iii) the important role of spatial BBNs in providing spatially explicit measures of risk and uncertainty. This approach could help decision makers to identify priority areas for intervention in order to reduce land and ecosystem services degradation.

  8. Coastal Wetlands Protection Act: Case of Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River

    OpenAIRE

    Latif Gürkan KAYA

    2007-01-01

    Coastal wetlands, being important components of estuarine and coastal systems, stand for all publicly owned lands subject to the ebb and flow of the tide. They are below the watermark of ordinary high tide. The coastal wetlands contain a vital natural resource system. The coastal wetlands resource system, unless impossible, to reconstruct or rehabilitate once adversely affected by human. In the USA, the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river states (i.e. Georgia, Alabama and Florida) ha...

  9. Spatial variability of coastal wetland resilience to sea-level rise using Bayesian inference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, T.; Wu, W.

    2017-12-01

    The coastal wetlands in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) account for 40% of coastal wetland area in the United States and provide various ecosystem services to the region and broader areas. Increasing rates of relative sea-level rise (RSLR), and reduced sediment input have increased coastal wetland loss in the NGOM, accounting for 80% of coastal wetland loss in the nation. Traditional models for predicting the impact of RSLR on coastal wetlands in the NGOM have focused on coastal erosion driven by geophysical variables only, and/or at small spatial extents. Here we developed a model in Bayesian inference to make probabilistic prediction of wetland loss in the entire NGOM as a function of vegetation productivity and geophysical attributes. We also studied how restoration efforts help maintain the area of coastal wetlands. Vegetation productivity contributes organic matter to wetland sedimentation and was approximated using the remotely sensed normalized difference moisture index (NDMI). The geophysical variables include RSLR, tidal range, river discharge, coastal slope, and wave height. We found a significantly positive relation between wetland loss and RSLR, which varied significantly at different river discharge regimes. There also existed a significantly negative relation between wetland loss and NDMI, indicating that in-situ vegetation productivity contributed to wetland resilience to RSLR. This relation did not vary significantly between river discharge regimes. The spatial relation revealed three areas of high RSLR but relatively low wetland loss; these areas were associated with wetland restoration projects in coastal Louisiana. Two projects were breakwater projects, where hard materials were placed off-shore to reduce wave action and promote sedimentation. And one project was a vegetation planting project used to promote sedimentation and wetland stabilization. We further developed an interactive web tool that allows stakeholders to develop similar wetland

  10. Effect of water quality on the composition of fish communities in three coastal rivers of Karnataka, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arunkumar Shetty

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The fish assemblage and diversity in relation to water quality of three coastal rivers Sita, Swarna and Varahi of Udupi district, Karnataka, India was studied. 71 species representing 7 orders, 20 families and 41 genera were recorded from 21 sites along the three rivers. Species composition varied longitudinally in relation to the environmental factors of the habitat. The downstream change in the three rivers indicates that fish assemblage changed with increasing loss of riparian canopy cover and increasing agricultural land-use. The richness and abundance of fishes were correlated with land-use type, canopy cover, pH and turbidity. Diversion of water, discharge of domestic sewage and agricultural runoff were prominent among the disturbances that alter the habitat quality.

  11. Features of the territorial planning of the sea coastal zone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktoria Yavorska

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The coastal zone in Ukraine is likely to undergo the most profound change in the near future. Already more than 65 percent of the Ukrainian Black Sea region population lives within 30 km of the coast. Consequently, unless territory planning and careful environmental management are instituted, sharp conflicts over coastal space and resource are likely, and the degradation of natural resources will stop future social-economic development. In order to maintain and restore coastal ecosystem it was implemented law about formation of the national ecological network of Ukraine. Later were developed General Scheme for Planning of the Territory of Ukraine and regional level planning scheme but there is no especial document regulating the use of land in the coastal zone. The study of geographical conditions, economic activity, and population resettlement shows separation within the regions of several echelons of economic development in relation to the coastline. Such separation may be based on differences in intensity and types of economic use within the territory and the water area, as well as the population density on the land. These features include the following economic stripes: seaside-facade, middle, peripheral – on land, and coastal, territorial waters, exclusive economic zone – in the direction of the sea. At the same time, each economic stripe has a complex internal structure. There are several basic principles of functional zoning of the territory highlighted in the article can help to rational plan the seaside regions.

  12. Centennial-scale human alterations, unintended natural-system responses, and event-driven mitigation within a coupled fluvial-coastal system: Lessons for collective management and long-term coastal change planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hein, C. J.; Hoagland, P.; Huang, J. C.; Canuel, E. A.; Fitzsimons, G.; Rosen, P.; Shi, W.; Fallon, A. R.; Shawler, J. L.

    2017-12-01

    On decadal to millennial timescales, human modifications of linked riparian and coastal landscapes have altered the natural transport of sediments to the coast, causing time-varying sediment fluxes to estuaries, wetlands, and beaches. This study explored the role of historical changes in land use and river/coastal engineering on patterns of coastal erosion in the coupled system comprising the Merrimack River and the Plum Island barrier beach (northern Massachusetts, USA). Recreational values of the beach, attendant impacts on the local housing market, human perceptions of future beach utilization, and collective management options were investigated. Key historical changes included the installation of dams to benefit industry and control flooding in the early 19th century; river-mouth jetties to maintain navigation and allow for the residential development of a more stable barrier in the early 20th century; and the progressive hardening of the shoreline in response to multi-decadal cyclical erosion and house losses throughout the latter 20th and 21st centuries. The tools of sedimentology, shoreline-change analysis, historic documentation, population surveys, and economic modeling were used to examine these changes and the dynamic linked responses of the natural system and human populations. We found cascading effects of human alterations to the river that changed sediment fluxes to the coastal zone, driving a need for mitigation over centennial timescales. More recently, multidecadal erosion-accretion cycles of the beach have had little impact on the housing market, which is instead more responsive to public shoreline stabilization efforts in response to short-term (sustainable management of coupled fluvial-coastal systems.

  13. DEFORMATION EFFECTS OF DAMS ON COASTAL REGIONS USING SENTINEL-1 IW TOPS TIME SERIES: THE WEST LESVOS, GREECE CASE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Karamvasis

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Coastal zones are vulnerable to erosion and loss by level sea rise. Subsidence caused by the reduction of fluvial sediments in coastal zones found close to dams, is another important deformation factor. Quantification of the deformation rate of coastal region is essential for natural and anthropogenic activities. The study utilizes Interferometric SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar techniques and exploits the archive of Sentinel-1 TOPS data for the period 2014–2016. The freely available, wide ground coverage (250 × 170 km and small temporal resolution Sentinel-1 TOPS datasets are promising for coastal applications. Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI methodologies are considered state-of-the-art remote sensing approaches for land deformation monitoring. The selected PSI method is the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS multitemporal InSAR technique. The study area of this study is the coastal zone of west region of Lesvos Island, Greece. The main characteristic of the area is the reduction of the fluvial sediment supply from the coastal drainage basins due to construction of dams and the abstraction of riverine sediments. The study demonstrates the potentials of the SBAS method for measuring and mapping the dynamic changes in coastal topography in terms of subsidence rates and discusses its advantages and limitations. The results show that natural and rural environments appear to have diverse ground deformation patterns.

  14. The mangrove tangle: short-term bio-physical interactions in coastal mangroves

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Horstman, Erik

    2014-01-01

    Mangroves are coastal wetland ecosystems in the upper intertidal area. Salt-tolerant mangrove vegetation dwells on fine substrates in sheltered, low-energy coastal environments such as estuaries and lagoons. At the interface between land and sea, mangroves provide a plethora of regulating, habitat

  15. Use of a Land-Based, Dual-Parameter Analyzer for Tracking Ocean Acidification in Nearshore Coastal Habitats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shea, M.; Alin, S. R.; Evans, W.; Sutton, A.; Hales, B. R.; Newton, J.; Feely, R. A.

    2016-12-01

    In 2007 to 2008, U.S. Pacific Northwest shellfish hatcheries experienced unprecedented larval mortality, attributed to upwelling along the Washington-Oregon coast that brought seawater enriched in anthropogenic CO2 and undersaturated with respect to aragonite to the surface. In response, several hatcheries have been outfitted with land-based analyzers to measure CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) and total dissolved CO2 (TCO2) through U.S. IOOS and NOAA OAP funding. This analyzer, developed at Oregon State University and known as the `Burke-O-Lator,' allows users to track CO2 system parameters in real-time. The data are available in near real-time on the IOOS Pacific Region Ocean Acidification (IPACOA) data portal, which feeds to the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON). Here, we explore the broader use of this system as an environmental monitoring tool. Most of the high-quality OA time-series locations in GOA-ON are in the open and coastal ocean, yet many areas of biological interest—such as shellfish hatcheries, shellfish farms, and coastal laboratories—are in the nearshore area of the coastal zone. A truly globally integrated assessment of OA must include nearshore conditions, which have been shown to be quite different in terms of variability, drivers, and range. We evaluated two pCO2 time-series from the coastal nearshore: the Taylor Shellfish Hatchery Burke-O-Lator system on the shore of Dabob Bay in Puget Sound, WA, and the nearby but offshore Dabob ORCA buoy MAPCO2 system within the bay. Preliminary comparison of three years of data reveals similar patterns despite differences in location and seawater intake depth, highlighting the opportunity for the addition of coupled nearshore biology and biogeochemistry measurements in GOA-ON. In addition, the well-calibrated, dual-parameter nature of the system is important for constraining nearshore chemistry, as biology, groundwater, and river inputs can lead to strong variability in carbonate

  16. High resolution, topobathymetric LiDAR coastal zone characterization in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steinbacher, Frank; Baran, Ramona; Andersen, Mikkel S.

    2016-01-01

    Coastal and tidal environments are valuable ecosystems, which, however, are under pressure in many areas around the world due to globalization and/or climate change. Detailed mapping of these environments is required in order to manage the coastal zone in a sustainable way. However, historically...... locations with different environmental settings. We demonstrate the potential of using airborne topobathymetric LiDAR for seamless mapping of land-water transition zones in challenging coastal environments, e.g. in an environment with high water column turbidity and continuously varying water levels due...... these transition zones between land and water are difficult or even impossible to map and investigate in high spatial resolution due to the challenging environmental conditions. The new generation of airborne topobathymetric light detection and ranging (LiDAR) potentially enables full-coverage and high...

  17. Advancing Land-Sea Conservation Planning: Integrating Modelling of Catchments, Land-Use Change, and River Plumes to Prioritise Catchment Management and Protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Álvarez-Romero, Jorge G; Pressey, Robert L; Ban, Natalie C; Brodie, Jon

    2015-01-01

    Human-induced changes to river loads of nutrients and sediments pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems. Ongoing land-use change can further increase these loads, and amplify the impacts of land-based threats on vulnerable marine ecosystems. Consequently, there is a need to assess these threats and prioritise actions to mitigate their impacts. A key question regarding prioritisation is whether actions in catchments to maintain coastal-marine water quality can be spatially congruent with actions for other management objectives, such as conserving terrestrial biodiversity. In selected catchments draining into the Gulf of California, Mexico, we employed Land Change Modeller to assess the vulnerability of areas with native vegetation to conversion into crops, pasture, and urban areas. We then used SedNet, a catchment modelling tool, to map the sources and estimate pollutant loads delivered to the Gulf by these catchments. Following these analyses, we used modelled river plumes to identify marine areas likely influenced by land-based pollutants. Finally, we prioritised areas for catchment management based on objectives for conservation of terrestrial biodiversity and objectives for water quality that recognised links between pollutant sources and affected marine areas. Our objectives for coastal-marine water quality were to reduce sediment and nutrient discharges from anthropic areas, and minimise future increases in coastal sedimentation and eutrophication. Our objectives for protection of terrestrial biodiversity covered species of vertebrates. We used Marxan, a conservation planning tool, to prioritise interventions and explore spatial differences in priorities for both objectives. Notable differences in the distributions of land values for terrestrial biodiversity and coastal-marine water quality indicated the likely need for trade-offs between catchment management objectives. However, there were priority areas that contributed to both sets of objectives. Our

  18. Coastal erosion triggered by a shipwreck along the coast of Goa, India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    ManiMurali, R.; Babu, M.T.; Mascarenhas, A.; Choudhary, R.; Sudheesh, K.; Vethamony, P.

    dunes and, as a consequence, has gradually become fragile due to severe erosion. Keywords: Coastal erosion, cyclone, remote sensing images, shipwreck. GOA is one of the most famous tourist coasts of the world. In general, the sea front of Goa... times due to the sudden boom of real estate sector, mushrooming of industries, inconsistent tourist flows, with a consequent impact on coastal ecosystems. Changes in the land-use/land-cover, geomorphology, ecology and sensitivity of coasts were...

  19. Study on Ecological Risk Assessment of Guangxi Coastal Zone Based on 3s Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Z.; Luo, H.; Ling, Z. Y.; Huang, Y.; Ning, W. Y.; Tang, Y. B.; Shao, G. Z.

    2018-05-01

    This paper takes Guangxi coastal zone as the study area, following the standards of land use type, divides the coastal zone of ecological landscape into seven kinds of natural wetland landscape types such as woodland, farmland, grassland, water, urban land and wetlands. Using TM data of 2000-2015 such 15 years, with the CART decision tree algorithm, for analysis the characteristic of types of landscape's remote sensing image and build decision tree rules of landscape classification to extract information classification. Analyzing of the evolution process of the landscape pattern in Guangxi coastal zone in nearly 15 years, we may understand the distribution characteristics and change rules. Combined with the natural disaster data, we use of landscape index and the related risk interference degree and construct ecological risk evaluation model in Guangxi coastal zone for ecological risk assessment results of Guangxi coastal zone.

  20. Fixed-nitrogen loss associated with sinking zooplankton carcasses in a coastal oxygen minimum zone (Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stief, Peter; Lundgaard, Ann Sofie Birch; Morales Ramirez, Alvaro

    2017-01-01

    Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the ocean are of key importance for pelagic fixed-nitrogen loss (N-loss) through microbial denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). Recent studies document that zooplankton is surprisingly abundant in and around OMZs and that the microbial community...... associated with carcasses of a large copepod species mediates denitrification. Here, we investigate the complex N-cycling associated with sinking zooplankton carcasses exposed to the steep O2 gradient in a coastal OMZ (Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica). 15N-stable-isotope enrichment experiments revealed...... that the carcasses of abundant copepods and ostracods provide anoxic microbial hotspots in the pelagic zone by hosting intense anaerobic N-cycle activities even in the presence of ambient O2. Carcass-associated anaerobic N-cycling was clearly dominated by dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) at up...

  1. Coastal vulnerability: climate change and natural hazards perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romieu, E.; Vinchon, C.

    2009-04-01

    Introduction Studying coastal zones as a territorial concept (Integrated coastal zone management) is an essential issue for managers, as they have to consider many different topics (natural hazards, resources management, tourism, climate change…). The recent approach in terms of "coastal vulnerability" studies (since the 90's) is the main tool used nowadays to help them in evaluating impacts of natural hazards on coastal zones, specially considering climate change. This present communication aims to highlight the difficulties in integrating this concept in risk analysis as it is usually practiced in natural hazards sciences. 1) Coastal vulnerability as a recent issue The concept of coastal vulnerability mainly appears in the International panel on climate change works of 1992 (IPCC. 2001), where it is presented as essential for climate change adaptation. The concept has been defined by a common methodology which proposes the assessment of seven indicators, in regards to a sea level rise of 1m in 2100: people affected, people at risk, capital value at loss, land at loss, wetland at loss, potential adaptation costs, people at risk assuming this adaptation. Many national assessments have been implemented (Nicholls, et al. 1995) and a global assessment was proposed for three indicators (Nicholls, et al. 1999). The DINAS-Coast project reuses this methodology to produce the DIVA-tool for coastal managers (Vafeidis, et al. 2004). Besides, many other methodologies for national or regional coastal vulnerability assessments have been developed (review by (UNFCCC. 2008). The use of aggregated vulnerability indicators (including geomorphology, hydrodynamics, climate change…) is widespread: the USGS coastal vulnerability index is used worldwide and was completed by a social vulnerability index (Boruff, et al. 2005). Those index-based methods propose a vulnerability mapping which visualise indicators of erosion, submersion and/or socio economic sensibility in coastal zones

  2. Assessment of coastal Strandveld integrity using WorldView-2 imagery in False Bay, South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Lück-Vogel, Melanie

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The coastal zone as interface between land and sea faces much pressure from human activities. These pressures make it difficult for the coastal zones to fulfil their natural functions, so threatening the state of coastal environments and making them...

  3. Implications of human induced changes on the distribution of important plant species in the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marwa Waseem Halmy

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The application of species distribution modeling in deserts is a useful tool for mapping species and assessing the impact of human induced changes on individual species. Such applications are still rare, and this may be attributed to the fact that much of the arid lands and deserts around the world are located in inaccessible areas. Few studies have conducted spatially explicit modeling of plant species distribution in Egypt. The random forest modeling approach was applied to climatic and land-surface parameters to predict the distribution of ten important plant species in an arid landscape in the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt. The impact of changes in land use and climate on the distribution of the plant species was assessed. The results indicate that the changes in land use in the area have resulted in habitat loss for all the modeled species. Projected future changes in land use reveals that all the modeled species will continue to suffer habitat loss. The projected impact of modeled climate scenarios (A1B, A2A and B2A on the distribution of the modeled species by 2040 varied. Some of the species were projected to be adversely affected by the changes in climate, while other species are expected to benefit from these changes. The combined impact of the changes in land use and climate pose serious threats to most of the modeled species. The study found that all the species are expected to suffer loss in habitat, except Gymnocarpos decanderus. The study highlights the importance of assessing the impact of land use/climate change scenarios on other species of restricted distribution in the area and can help shape policy and mitigation measures directed toward biodiversity conservation in Egypt.

  4. Spatially Explicit Analysis of Biodiversity Loss Due to Global Agriculture, Pasture and Forest Land Use from a Producer and Consumer Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhary, Abhishek; Pfister, Stephan; Hellweg, Stefanie

    2016-04-05

    Anthropogenic land use to produce commodities for human consumption is the major driver of global biodiversity loss. Synergistic collaboration between producers and consumers in needed to halt this trend. In this study, we calculate species loss on 5 min × 5 min grid level and per country due to global agriculture, pasture and forestry by combining high-resolution land use data with countryside species area relationship for mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Results show that pasture was the primary driver of biodiversity loss in Madagascar, China and Brazil, while forest land use contributed the most to species loss in DR Congo and Indonesia. Combined with the yield data, we quantified the biodiversity impacts of 1 m(3) of roundwood produced in 139 countries, concluding that tropical countries with low timber yield and a large presence of vulnerable species suffer the highest impact. We also calculated impacts per kg for 160 crops grown in different countries and linked it with FAO food trade data to assess the biodiversity impacts embodied in Swiss food imports. We found that more than 95% of Swiss consumption impacts rest abroad with cocoa, coffee and palm oil imports being responsible for majority of damage.

  5. [Assessment and early warning of land ecological security in rapidly urbanizing coastal area: A case study of Caofeidian new district, Hebei, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Li; Chen, Ying; Wang, Shu-tao; Men, Ming-xin; Xu, Hao

    2015-08-01

    Assessment and early warning of land ecological security (LES) in rapidly urbanizing coastal area is an important issue to ensure sustainable land use and effective maintenance of land ecological security. In this study, an index system for the land ecological security of Caofeidian new district was established based on the Pressure-State-Response (P-S-R) model. Initial assessment units of 1 km x 1 km created with the remote sensing data and GIS methods were spatially interpolated to a fine pixel size of 30 m x 30 m, which were combined with the early warning method (using classification tree method) to evaluate the land ecological security of Caofeidian in 2005 and 2013. The early warning level was classed into four categories: security with degradation potential, sub-security with slow degradation, sub-security with rapid degradation, and insecurity. Result indicated that, from 2005 to 2013, the average LES of Caofeidian dropped from 0.55 to 0.52, indicating a degradation of land ecological security from medium security level to medium-low security level. The areas at the levels of insecurity with rapid degradation were mainly located in the rapid urbanization areas, illustrating that rapid expansion of urban construction land was the key factor to the deterioration of the regional land ecological security. Industrial District, Shilihai town and Nanpu saltern, in which the lands at the levels of insecurity and sub-security with rapid degradation or slow degradation accounted for 58.3%, 98.9% and 81.2% of their respective districts, were at the stage of high early warning. Thus, land ecological security regulation for these districts should be strengthened in near future. The study could provide a reference for land use planning and ecological protection of Caofeidian new district.

  6. Coastal Sea Levels, Impacts, and Adaptation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Wahl

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Sea-level rise (SLR poses a great threat to approximately 10% of the world’s population residing in low-elevation coastal zones (i.e., land located up to 10 m of present-day mean sea-level (MSL[...

  7. Ecological sensitivity of the Persian Gulf coastal region (Case study ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    geo-referencing photo mosaic Land Sat Satellite images (2003) and IRS' (2004) were taken and basic maps of two influential areas were evaluated within the above mentioned limits which included the coastal village boundaries. The coastal line of the area being evaluated (set back line) was 673.62 kms comprising an ...

  8. Estimating Vertical Land Motion in the Chesapeake Bay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houttuijn Bloemendaal, L.; Hensel, P.

    2017-12-01

    This study aimed to provide a modern measurement of subsidence in the Chesapeake Bay region and establish a methodology for measuring vertical land motion using static GPS, a cheaper alternative to InSAR or classical leveling. Vertical land motion in this area is of particular concern because tide gages are showing up to 5 mm/yr of local, relative sea level rise. While a component of this rate is the actual eustatic sea level rise itself, part of the trend may also be vertical land motion, in which subsidence exacerbates the effects of actual changes in sea level. Parts of this region are already experiencing an increase in the frequency and magnitude of near-shore coastal flooding, but the last comprehensive study of vertical land motion in this area was conducted by NOAA in 1974 (Holdahl & Morrison) using repeat leveled lines. More recent measures of vertical land motion can help inform efforts on resilience to sea level rise, such as in the Hampton Roads area. This study used measured GPS-derived vertical heights in conjunction with legacy GPS data to calculate rates of vertical motion at several points in time for a selection of benchmarks scattered throughout the region. Seventeen marks in the stable Piedmont area and in the areas suspected of subsidence in the Coastal Plain were selected for the analysis. Results indicate a significant difference between the rates of vertical motion in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain, with a mean rate of -4.10 mm/yr in the Coastal Plain and 0.15 mm/yr in the Piedmont. The rates indicate particularly severe subsidence at the southern Delmarva Peninsula coast and the Hampton-Roads area, with a mean rate of -6.57 mm/yr in that region. By knowing local rates of subsidence as opposed to sea level change itself, coastal managers may make better informed decisions regarding natural resource use, such as deciding whether or not to reduce subsurface fluid withdrawals or to consider injecting treated water back into the aquifer to slow

  9. Commercial Landings Monitoring Reports (Coastal Dealers)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains pounds and value for all seafood products that are landed and sold by established seafood dealers and brokers in the SE Region of the US...

  10. Coastal zones : shifting shores, sharing adaptation strategies for coastal environments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hay, J.E. [Waikato Univ. (New Zealand); Morneau, F.; Savard, J.P. [Ouranos, Montreal, PQ (Canada); Madruga, R.P. [Centre of Investigation on the Global Economy (Cuba); Leslie, K.R. [Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (Belize); Agricole, W. [Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Seychelles); Burkett, V. [United States Geological Survey (United States)

    2006-07-01

    A parallel event to the eleventh Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change was held to demonstrate examples of adaptation from around the world in the areas of food security, water resources, coastal zones, and communities/infrastructure. Panels on each theme presented examples from developing countries, countries in economic transition, and developed countries. These 4 themes were chosen because both mitigation and adaptation are essential to meeting the challenge of climate change. The objective of the event was to improve the knowledge of Canada's vulnerabilities to climate change, identify ways to minimize the negative effects of future impacts, and explore opportunities that take advantage of any positive impacts. This third session focused on how coastal communities are adapting to climate change in such places as Quebec, the Caribbean, and small Island States. It also presented the example of how a developed country became vulnerable to Hurricane Katrina which hit the coastal zone in the United States Gulf of Mexico. The presentations addressed the challenges facing coastal communities along with progress in risk assessment and adaptation both globally and in the Pacific. Examples of coastal erosion in Quebec resulting from climate change were presented along with climate change and variability impacts over the coastal zones of Seychelles. Cuba's vulnerability and adaptation to climate change was discussed together with an integrated operational approach to climate change, adaptation, biodiversity and land utilization in the Caribbean region. The lessons learned from around the world emphasize that adaptation is needed to reduce unavoidable risks posed by climate change and to better prepare for the changes ahead. refs., tabs., figs.

  11. The magnitude and origin of groundwater discharge to eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico coastal waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Befus, Kevin; Kroeger, Kevin D.; Smith, Christopher G.; Swarzenski, Peter W.

    2017-01-01

    Fresh groundwater discharge to coastal environments contributes to the physical and chemical conditions of coastal waters, but the role of coastal groundwater at regional to continental scales remains poorly defined due to diverse hydrologic conditions and the difficulty of tracking coastal groundwater flow paths through heterogeneous subsurface materials. We use three-dimensional groundwater flow models for the first time to calculate the magnitude and source areas of groundwater discharge from unconfined aquifers to coastal waterbodies along the entire eastern U.S. We find that 27.1 km3/yr (22.8–30.5 km3/yr) of groundwater directly enters eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico coastal waters. The contributing recharge areas comprised ~175,000 km2 of U.S. land area, extending several kilometers inland. This result provides new information on the land area that can supply natural and anthropogenic constituents to coastal waters via groundwater discharge, thereby defining the subterranean domain potentially affecting coastal chemical budgets and ecosystem processes.

  12. Spatial and temporal land cover changes in Terminos Lagoon Reserve, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soto-Galera, Ernesto; Piera, Jaume; López, Pilar

    2010-06-01

    Terminos Lagoon ecosystem is the largest fluvial-lagoon estuarine system in the country and one of the most important reserves of coastal flora and fauna in Mexico. Since the seventies, part of the main infrastructure for country's oil extraction is located in this area. Its high biodiversity has motivated different type of studies including deforestation processes and land use planning. In this work we used satellite image analysis to determine land cover changes in the area from 1974 to 2001. Our results indicate that tropical forest and mangroves presented the most extensive losses in its coverage. In contrast, urban areas and induced grassland increased considerably. In 2001 more than half of the ecosystem area showed changes from its original land cover, and a third part of it was deteriorated. The main causes of deforestation were both the increase in grassland and the growth of urban areas. However, deforestation was attenuated by natural reforestation and plant canopy recovery. We conclude that the introduction of cattle and urban development were the main causes for the land cover changes; however, the oil industry activity located in the ecosystem, has promoted indirectly to urban growth and rancher boom.

  13. Stress triggering of earthquakes and subsidence in the Louisiana coastal zone due to hydrocarbon production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallman, Ellen P.

    This thesis presents contributions towards better understanding of the interaction between earthquakes through elastic stress triggering and the role of hydrocarbon production on subsidence and land loss in southern Louisiana. The first issue addressed in this thesis is that of the role of static stress changes on earthquake triggering. The first study investigated whether observed changes in seismicity rate following the 1992 Landers, California and 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquakes are accurately predicted by elastic Coulomb stress transfer models. The analyses found that for all the tested DeltaCFS models wherever seismicity rate changes could be resolved the rate increased regardless of whether the DeltaCFS theoretically promoted or inhibited failure. The second study the common definition of a stress shadow was extended to independently test the stress shadow hypothesis using a global catalog of seismicity. The analyses indicated that while stress shadows are subtle, they are present in the global catalog. It also explains why "classical" stress shadows, similar to what was observed following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake are rarely observed for individual main shocks. The second issue addressed in this thesis is the role of hydrocarbon production on subsidence and land loss in the Louisiana Coastal Zone. The two studies in this thesis extend previous work by modeling the effect of oil and gas production in the region in two ways. First, multiple producing oil and gas fields and multiple epochs of leveling data are considered to provide constraints on predicted subsidence. Second, the role of compaction of the reservoir bounding shales on the regional subsidence signal is included. The results of the two studies on the role of hydrocarbon production on subsidence in the Louisiana Coastal Zone indicate that regional models of subsidence must include the effects of production-induced subsidence due to both sands and shales, but that this can not account for the

  14. The Impact of Land Cover Change on Ecosystem Service Values in Urban Agglomerations along the Coast of the Bohai Rim, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yushuo Zhang

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Local ecosystem services have been significantly affected by land cover changes associated with rapid urbanization in China. Based on the 2000 and 2010 land cover data products with 30-m resolution, we examined the similarities and differences in the impacts of land cover change on ecosystem service values (ESV at three coastal urban agglomerations in China between 2000 and 2010 (Liaodong Peninsula (LP, Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ and Shandong Peninsula (SP. A rapid evaluation method developed by Xie et al. (2008 was used to derive an ecosystem service value coefficient. The most significant change was an increase in artificial surfaces, due to urban expansion, which mainly occurred on cultivated land. The greatest loss in total ESV (2273 million Chinese Yuan occurred in SP, due to the large decrease in wetland areas, because this service has the highest estimated coefficient. The second greatest loss in ESV (893 million Yuan occurred in JJJ, due to the urban expansion of major cities. In contrast, ESV increased (72 million Yuan in LP. This study demonstrates that urban expansion does not necessarily lead to a net decline in ESV. In conclusion, land use and land cover policymaking should consider the sustainability of ecosystem services in relation to economic growth.

  15. STUDY ON ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF GUANGXI COASTAL ZONE BASED ON 3S TECHNOLOGY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Zhong

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper takes Guangxi coastal zone as the study area, following the standards of land use type, divides the coastal zone of ecological landscape into seven kinds of natural wetland landscape types such as woodland, farmland, grassland, water, urban land and wetlands. Using TM data of 2000–2015 such 15 years, with the CART decision tree algorithm, for analysis the characteristic of types of landscape’s remote sensing image and build decision tree rules of landscape classification to extract information classification. Analyzing of the evolution process of the landscape pattern in Guangxi coastal zone in nearly 15 years, we may understand the distribution characteristics and change rules. Combined with the natural disaster data, we use of landscape index and the related risk interference degree and construct ecological risk evaluation model in Guangxi coastal zone for ecological risk assessment results of Guangxi coastal zone.

  16. The cost and feasibility of marine coastal restoration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayraktarov, Elisa; Saunders, Megan I; Abdullah, Sabah; Mills, Morena; Beher, Jutta; Possingham, Hugh P; Mumby, Peter J; Lovelock, Catherine E

    2016-06-01

    Land-use change in the coastal zone has led to worldwide degradation of marine coastal ecosystems and a loss of the goods and services they provide. Restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed and is critical for habitats where natural recovery is hindered. Uncertainties about restoration cost and feasibility can impede decisions on whether, what, how, where, and how much to restore. Here, we perform a synthesis of 235 studies with 954 observations from restoration or rehabilitation projects of coral reefs, seagrass, mangroves, salt-marshes, and oyster reefs worldwide, and evaluate cost, survival of restored organisms, project duration, area, and techniques applied. Findings showed that while the median and average reported costs for restoration of one hectare of marine coastal habitat were around US$80000 (2010) and US$1600000 (2010), respectively, the real total costs (median) are likely to be two to four times higher. Coral reefs and seagrass were among the most expensive ecosystems to restore. Mangrove restoration projects were typically the largest and the least expensive per hectare. Most marine coastal restoration projects were conducted in Australia, Europe, and USA, while total restoration costs were significantly (up to 30 times) cheaper in countries with developing economies. Community- or volunteer-based marine restoration projects usually have lower costs. Median survival of restored marine and coastal organisms, often assessed only within the first one to two years after restoration, was highest for saltmarshes (64.8%) and coral reefs (64.5%) and lowest for seagrass (38.0%). However, success rates reported in the scientific literature could be biased towards publishing successes rather than failures. The majority of restoration projects were short-lived and seldom reported monitoring costs. Restoration success depended primarily on the ecosystem, site selection, and techniques

  17. Geospatial characteristics of Florida's coastal and offshore environments: Distribution of important habitats for coastal and offshore biological resources and offshore sand resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demopoulos, Amanda W.J.; Foster, Ann M.; Jones, Michal L.; Gualtieri, Daniel J.

    2011-01-01

    The Geospatial Characteristics GeoPDF of Florida's Coastal and Offshore Environments is a comprehensive collection of geospatial data describing the political boundaries and natural resources of Florida. This interactive map provides spatial information on bathymetry, sand resources, and locations of important habitats (for example, Essential Fish Habitats (EFH), nesting areas, strandings) for marine invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, and marine mammals. The map should be useful to coastal resource managers and others interested in marine habitats and submerged obstructions of Florida's coastal region. In particular, as oil and gas explorations continue to expand, the map can be used to explore information regarding sensitive areas and resources in the State of Florida. Users of this geospatial database will have access to synthesized information in a variety of scientific disciplines concerning Florida's coastal zone. This powerful tool provides a one-stop assembly of data that can be tailored to fit the needs of many natural resource managers. The map was originally developed to assist the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and coastal resources managers with planning beach restoration projects. The BOEMRE uses a systematic approach in planning the development of submerged lands of the Continental Shelf seaward of Florida's territorial waters. Such development could affect the environment. BOEMRE is required to ascertain the existing physical, biological, and socioeconomic conditions of the submerged lands and estimate the impact of developing these lands. Data sources included the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, BOEMRE, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Geographic Data Library, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Natural Areas Inventory, and the State of Florida, Bureau of Archeological Research. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) compliant metadata are

  18. Land changes and their driving forces in the Southeastern United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Napton, Darrell E.; Auch, Roger F.; Headley, Rachel; Taylor, Janis

    2010-01-01

    The ecoregions of the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain, Southeastern Plains, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge provide a continuum of land cover from the Atlantic Ocean to the highest mountains in the East. From 1973 to 2000, each ecoregion had a unique mosaic of land covers and land cover changes. The forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains provided amenity lands. The Piedmont forested area declined, while the developed area increased. The Southeastern Plains became a commercial forest region, and most agricultural lands that changed became forested. Forests in the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain declined, and development related to recreation and retirement increased. The most important drivers of land conversion were associated with commercial forestry, competition between forest and agriculture, and economic and population growth. These and other drivers were modified by each ecoregion’s unique suitability and land use legacies with the result that the same drivers often produced different land changes in different ecoregions.

  19. Contrasting landscape influences on sediment supply and stream restoration priorities in northern Fennoscandia (Sweden and Finland) and coastal British Columbia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenfeld, Jordan; Hogan, Daniel; Palm, Daniel; Lundquist, Hans; Nilsson, Christer; Beechie, Timothy J

    2011-01-01

    Sediment size and supply exert a dominant control on channel structure. We review the role of sediment supply in channel structure, and how regional differences in sediment supply and land use affect stream restoration priorities. We show how stream restoration goals are best understood within a common fluvial geomorphology framework defined by sediment supply, storage, and transport. Land-use impacts in geologically young landscapes with high sediment yields (e.g., coastal British Columbia) typically result in loss of in-stream wood and accelerated sediment inputs from bank erosion, logging roads, hillslopes and gullies. In contrast, northern Sweden and Finland are landscapes with naturally low sediment yields caused by low relief, resistant bedrock, and abundant mainstem lakes that act as sediment traps. Land-use impacts involved extensive channel narrowing, removal of obstructions, and bank armouring with boulders to facilitate timber floating, thereby reducing sediment supply from bank erosion while increasing export through higher channel velocities. These contrasting land-use impacts have pushed stream channels in opposite directions (aggradation versus degradation) within a phase-space defined by sediment transport and supply. Restoration in coastal British Columbia has focused on reducing sediment supply (through bank and hillslope stabilization) and restoring wood inputs. In contrast, restoration in northern Fennoscandia (Sweden and Finland) has focused on channel widening and removal of bank-armouring boulders to increase sediment supply and retention. These contrasting restoration priorities illustrate the consequences of divergent regional land-use impacts on sediment supply, and the utility of planning restoration activities within a mechanistic sediment supply-transport framework.

  20. Biostratigraphic implications of the first Eocene land-mammal fauna from the North American coastal plain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westgate, James W.

    1988-11-01

    A newly discovered vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Casa Blanca local fauna, comes from the Laredo Formation, Claiborne Group, of Webb County, Texas, and is the first reported Eocene land-mammal fauna from the coastal plain of North America. The mammalian fauna is correlated with the Serendipity and Candelaria local faunas of west Texas, the Uinta C faunas of the Rocky Mountains, the Santiago Formation local fauna of southern California, and the Swift Current Creek local fauna of Saskatchewan. The vertebrate-bearing deposit lies about 32 m above a horizon containing the marine gastropod Turritella cortezi, which ranges from east Texas to northeast Mexico in the lower half of the Cook Mountain and Laredo Formations and is a guide fossil to the Hurricane Lentil in the Cook Mountain Formation. Nannoplankton found in these middle Eocene formations belong to the upper half of Nannoplankton Zone I6 and allow correlation with European beds of late Lutetian to early Bartonian age.

  1. Coastal erosion vulnerability and risk assessment focusing in tourism beach use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexandrakis, George

    2016-04-01

    It is well established that the global market for tourism services is a key source of economic growth. Especially among Mediterranean countries, the tourism sector is one of the principal sectors driving national economies. With the majority of the mass tourism activities concentrated around coastal areas, coastal erosion, inter alia, poses a significant threat to coastal economies that depend heavily on revenues from tourism. The economic implications of beach erosion were mainly focused in the cost of coastal protection measures, instead of the revenue losses from tourism. For this, the vulnerability of the coast to sea level rise and associated erosion, in terms of expected land loss and economic activity need to be identified. To achieve this, a joint environmental and economic evaluation approach of the problem can provide a managerial tool to mitigate the impact of beach erosion in tourism, through realistic cost-benefit scenarios for planning alternative protection measures. Such a multipurpose tool needs to consider social, economic and environmental factors, which relationships can be better understood when distributed and analyzed along the geographical space. The risk assessment is implemented through the estimation of the vulnerability and exposure variables of the coast in two scales. The larger scale estimates the vulnerability in a regional level, with the use environmental factors with the use of CVI. The exposure variable is estimated by the use of socioeconomic factors. Subsequently, a smaller scale focuses on highly vulnerable beaches with high social and economic value. The assessment of the natural processes to the environmental characteristics of the beach is estimated with the use of the Beach Vulnerability Index (BVI) method. As exposure variable, the value of beach width that is capitalized in revenues is implemented through a hedonic pricing model. In this econometric modelling, Beach Value is related with economic and environmental

  2. Topobathymetric elevation model development using a new methodology: Coastal National Elevation Database

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danielson, Jeffrey J.; Poppenga, Sandra K.; Brock, John C.; Evans, Gayla A.; Tyler, Dean; Gesch, Dean B.; Thatcher, Cindy A.; Barras, John

    2016-01-01

    During the coming decades, coastlines will respond to widely predicted sea-level rise, storm surge, and coastalinundation flooding from disastrous events. Because physical processes in coastal environments are controlled by the geomorphology of over-the-land topography and underwater bathymetry, many applications of geospatial data in coastal environments require detailed knowledge of the near-shore topography and bathymetry. In this paper, an updated methodology used by the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project is presented for developing coastal topobathymetric elevation models (TBDEMs) from multiple topographic data sources with adjacent intertidal topobathymetric and offshore bathymetric sources to generate seamlessly integrated TBDEMs. This repeatable, updatable, and logically consistent methodology assimilates topographic data (land elevation) and bathymetry (water depth) into a seamless coastal elevation model. Within the overarching framework, vertical datum transformations are standardized in a workflow that interweaves spatially consistent interpolation (gridding) techniques with a land/water boundary mask delineation approach. Output gridded raster TBDEMs are stacked into a file storage system of mosaic datasets within an Esri ArcGIS geodatabase for efficient updating while maintaining current and updated spatially referenced metadata. Topobathymetric data provide a required seamless elevation product for several science application studies, such as shoreline delineation, coastal inundation mapping, sediment-transport, sea-level rise, storm surge models, and tsunami impact assessment. These detailed coastal elevation data are critical to depict regions prone to climate change impacts and are essential to planners and managers responsible for mitigating the associated risks and costs to both human communities and ecosystems. The CoNED methodology approach has been used to construct integrated TBDEM models

  3. Coastal and tidal landform detection from high resolution topobathymetric LiDAR data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Mikkel S.; Al-Hamdani, Zyad K.; Steinbacher, Frank

    -resolution mapping of these land-water transition zones. We have carried out topobathymetric LiDAR surveys in the Knudedyb tidal inlet system, a coastal environment in the Danish Wadden Sea which is part of the Wadden Sea National Park and UNESCO World Heritage. Detailed digital elevation models (DEMs) with a grid...... to tides. Furthermore, we demonstrate the potential of morphometric analysis on high-resolution topobathymetric LiDAR data for automatic identification, characterisation and classification of different landforms present in coastal land-water transition zones. Acknowledgements This work was funded...

  4. Advancing Land-Sea Conservation Planning: Integrating Modelling of Catchments, Land-Use Change, and River Plumes to Prioritise Catchment Management and Protection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Álvarez-Romero, Jorge G.; Pressey, Robert L.; Ban, Natalie C.; Brodie, Jon

    2015-01-01

    Human-induced changes to river loads of nutrients and sediments pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems. Ongoing land-use change can further increase these loads, and amplify the impacts of land-based threats on vulnerable marine ecosystems. Consequently, there is a need to assess these threats and prioritise actions to mitigate their impacts. A key question regarding prioritisation is whether actions in catchments to maintain coastal-marine water quality can be spatially congruent with actions for other management objectives, such as conserving terrestrial biodiversity. In selected catchments draining into the Gulf of California, Mexico, we employed Land Change Modeller to assess the vulnerability of areas with native vegetation to conversion into crops, pasture, and urban areas. We then used SedNet, a catchment modelling tool, to map the sources and estimate pollutant loads delivered to the Gulf by these catchments. Following these analyses, we used modelled river plumes to identify marine areas likely influenced by land-based pollutants. Finally, we prioritised areas for catchment management based on objectives for conservation of terrestrial biodiversity and objectives for water quality that recognised links between pollutant sources and affected marine areas. Our objectives for coastal-marine water quality were to reduce sediment and nutrient discharges from anthropic areas, and minimise future increases in coastal sedimentation and eutrophication. Our objectives for protection of terrestrial biodiversity covered species of vertebrates. We used Marxan, a conservation planning tool, to prioritise interventions and explore spatial differences in priorities for both objectives. Notable differences in the distributions of land values for terrestrial biodiversity and coastal-marine water quality indicated the likely need for trade-offs between catchment management objectives. However, there were priority areas that contributed to both sets of objectives. Our

  5. Advancing Land-Sea Conservation Planning: Integrating Modelling of Catchments, Land-Use Change, and River Plumes to Prioritise Catchment Management and Protection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge G Álvarez-Romero

    Full Text Available Human-induced changes to river loads of nutrients and sediments pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems. Ongoing land-use change can further increase these loads, and amplify the impacts of land-based threats on vulnerable marine ecosystems. Consequently, there is a need to assess these threats and prioritise actions to mitigate their impacts. A key question regarding prioritisation is whether actions in catchments to maintain coastal-marine water quality can be spatially congruent with actions for other management objectives, such as conserving terrestrial biodiversity. In selected catchments draining into the Gulf of California, Mexico, we employed Land Change Modeller to assess the vulnerability of areas with native vegetation to conversion into crops, pasture, and urban areas. We then used SedNet, a catchment modelling tool, to map the sources and estimate pollutant loads delivered to the Gulf by these catchments. Following these analyses, we used modelled river plumes to identify marine areas likely influenced by land-based pollutants. Finally, we prioritised areas for catchment management based on objectives for conservation of terrestrial biodiversity and objectives for water quality that recognised links between pollutant sources and affected marine areas. Our objectives for coastal-marine water quality were to reduce sediment and nutrient discharges from anthropic areas, and minimise future increases in coastal sedimentation and eutrophication. Our objectives for protection of terrestrial biodiversity covered species of vertebrates. We used Marxan, a conservation planning tool, to prioritise interventions and explore spatial differences in priorities for both objectives. Notable differences in the distributions of land values for terrestrial biodiversity and coastal-marine water quality indicated the likely need for trade-offs between catchment management objectives. However, there were priority areas that contributed to both

  6. Introduction to the Special Issue: Coastal GIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy Nyerges

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This special issue of the ISPRS International Journal of Geographic Information about “Coastal GIS” is motivated by many circumstances. More than one-half of the world’s human population lives in coastal areas (within 200 kilometers of coast as of 2000 [1]. The trend toward coastal habitation is expected to continue in the US with the total being 75 percent by 2025, meaning that coastal human–environment interactions will likely increase and intensify [2]. Geographic information systems (GIS are being developed and used by technical specialists, stakeholder publics, and executive/policy decision makers for improving our understanding and management of coastal areas, separately and together as more organizations focus on improving the sustainability and resilience of coastal systems. Coastal systems—defined as the area of land closely connected to the sea, including barrier islands, wetlands, mudflats, beaches, estuaries, cities, towns, recreational areas, and maritime facilities, the continental seas and shelves, and the overlying atmosphere—are subject to complex and dynamic interactions among natural and human-driven processes. Coastal systems are crucial to regional and national economies, hosting valued human-built infrastructure and providing ecosystem services that sustain human well-being. This special issue of IJGI about coastal GIS presents a collection of nine papers that address many of the issues mentioned above. [...

  7. [Using a modified remote sensing imagery for interpreting changes in cultivated saline-alkali land].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Hui; Liu, Hui-tao; Liu, Hong-juan; Liu, Jin-tong

    2015-04-01

    This paper developed a new interpretation symbol system for grading and classifying saline-alkali land, using Huanghua, a cosatal city in Hebei Province as a case. The system was developed by inverting remote sensing images from 1992 to 2011 based on site investigation, plant cover characteristics and features of remote sensing images. Combining this interpretation symbol system with supervising classification method, the information on arable land was obtained for the coastal saline-alkali ecosystem of Huanghua City, and the saline-alkali land area, changes in intensity of salinity-alkalinity and spatial distribution from 1992 to 2011 were analyzed. The results showed that salinization of arable land in Huanghua City alleviated from 1992 to 2011. The severely and moderately saline-alkali land area decreased in 2011 compared with 1992, while the non/slightly saline land area increased. The moderately saline-alkali land in southeast transformed to non/slightly saline-alkaline, while the severely saline-alkali land in west of the city far from the coastal zone became moderately saline-alkaline. The center of gravity (CG) of severely and non/slightly saline-alkali land moved closer the coastline, while that of the moderately saline-alkali land moved from southwest coastal line to northwest. Factors influencing changes in arable land within the saline-alkali ecosystem of Huanghua City were climate, hydrology and human activities.

  8. Carbon Sequestration in Wetland Soils of the Northern Gulf of Mexico Coastal Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coastal wetlands play an important but complex role in the global carbon cycle, contributing to the ecosystem service of greenhouse gas regulation through carbon sequestration. Although coastal wetlands occupy a small percent of the total US land area, their potential for carbon...

  9. The cumulative impacts of reclamation and dredging on the marine ecology and land-use in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zainal, Khadija; Al-Madany, Ismail; Al-Sayed, Hashim; Khamis, Abdelqader; Al Shuhaby, Suhad; Al Hisaby, Ali; Elhoussiny, Wisam; Khalaf, Ebtisam

    2012-07-01

    This article assesses the ecological and economic impacts of land reclamation and dredging through consulting recent environmental impact assessment reports. Geographic features of Bahrain during 1963-2008 are produced using Geographical Information System. Extensive but inexpensive shallow coastal areas and tidal flats have been reclaimed particularly from 1997 to 2007 at a high rate of 21 km(2)/year. Formal records show the increase in the original land mass by the year 2008 to be 91 km(2). An estimated total cumulative loss of major habitats resulting from 10 reclamation projects was around 153.58 km(2). Also much larger scale impacts should be considered resulting from the borrow areas used for the extraction of sand or infill materials. A number of key habitats and species are affected in the vicinity of these projects. The study attempts to assign a monetary value to the marine ecosystem functions. There is a need for efficient coastal zone management to regulate a sustainable use of the marine resources. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Maintaining a way of life for São Miguel Island (the Azores archipelago, Portugal): an assessment of coastal processes and protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, K; Phillips, M R; Borges, P; Thomas, T; August, P; Calado, H; Veloso-Gomes, F

    2014-05-15

    Traditional hard engineering structures and recently emerging soft engineering alternatives have been employed to protect vulnerable coastlines. Despite negative publicity, they have ensured community survival where socio-economic benefits outweigh adverse impacts. This is especially true for Small Islands (SI) where increasing sea levels and storm intensities threaten already limited land availability. This paper presents coastal vulnerability in São Miguel Island (the Azores SI archipelago) and considers SI issues with regard to coastal land loss. Regional wave statistics using 1998 to 2011 wind record showed: periods ranging from 7 to 13s (circa 83%); wave heights between 1 and 3m (circa 60%); and increasing trends in westerly (p=0.473), easterly (p=0.632) and southeasterly (p=0.932) waves. Sea level analyses between 1978 and 2007 indicated a statistically significant rising trend (2.5 ± 0.4 mm yr(-1); p=0.000), while between 1996 and 2007 it was 3.3 ± 1.5 mm yr(-1) (p=0.025), agreeing with other global sea level studies. Based on 2001 and 2008 population data and using zonal statistics, circa 60% of the Island's population was found to reside within 1 km of the sea and the percentage of total population was linearly correlated with distance from the shoreline (r(2)=99%). Three case studies show hard coastal engineering solutions preserved Azorean coastal lifestyle and had little or no observed negative impacts on their environs. Although hard engineering is likely to remain a valuable and feasible coastal protection option, an inventory of São Miguel's population distribution, surf breaks, bathymetry and coastal erosion rates showed the potential of using multifunctional artificial reefs as a soft engineering solution. These offshore submerged breakwaters offer coastal protection while providing additional benefits such as surfing amenity and beach widening. Consequently, findings of this work can inform other SI communities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B

  11. Determining Coastal Mean Dynamic Topography by Geodetic Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jianliang

    2017-11-01

    In geodesy, coastal mean dynamic topography (MDT) was traditionally determined by spirit leveling technique. Advances in navigation satellite positioning (e.g., GPS) and geoid determination enable space-based leveling with an accuracy of about 3 cm at tide gauges. Recent CryoSat-2, a satellite altimetry mission with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and SAR interferometric measurements, extends the space-based leveling to the coastal ocean with the same accuracy. However, barriers remain in applying the two space-based geodetic methods for MDT determination over the coastal ocean because current geoid modeling focuses primarily on land as a substitute to spirit leveling to realize the vertical datum.

  12. Vulnerability assessment of storm surges in the coastal area of Guangdong Province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Li

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Being bordered by the South China Sea and with long coastline, the coastal zone of Guangdong Province is often under severe risk of storm surges, as one of a few regions in China which is seriously threatened by storm surges. This article systematically analyzes the vulnerability factors of storm surges in the coastal area of Guangdong (from Yangjing to Shanwei. Five vulnerability assessment indicators of hazard-bearing bodies are proposed, which are social economic index, land use index, eco-environmental index, coastal construction index, and disaster-bearing capability index. Then storm surge vulnerability assessment index system in the coastal area of Guangdong is established. Additionally, the international general mode about coastal vulnerability assessment is improved, and the vulnerability evolution model of storm surges in the coastal area of Guangdong is constructed. Using ArcGIS, the vulnerability zoning map of storm surges in the study region is drawn. Results show that there is the highest degree of storm surge vulnerability in Zhuhai, Panyu, and Taishan; second in Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huiyang, and Haifeng; third in Jiangmen, Shanwei, Yangjiang, and Yangdong; fourth in Baoan, Kaiping, and Enping; and lowest in Guangzhou, Shunde, Shenzhen, and Longgang. This study on the risk of storm surges in these coastal cities can guide the land use of coastal cities in the future, and provide scientific advice for the government to prevent and mitigate the storm surge disasters. It has important theoretical and practical significance.

  13. Assessment on vulnerability of coastal wetlands to sea level rise in the Yangtze Estuary, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, L.; Ge, Z.; Zhang, L.

    2013-12-01

    1(low vulnerability) and 2 (moderate vulnerability), respectively. In 2050s, 88.8 %, 10.7 % and 0.5 % of the coastal wetlands were in the EVI score of 0, 1 and 2, respectively. In 2100s, 85.7 %, 7.3 % , 2.0 % and 5.0 % of the coastal wetlands were in the EVI score of 0, 1, 2 and 3(high vulnerability), respectively. At the A1F1 scenario of sea level rise rate of 0.59 cm/a, 91.0 %, 8.7 % and 0.3 % of the coastal wetlands in 2030s were in the EVI score of 0, 1 and 2 , respectively. In 2050s, 86.9 %, 10.5 % , 2.4 % and 0.2 % of the coastal wetlands were in the EVI score of 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively. In 2100s, 82.4 %, 7.1 % , 2.4 % and 8.1 % of the coastal wetlands were in the EVI score of 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The spatiotemporal occurrences of vulnerability were mainly where the subsidence rate is relatively higher and the sedimentation rate is lower or even negative. The results from this study indicated that the combined effects of sea level rise, land subsidence, reducing sediment discharge could give rise to the high risk of a considerable decrease or even habitat loss of coastal wetland in the Yangtze Estuary (particularly in 2050s and 2100s). Therefore some mitigation measures should be considered in the future, including management of sedimentation, reducing land subsidence, recreating and extending wetland habitat, and controlling reclamation.

  14. Ecosystem-based coastal defence in the face of global change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Temmerman, Stijn; Meire, Patrick; Bouma, Tjeerd J; Herman, Peter M J; Ysebaert, Tom; De Vriend, Huib J

    2013-12-05

    The risk of flood disasters is increasing for many coastal societies owing to global and regional changes in climate conditions, sea-level rise, land subsidence and sediment supply. At the same time, in many locations, conventional coastal engineering solutions such as sea walls are increasingly challenged by these changes and their maintenance may become unsustainable. We argue that flood protection by ecosystem creation and restoration can provide a more sustainable, cost-effective and ecologically sound alternative to conventional coastal engineering and that, in suitable locations, it should be implemented globally and on a large scale.

  15. Land cover change in coastal watersheds 1996 to 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nate Herold

    2016-01-01

    Land use and land cover play a significant role as drivers of environmental change. Information on what is changing and where those changes are occurring is essential if we are to improve our understanding of...

  16. Land use/Land Cover Changes and Causes of Deforestation in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ADOWIE PERE

    2015-09-04

    Sep 4, 2015 ... The semi – Automatic Classification Plugin Version 4.9.1 of the QGIS was used for the land use/land ... logging, grazing, urbanisation, road construction and ... environment. The most dramatic impact is loss of habitat for millions of species with serious implication for eco – tourism and loss of biodiversity.

  17. Dependency of high coastal water level and river discharge at the global scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, P.; Couasnon, A.; Haigh, I. D.; Muis, S.; Veldkamp, T.; Winsemius, H.; Wahl, T.

    2017-12-01

    It is widely recognized that floods cause huge socioeconomic impacts. From 1980-2013, global flood losses exceeded $1 trillion, with 220,000 fatalities. These impacts are particularly hard felt in low-lying densely populated deltas and estuaries, whose location at the coast-land interface makes them naturally prone to flooding. When river and coastal floods coincide, their impacts in these deltas and estuaries are often worse than when they occur in isolation. Such floods are examples of so-called `compound events'. In this contribution, we present the first global scale analysis of the statistical dependency of high coastal water levels (and the storm surge component alone) and river discharge. We show that there is statistical dependency between these components at more than half of the stations examined. We also show time-lags in the highest correlation between peak discharges and coastal water levels. Finally, we assess the probability of the simultaneous occurrence of design discharge and design coastal water levels, assuming both independence and statistical dependence. For those stations where we identified statistical dependency, the probability is between 1 and 5 times greater, when the dependence structure is accounted for. This information is essential for understanding the likelihood of compound flood events occurring at locations around the world as well as for accurate flood risk assessments and effective flood risk management. The research was carried out by analysing the statistical dependency between observed coastal water levels (and the storm surge component) from GESLA-2 and river discharge using gauged data from GRDC stations all around the world. The dependence structure was examined using copula functions.

  18. Examining Land Cover and Greenness Dynamics in Hangzhou Bay in 1985–2016 Using Landsat Time-Series Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dengqiu Li

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Land cover changes significantly influence vegetation greenness in different regions. Dense Landsat time series stacks provide unique opportunity to analyze land cover change and vegetation greenness trends at finer spatial scale. In the past three decades, large reclamation activities have greatly changed land cover and vegetation growth of coastal areas. However, rarely has research investigated these frequently changed coastal areas. In this study, Landsat Normalized Difference Vegetation Index time series (1984–2016 data and the Breaks For Additive Seasonal and Trend algorithm were used to detect the intensity and dates of abrupt changes in a typical coastal area—Hangzhou Bay, China. The prior and posterior land cover categories of each change were classified using phenology information through a Random Forest model. The impacts of land cover change on vegetation greenness trends of the inland and reclaimed areas were analyzed through distinguishing gradual and abrupt changes. The results showed that the intensity and date of land cover change were detected successfully with overall accuracies of 88.7% and 86.1%, respectively. The continuous land cover dynamics were retrieved accurately with an overall accuracy of 91.0% for ten land cover classifications. Coastal reclamation did not alleviate local cropland occupation, but prompted the vegetation greenness of the reclaimed area. Most of the inland area showed a browning trend. The main contributors to the greenness and browning trends were also quantified. These findings will help the natural resource management community generate better understanding of coastal reclamation and make better management decisions.

  19. Nitrogen losses to the environment following food-based digestate and compost applications to agricultural land.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholson, Fiona; Bhogal, Anne; Cardenas, Laura; Chadwick, Dave; Misselbrook, Tom; Rollett, Alison; Taylor, Matt; Thorman, Rachel; Williams, John

    2017-09-01

    The anaerobic digestion of food waste for energy recovery produces a nutrient-rich digestate which is a valuable source of crop available nitrogen (N). As with any 'new' material being recycled to agricultural land it is important to develop best management practices that maximise crop available N supply, whilst minimising emissions to the environment. In this study, ammonia (NH 3 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions to air and nitrate (NO 3 - ) leaching losses to water following digestate, compost and livestock manure applications to agricultural land were measured at 3 sites in England and Wales. Ammonia emissions were greater from applications of food-based digestate (c.40% of total N applied) than from livestock slurry (c.30% of total N applied) due to its higher ammonium-N content (mean 5.6 kg/t compared with 1-2 kg/t for slurry) and elevated pH (mean 8.3 compared with 7.7 for slurry). Whilst bandspreading was effective at reducing NH 3 emissions from slurry compared with surface broadcasting it was not found to be an effective mitigation option for food-based digestate in this study. The majority of the NH 3 losses occurred within 6 h of spreading highlighting the importance of rapid soil incorporation as a method for reducing NH 3 emissions. Nitrous oxide losses from food-based digestates were low, with emission factors all less than the IPCC default value of 1% (mean 0.45 ± 0.15%). Overwinter NO 3 - leaching losses from food-based digestate were similar to those from pig slurry, but much greater than from pig farmyard manure or compost. Both gaseous N losses and NO 3 - leaching from green and green/food composts were low, indicating that, in these terms, compost can be considered as an 'environmentally benign' material. These findings have been used in the development of best practice guidelines which provide a framework for the responsible use of digestates and composts in agriculture. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Evaluating Satellite and Supercomputing Technologies for Improved Coastal Ecosystem Assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, Matthew James

    Water quality and wetlands represent two vital elements of a healthy coastal ecosystem. Both experienced substantial declines in the U.S. during the 20th century. Overall coastal wetland cover decreased over 50% in the 20th century due to coastal development and water pollution. Management and legislative efforts have successfully addressed some of the problems and threats, but recent research indicates that the diffuse impacts of climate change and non-point source pollution may be the primary drivers of current and future water-quality and wetland stress. In order to respond to these pervasive threats, traditional management approaches need to adopt modern technological tools for more synoptic, frequent and fine-scale monitoring and assessment. In this dissertation, I explored some of the applications possible with new, commercial satellite imagery to better assess the status of coastal ecosystems. Large-scale land-cover change influences the quality of adjacent coastal water. Satellite imagery has been used to derive land-cover maps since the 1960's. It provides multiple data points with which to evaluate the effects of land-cover change on water quality. The objective of the first chapter of this research was to determine how 40 years of land-cover change in the Tampa Bay watershed (6,500 km2) may have affected turbidity and chlorophyll concentration - two proxies for coastal water quality. Land cover classes were evaluated along with precipitation and wind stress as explanatory variables. Results varied between analyses for the entire estuary and those of segments within the bay. Changes in developed land percent cover best explained the turbidity and chlorophyll-concentration time series for the entire bay (R2 > 0.75, p Ocean-color satellite imagery was used to derive proxies for coastal water with near-daily satellite observations since 2000. The goal of chapter two was to identify drivers of turbidity variability for 11 National Estuary Program water bodies

  1. Impact of human interventions and coastal processes along the Nile Delta coast, Egypt during the past

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elham M. Ali

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The coastal zone of the Nile Delta lodges highly populated cities (e.g. Alexandria, Port Said together with small towns and villages. It represents the major industrial, agricultural, and economic resource of the country. The area has been subjected to extensive and excessive unplanned developmental projects to foster the economic status of the local communities that, however, negatively impacted both land use and land cover characteristics. Satellite images were processed to identify the dominant land use/cover classes (from 1990 to 2014 and GIS techniques spatially analyzed and quantified the rate of changes. Five dominant classes were identified and their changes monitored against the unprecedented human activities. Results demonstrated a significant rate of land forms transformation within the last 25 years, in favor of developing of fish farming (+13% and urban (+22%. Such development of these land use classes was unfortunately at the expense of the agricultural land (−15%, coastal dune and barren land (−13% and water bodies (−7%. In addition, the coastal processes have made significant changes in the shoreline creating areas of erosion (maximum of 24–36 m/year and others of accretion (a total accreted area of 3.14 km2 with an overall retreat of 2.7 km2 along the shoreline. The expected changes in climate and sea level rise will worsen the erosion rate and the general status of the coastal zone. Based on the IPCC scenarios (i.e. the 59 cm sea level rise by the end of this century and the proposed land subsidence (2.5 mm/year, one fifth of the Nile Delta will be seriously vulnerable to inundation.

  2. Assessment of Physical, Chemical, and Hydrologic Factors Affecting the Infiltration of Treated Wastewater in theNew Jersey Coastal Plain, with Emphasis on theHammonton Land Application Facility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reilly, Timothy J.; Romanok, Kristin M.; Tessler, Steven; Fischer, Jeffrey M.

    2010-01-01

    A hydrogeologic and water-quality investigation of the Hammonton Land Application Facility (Hammonton LAF) in Hammonton, New Jersey, was conducted to determine the factors that impede the infiltration of treated wastewater and to assess the potential for similar conditions to exist elsewhere in the Coastal Plain of New Jersey (particularly within the Pinelands National Reserve). Gamma logs, sediment cores, and hydraulic-profile testing indicate that extensive fine-grained strata and iron-cemented sands underlying the Hammonton LAF may impede infiltration and lead to the perching of diluted treated wastewater. Perched water was observed in augured holes adjacent to infiltration trenches, and analysis of wastewater loading and infiltration data indicates that infiltration trenches may receive lateral flow from multiple perched-water sources. Analysis of water-quality properties characteristic of treated wastewater show that although infiltrated wastewater is reaching the underlying aquifer, lengthy holding times and a long recharge pathway greatly reduce the concentrations of nitrate, boron, and many organic compounds typical of wastewater. Conditions at two currently operating facilities and one potential future facility in the New Jersey Coastal Plain were compared to those at the Hammonton Land Application Facility (LAF). Facilities operating as designed are not underlain by the restrictive strata that exist at the Hammonton LAF. Careful characterization of the geology and hydrology of the unsaturated zone underlying infiltration structures of future facilities in the New Jersey Coastal Plain and similar hydrogeologic settings will help to avoid constructing infiltration structures over or within low-hydraulic-conductivity strata that will decrease infiltration rates.

  3. Bangladesh’s dynamic coastal regions and sea-level rise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hugh Brammer

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The physical geography of Bangladesh’s coastal area is more diverse and dynamic than is generally recognised. Failure to recognise this has led to serious misconceptions about the potential impacts of a rising sea-level on Bangladesh with global warming. This situation has been aggravated by accounts giving incorrect information on current rates of coastal erosion and land subsidence. This paper describes physical conditions within individual physiographic regions in Bangladesh’s coastal area based on ground-surveyed information, and it reviews possible area-specific mitigation measures to counter predicted rates of sea-level rise in the 21st century. Two important conclusions are drawn: the adoption of appropriate measures based on knowledge of the physical geography of potentially-affected areas could significantly reduce the currently-predicted displacement of many millions of people; and the impacts of a slowly-rising sea-level are currently much less than those generated by rapidly increasing population pressure on Bangladesh’s available land and water resources and by exposure to existing environmental hazards, and the latter problems need priority attention.

  4. Coastal erosion and mass wasting along the Canadian Beaufort Sea based on annual airborne LiDAR elevation data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obu, Jaroslav; Lantuit, Hugues; Grosse, Guido; Günther, Frank; Sachs, Torsten; Helm, Veit; Fritz, Michael

    2017-09-01

    Erosion of permafrost coasts has received increasing scientific attention since 1990s because of rapid land loss and the mobilisation potential of old organic carbon. The majority of permafrost coastal erosion studies are limited to time periods from a few years to decades. Most of these studies emphasize the spatial variability of coastal erosion, but the intensity of inter-annual variations, including intermediate coastal aggradation, remains poorly documented. We used repeat airborne Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) elevation data from 2012 and 2013 with 1 m horizontal resolution to study coastal erosion and accompanying mass-wasting processes in the hinterland. Study sites were selected to include different morphologies along the coast of the Yukon Coastal Plain and on Herschel Island. We studied elevation and volume changes and coastline movement and compared the results between geomorphic units. Results showed simple uniform coastal erosion from low coasts (up to 10 m height) and a highly diverse erosion pattern along coasts with higher backshore elevation. This variability was particularly pronounced in the case of active retrogressive thaw slumps, which can decrease coastal erosion or even cause temporary progradation by sediment release. Most of the extremes were recorded in study sites with active slumping (e.g. 22 m of coastline retreat and 42 m of coastline progradation). Coastline progradation also resulted from the accumulation of slope collapse material. These occasional events can significantly affect the coastline position on a specific date and can affect coastal retreat rates as estimated in long term by coastline digitalisation from air photos and satellite imagery. These deficiencies can be overcome by short-term airborne LiDAR measurements, which provide detailed and high-resolution information about quickly changing elevations in coastal areas.

  5. Remote sensing and aerial photography for delineation and management of coastal ecosystems

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Jagtap, T.G.

    sensing data. may provide necessary information to the planners and researchers. interested in the 11 .. coastal ecosystems. Mismanagement or lack of management of coastal zones may result in the loss of marine ecosystems, influencing erosion and the sea..., topographic maps and other resources. The effective management and research of coastal zones, require information on coastal landforms, wetlands, shoreline changes, sediment and current pattern, which can easily be obtained from the satellite data. Coastal...

  6. Future coastal population growth and exposure to sea-level rise and coastal flooding--a global assessment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara Neumann

    Full Text Available Coastal zones are exposed to a range of coastal hazards including sea-level rise with its related effects. At the same time, they are more densely populated than the hinterland and exhibit higher rates of population growth and urbanisation. As this trend is expected to continue into the future, we investigate how coastal populations will be affected by such impacts at global and regional scales by the years 2030 and 2060. Starting from baseline population estimates for the year 2000, we assess future population change in the low-elevation coastal zone and trends in exposure to 100-year coastal floods based on four different sea-level and socio-economic scenarios. Our method accounts for differential growth of coastal areas against the land-locked hinterland and for trends of urbanisation and expansive urban growth, as currently observed, but does not explicitly consider possible displacement or out-migration due to factors such as sea-level rise. We combine spatially explicit estimates of the baseline population with demographic data in order to derive scenario-driven projections of coastal population development. Our scenarios show that the number of people living in the low-elevation coastal zone, as well as the number of people exposed to flooding from 1-in-100 year storm surge events, is highest in Asia. China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Viet Nam are estimated to have the highest total coastal population exposure in the baseline year and this ranking is expected to remain largely unchanged in the future. However, Africa is expected to experience the highest rates of population growth and urbanisation in the coastal zone, particularly in Egypt and sub-Saharan countries in Western and Eastern Africa. The results highlight countries and regions with a high degree of exposure to coastal flooding and help identifying regions where policies and adaptive planning for building resilient coastal communities are not only desirable but essential

  7. Future coastal population growth and exposure to sea-level rise and coastal flooding--a global assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Barbara; Vafeidis, Athanasios T; Zimmermann, Juliane; Nicholls, Robert J

    2015-01-01

    Coastal zones are exposed to a range of coastal hazards including sea-level rise with its related effects. At the same time, they are more densely populated than the hinterland and exhibit higher rates of population growth and urbanisation. As this trend is expected to continue into the future, we investigate how coastal populations will be affected by such impacts at global and regional scales by the years 2030 and 2060. Starting from baseline population estimates for the year 2000, we assess future population change in the low-elevation coastal zone and trends in exposure to 100-year coastal floods based on four different sea-level and socio-economic scenarios. Our method accounts for differential growth of coastal areas against the land-locked hinterland and for trends of urbanisation and expansive urban growth, as currently observed, but does not explicitly consider possible displacement or out-migration due to factors such as sea-level rise. We combine spatially explicit estimates of the baseline population with demographic data in order to derive scenario-driven projections of coastal population development. Our scenarios show that the number of people living in the low-elevation coastal zone, as well as the number of people exposed to flooding from 1-in-100 year storm surge events, is highest in Asia. China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Viet Nam are estimated to have the highest total coastal population exposure in the baseline year and this ranking is expected to remain largely unchanged in the future. However, Africa is expected to experience the highest rates of population growth and urbanisation in the coastal zone, particularly in Egypt and sub-Saharan countries in Western and Eastern Africa. The results highlight countries and regions with a high degree of exposure to coastal flooding and help identifying regions where policies and adaptive planning for building resilient coastal communities are not only desirable but essential. Furthermore, we

  8. Future Coastal Population Growth and Exposure to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Flooding - A Global Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Barbara; Vafeidis, Athanasios T.; Zimmermann, Juliane; Nicholls, Robert J.

    2015-01-01

    Coastal zones are exposed to a range of coastal hazards including sea-level rise with its related effects. At the same time, they are more densely populated than the hinterland and exhibit higher rates of population growth and urbanisation. As this trend is expected to continue into the future, we investigate how coastal populations will be affected by such impacts at global and regional scales by the years 2030 and 2060. Starting from baseline population estimates for the year 2000, we assess future population change in the low-elevation coastal zone and trends in exposure to 100-year coastal floods based on four different sea-level and socio-economic scenarios. Our method accounts for differential growth of coastal areas against the land-locked hinterland and for trends of urbanisation and expansive urban growth, as currently observed, but does not explicitly consider possible displacement or out-migration due to factors such as sea-level rise. We combine spatially explicit estimates of the baseline population with demographic data in order to derive scenario-driven projections of coastal population development. Our scenarios show that the number of people living in the low-elevation coastal zone, as well as the number of people exposed to flooding from 1-in-100 year storm surge events, is highest in Asia. China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Viet Nam are estimated to have the highest total coastal population exposure in the baseline year and this ranking is expected to remain largely unchanged in the future. However, Africa is expected to experience the highest rates of population growth and urbanisation in the coastal zone, particularly in Egypt and sub-Saharan countries in Western and Eastern Africa. The results highlight countries and regions with a high degree of exposure to coastal flooding and help identifying regions where policies and adaptive planning for building resilient coastal communities are not only desirable but essential. Furthermore, we

  9. C-CAP Land Cover, Kauai, Hawaii

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to determine...

  10. C-CAP Land Cover, Niihau, Hawaii

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to determine...

  11. Mapping and estimating land change between 2001 and 2013 in a heterogeneous landscape in West Africa: Loss of forestlands and capacity building opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badjana, Hèou Maléki; Olofsson, Pontus; Woodcock, Curtis E.; Helmschrot, Joerg; Wala, Kpérkouma; Akpagana, Koffi

    2017-12-01

    In West Africa, accurate classification of land cover and land change remains a big challenge due to the patchy and heterogeneous nature of the landscape. Limited data availability, human resources and technical capacities, further exacerbate the challenge. The result is a region that is among the more understudied areas in the world, which in turn has resulted in a lack of appropriate information required for sustainable natural resources management. The objective of this paper is to explore open source software and easy-to-implement approaches to mapping and estimation of land change that are transferrable to local institutions to increase capacity in the region, and to provide updated information on the regional land surface dynamics. To achieve these objectives, stable land cover and land change between 2001 and 2013 in the Kara River Basin in Togo and Benin were mapped by direct multitemporal classification of Landsat data by parameterization and evaluation of two machine-learning algorithms. Areas of land cover and change were estimated by application of an unbiased estimator to sample data following international guidelines. A prerequisite for all tools and methods was implementation in an open source environment, and adherence to international guidelines for reporting land surface activities. Findings include a recommendation of the Random Forests algorithm as implemented in Orfeo Toolbox, and a stratified estimation protocol - all executed in the QGIS graphical use interface. It was found that despite an estimated reforestation of 10,0727 ± 3480 ha (95% confidence interval), the combined rate of forest and savannah loss amounted to 56,271 ± 9405 ha (representing a 16% loss of the forestlands present in 2001), resulting in a rather sharp net loss of forestlands in the study area. These dynamics had not been estimated prior to this study, and the results will provide useful information for decision making pertaining to natural resources management, land

  12. Assessing the impact of cyclones in the coastal zone of Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Judith; Bricheno, Lucy; Chowdury, Shahad; Rahman, Munsur; Ghosh, Tuhin; Kay, Susan; Caesar, John

    2014-05-01

    We review the state of knowledge regarding tropical cyclones and their impacts on coastal ecosystems, as well as the livelihood and health of the coastal communities, under the present and future climate, with application to the coastal zone of Bangladesh. This region is particularly vulnerable to tropical cyclones as it is very low-lying and densely populated. Cyclones cause damage due to the high wind speed and also the ensuing storm surge, which causes inundation and salinity intrusion into agricultural land and contaminates fresh water. The world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, protects the coast of the Brahmaputra-Ganges-Meghna (BGM) delta from these cyclonic storms but mangroves are themselves vulnerable to cyclone damage, as in 2007 when ~36% of the mangrove area was severely damaged leading to further losses of livelihood. We apply an idealised cyclone model and use the winds and pressures from this model to drive a storm surge model in the Bay of Bengal, in order to examine the impact of the intensity, track speed and landfall of the cyclones in terms of surge and inundation. The model is tested by reproducing the track and intensity of Cyclone Sidr of 2007. We also examine the projected future climate from the South Asia Regional Climate Model to understand how tropical cyclones may change under global warming and assess how this may impact the BGM Delta over the 21st century.

  13. Modeled Sea Level Rise Impacts on Coastal Ecosystems at Six Major Estuaries on Florida's Gulf Coast: Implications for Adaptation Planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geselbracht, Laura L; Freeman, Kathleen; Birch, Anne P; Brenner, Jorge; Gordon, Doria R

    2015-01-01

    The Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) was applied at six major estuaries along Florida's Gulf Coast (Pensacola Bay, St. Andrews/Choctawhatchee Bays, Apalachicola Bay, Southern Big Bend, Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor) to provide quantitative and spatial information on how coastal ecosystems may change with sea level rise (SLR) and to identify how this information can be used to inform adaption planning. High resolution LiDAR-derived elevation data was utilized under three SLR scenarios: 0.7 m, 1 m and 2 m through the year 2100 and uncertainty analyses were conducted on selected input parameters at three sites. Results indicate that the extent, spatial orientation and relative composition of coastal ecosystems at the study areas may substantially change with SLR. Under the 1 m SLR scenario, total predicted impacts for all study areas indicate that coastal forest (-69,308 ha; -18%), undeveloped dry land (-28,444 ha; -2%) and tidal flat (-25,556 ha; -47%) will likely face the greatest loss in cover by the year 2100. The largest potential gains in cover were predicted for saltmarsh (+32,922 ha; +88%), transitional saltmarsh (+23,645 ha; na) and mangrove forest (+12,583 ha; +40%). The Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay study areas were predicted to experience the greatest net loss in coastal wetlands The uncertainty analyses revealed low to moderate changes in results when some numerical SLAMM input parameters were varied highlighting the value of collecting long-term sedimentation, accretion and erosion data to improve SLAMM precision. The changes predicted by SLAMM will affect exposure of adjacent human communities to coastal hazards and ecosystem functions potentially resulting in impacts to property values, infrastructure investment and insurance rates. The results and process presented here can be used as a guide for communities vulnerable to SLR to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies that slow and/or accommodate the changes underway.

  14. In Search for Sustainable Coastal Management: A Case Study of Semarang, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadi, Sudharto P.

    2017-02-01

    As a coastal town, Semarang is currently facing environmental problems such as flood, tidal flood (locally called rob), coastal abrasion, emerging land, land subsidence and sea water intrusion. These phenomena severely affect to citizen, community and corporate, disrupting day to day activities, threatening people’s health, causing economics’ burden and reducing property value. Government policies in dealing with these problem are focused on its phenomena such as normalizing river for flood and building polder systems for tidal flood. Impacted people have been implementing various initiatives. People in Tanah Mas Estate set up collective efforts to reduce tidal flood by building pumping system project, while people in Kampong Tambaklorok conduct a regular mutual assistance in cleaning of waste and sedimentation, rehabilitating of local drainages and dikes, reconstructing of local streets and also maintaining of pumping system. People in Mangunharjo, the district of Tugu build a coastal belt and cultivate mangrove. Various government and local initiatives have been effective in dealing with flood and tidal flood temporarily. More comprehensive approaches and focused on the sources of problems are required to achieve sustainable coastal management.

  15. C-CAP Niihau 2005 Land Cover

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land cover derived from high resolution imagery according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol. This data set utilized 1...

  16. Evaluating effects of habitat loss and land-use continuity on ant species richness in seminatural grassland remnants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dauber, Jens; Bengtsson, Jan; Lenoir, Lisette

    2006-08-01

    Seminatural grasslands in Europe are susceptible to habitat destruction and fragmentation that result in negative effects on biodiversity because of increased isolation and area effects on extinction rate. However even small habitatpatches of seminatural grasslands might be of value for conservation and restoration of species richness in a landscape with a long history of management, which has been argued to lead to high species richness. We tested whether ant communities have been negatively affected by habitat loss and increased isolation of seminatural grasslands during the twentieth century. We examined species richness and community composition in seminatural grasslands of different size in a mosaic landscape in Central Sweden. Grasslands managed continuously over centuries harbored species-rich and ecologically diverse ant communities. Grassland remnant size had no effect on ant species richness. Small grassland remnants did not harbor a nested subset of the ant species of larger habitats. Community composition of ants was mainly affected by habitat conditions. Our results suggest that the abandonment of traditional land use and the encroachment of trees, rather than the effects of fragmentation, are important for species composition in seminatural grasslands. Our results highlight the importance of considering land-use continuity and dispersal ability of thefocal organisms when examining the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on biodiversity. Landscape history should be considered in conservation programs focusing on effects of land-use change.

  17. Remote Sensing of Forest Loss and Human Land Use to Predict Biodiversity Impacts in Myanmar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connette, G.; Huang, Q.; Leimgruber, P.; Songer, M.

    2017-12-01

    Myanmar's ongoing transition from military rule towards a democratic government has largely ended decades of economic isolation. The resulting expansion of foreign investment, infrastructure development, and natural resource extraction has led to high rates of deforestation and the concurrent loss of critical wildlife habitat. To identify and mitigate the impacts of rapid land use change on Myanmar's globally-unique biodiversity, researchers at Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute have used moderate-resolution satellite imagery to map forest cover change at the national scale, while performing regional- or local-scale analyses to identify ecologically-distinct forest types. At the national scale, forest was lost at a rate of 0.55% annually from 2002-2014. Deforestation was more pronounced in Myanmar's closed-canopy forests (>80% cover), which experienced an annual rate of forest loss of 0.95%. Studies at regional and local scales show that ecologically-distinct forest types vary considerably in both geographic extent and risk of conversion to human land use. For instance, local deforestation rates around a proposed national park in Myanmar's Tanintharyi Region were 7.83% annually and have been accelerating. Recent integration of such results into wildlife habitat mapping and national conservation planning can play an important role in ensuring that future development in Myanmar is both informed and sustainable.

  18. Applications of UAS-SfM for coastal vulnerability assessment: Geomorphic feature extraction and land cover classification from fine-scale elevation and imagery data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturdivant, E. J.; Lentz, E. E.; Thieler, E. R.; Remsen, D.; Miner, S.

    2016-12-01

    Characterizing the vulnerability of coastal systems to storm events, chronic change and sea-level rise can be improved with high-resolution data that capture timely snapshots of biogeomorphology. Imagery acquired with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) coupled with structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry can produce high-resolution topographic and visual reflectance datasets that rival or exceed lidar and orthoimagery. Here we compare SfM-derived data to lidar and visual imagery for their utility in a) geomorphic feature extraction and b) land cover classification for coastal habitat assessment. At a beach and wetland site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, we used UAS to capture photographs over a 15-hectare coastal area with a resulting pixel resolution of 2.5 cm. We used standard SfM processing in Agisoft PhotoScan to produce an elevation point cloud, an orthomosaic, and a digital elevation model (DEM). The SfM-derived products have a horizontal uncertainty of +/- 2.8 cm. Using the point cloud in an extraction routine developed for lidar data, we determined the position of shorelines, dune crests, and dune toes. We used the output imagery and DEM to map land cover with a pixel-based supervised classification. The dense and highly precise SfM point cloud enabled extraction of geomorphic features with greater detail than with lidar. The feature positions are reported with near-continuous coverage and sub-meter accuracy. The orthomosaic image produced with SfM provides visual reflectance with higher resolution than those available from aerial flight surveys, which enables visual identification of small features and thus aids the training and validation of the automated classification. We find that the high-resolution and correspondingly high density of UAS data requires some simple modifications to existing measurement techniques and processing workflows, and that the types of data and the quality provided is equivalent to, and in some cases surpasses, that of data

  19. Reducing soil erosion and nutrient loss on sloping land under crop-mulberry management system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Fangling; Xie, Deti; Wei, Chaofu; Ni, Jiupai; Yang, John; Tang, Zhenya; Zhou, Chuan

    2015-09-01

    Sloping croplands could result in soil erosion, which leads to non-point source pollution of the aquatic system in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region. Mulberry, a commonly grown cash plant in the region, is traditionally planted in contour hedgerows as an effective management practice to control soil erosion and non-point source pollution. In this field study, surface runoff and soil N and P loss on sloping land under crop-mulberry management were investigated. The experiments consisted of six crop-mulberry treatments: Control (no mulberry hedgerow with mustard-corn rotation); T1 (two-row contour mulberry with mustard-corn rotation); T2 (three-row contour mulberry with mustard-corn rotation); T3 (border mulberry and one-row contour mulberry with mustard-corn rotation); T4 (border mulberry with mustard-corn rotation); T5 (two-row longitudinal mulberry with mustard). The results indicated that crop-mulberry systems could effectively reduce surface runoff and soil and nutrient loss from arable slope land. Surface runoff from T1 (342.13 m(3) hm(-2)), T2 (260.6 m(3) hm(-2)), T3 (113.13 m(3) hm(-2)), T4 (114 m(3) hm(-2)), and T5 (129 m(3) hm(-2)) was reduced by 15.4, 35.6, 72.0, 71.8, and 68.1%, respectively, while soil loss from T1 (0.21 t hm(-2)), T2 (0.13 t hm(-2)), T3 (0.08 t hm(-2)), T4 (0.11 t hm(-2)), and T5 (0.12 t hm(-2)) was reduced by 52.3, 70.5, 81.8, 75.0, and 72.7%, respectively, as compared with the control. Crop-mulberry ecosystem would also elevate soil N by 22.3% and soil P by 57.4%, and soil nutrient status was contour-line dependent.

  20. Shoreline change due to coastal structures of power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, K. S.; Lee, T. S.; Kim, Y. I.

    2001-01-01

    Characteristics of shoreline change at the coastal area near power plant were analyzed. For a nuclear power plant located in the east coast of Korean peninsula, remote-sensing data, i.e.airborne images and satellite images are acquired and shoreline data were extracted. Recession and davance of shoreline due to coastal structures of powder plant and land reclamation was showed. 1-line numerical shoreline change model was established for simulating the response of shoreline to construction of coastal structures. The model uses curvilinear coordinates that follow the shoreline and is capable of handling the formation of tombolos as well as the growth of salients in the vicinity of coastal structures. The model predicted significant erosion of beach in case breakwaters were extended. Offshore breakwaters were suggested as a countermeasure to shoreline change

  1. Mapping tsunami impacts on land cover and related ecosystem service supply in Phang Nga, Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, G.; Burkhard, B.; Römer, H.; Sangkaew, S.; Graterol, R.; Haitook, T.; Sterr, H.; Sakuna-Schwartz, D.

    2013-12-01

    The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami caused damages to coastal ecosystems and thus affected the livelihoods of the coastal communities who depend on services provided by these ecosystems. The paper presents a case study on evaluating and mapping the spatial and temporal impacts of the tsunami on land use and land cover (LULC) and related ecosystem service supply in the Phang Nga province, Thailand. The method includes local stakeholder interviews, field investigations, remote-sensing techniques, and GIS. Results provide an ecosystem services matrix with capacity scores for 18 LULC classes and 17 ecosystem functions and services as well as pre-/post-tsunami and recovery maps indicating changes in the ecosystem service supply capacities in the study area. Local stakeholder interviews revealed that mangroves, casuarina forest, mixed beach forest, coral reefs, tidal inlets, as well as wetlands (peat swamp forest) have the highest capacity to supply ecosystem services, while e.g. plantations have a lower capacity. The remote-sensing based damage and recovery analysis showed a loss of the ecosystem service supply capacities in almost all LULC classes for most of the services due to the tsunami. A fast recovery of LULC and related ecosystem service supply capacities within one year could be observed for e.g. beaches, while mangroves or casuarina forest needed several years to recover. Applying multi-temporal mapping the spatial variations of recovery could be visualised. While some patches of coastal forest were fully recovered after 3 yr, other patches were still affected and thus had a reduced capacity to supply ecosystem services. The ecosystem services maps can be used to quantify ecological values and their spatial distribution in the framework of a tsunami risk assessment. Beyond that they are considered to be a useful tool for spatial analysis in coastal risk management in Phang Nga.

  2. Integrating science into governance and management of coastal areas at urban scale

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Celliers, Louis

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available and development planning (CSDP) is no longer an option but a necessity. Current legislation devolves many fine scale planning and management functions within coastal urban centres to local authorities, including land-use and urban and economic development... into governance and management of coastal areas at urban scale L CELLIERS, S TALJAARD AND R VAN BALLEGOOYEN CSIR, PO Box 395, Pretoria, South Africa, 0001 Email: lcelliers@csir.co.za ? www.csir.co.za BACKGROUND With burgeoning demand for coastal space...

  3. Potential inundated coastal area estimation in Shanghai with multi-platform SAR and altimetry data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Guanyu; Yang, Tianliang; Zhao, Qing; Kubanek, Julia; Pepe, Antonio; Dong, Hongbin; Sun, Zhibin

    2017-09-01

    As global warming problem is becoming serious in recent decades, the global sea level is continuously rising. This will cause damages to the coastal deltas with the characteristics of low-lying land, dense population, and developed economy. Continuously reclamation costal intertidal and wetland areas are making Shanghai, the mega city of Yangtze River Delta, more vulnerable to sea level rise. In this paper, we investigate the land subsidence temporal evolution of patterns and processes on a stretch of muddy coast located between the Yangtze River Estuary and Hangzou Bay with differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) analyses. By exploiting a set of 31 SAR images acquired by the ENVISAT/ASAR from February 2007 to May 2010 and a set of 48 SAR images acquired by the COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) sensors from December 2013 to March 2016, coherent point targets as long as land subsidence velocity maps and time series are identified by using the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) algorithm. With the DInSAR constrained land subsidence model, we predict the land subsidence trend and the expected cumulative subsidence in 2020, 2025 and 2030. Meanwhile, we used altimetrydata and densely distributed in the coastal region are identified (EEMD) algorithm to obtain the average sea level rise rate in the East China Sea. With the land subsidence predictions, sea level rise predictions, and high-precision digital elevation model (DEM), we analyze the combined risk of land subsidence and sea level rise on the coastal areas of Shanghai. The potential inundated areas are mapped under different scenarios.

  4. EO-1 analysis applicable to coastal characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Hsiao-hua K.; Misra, Bijoy; Hsu, Su May; Griffin, Michael K.; Upham, Carolyn; Farrar, Kris

    2003-09-01

    The EO-1 satellite is part of NASA's New Millennium Program (NMP). It consists of three imaging sensors: the multi-spectral Advanced Land Imager (ALI), Hyperion and Atmospheric Corrector. Hyperion provides a high-resolution hyperspectral imager capable of resolving 220 spectral bands (from 0.4 to 2.5 micron) with a 30 m resolution. The instrument images a 7.5 km by 100 km land area per image. Hyperion is currently the only space-borne HSI data source since the launch of EO-1 in late 2000. The discussion begins with the unique capability of hyperspectral sensing to coastal characterization: (1) most ocean feature algorithms are semi-empirical retrievals and HSI has all spectral bands to provide legacy with previous sensors and to explore new information, (2) coastal features are more complex than those of deep ocean that coupled effects are best resolved with HSI, and (3) with contiguous spectral coverage, atmospheric compensation can be done with more accuracy and confidence, especially since atmospheric aerosol effects are the most pronounced in the visible region where coastal feature lie. EO-1 data from Chesapeake Bay from 19 February 2002 are analyzed. In this presentation, it is first illustrated that hyperspectral data inherently provide more information for feature extraction than multispectral data despite Hyperion has lower SNR than ALI. Chlorophyll retrievals are also shown. The results compare favorably with data from other sources. The analysis illustrates the potential value of Hyperion (and HSI in general) data to coastal characterization. Future measurement requirements (air borne and space borne) are also discussed.

  5. Major threats of pollution and climate change to global coastal ecosystems and enhanced management for sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yonglong; Yuan, Jingjing; Lu, Xiaotian; Su, Chao; Zhang, Yueqing; Wang, Chenchen; Cao, Xianghui; Li, Qifeng; Su, Jilan; Ittekkot, Venugopalan; Garbutt, Richard Angus; Bush, Simon; Fletcher, Stephen; Wagey, Tonny; Kachur, Anatolii; Sweijd, Neville

    2018-08-01

    Coastal zone is of great importance in the provision of various valuable ecosystem services. However, it is also sensitive and vulnerable to environmental changes due to high human populations and interactions between the land and ocean. Major threats of pollution from over enrichment of nutrients, increasing metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and climate change have led to severe ecological degradation in the coastal zone, while few studies have focused on the combined impacts of pollution and climate change on the coastal ecosystems at the global level. A global overview of nutrients, metals, POPs, and major environmental changes due to climate change and their impacts on coastal ecosystems was carried out in this study. Coasts of the Eastern Atlantic and Western Pacific were hotspots of concentrations of several pollutants, and mostly affected by warming climate. These hotspots shared the same features of large populations, heavy industry and (semi-) closed sea. Estimation of coastal ocean capital, integrated management of land-ocean interaction in the coastal zone, enhancement of integrated global observation system, and coastal ecosystem-based management can play effective roles in promoting sustainable management of coastal marine ecosystems. Enhanced management from the perspective of mitigating pollution and climate change was proposed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Determining Coastal Hazards Risk Perception to Enhance Local Mitigation Planning through a Participatory Mapping Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bethel, M.; Braud, D.; Lambeth, T.; Biber, P.; Wu, W.

    2017-12-01

    Coastal community leaders, government officials, and natural resource managers must be able to accurately assess and predict a given coastal landscape's sustainability and/or vulnerability as coastal habitat continues to undergo rapid and dramatic changes associated with natural and anthropogenic activities such as accelerated relative sea level rise (SLR). To help address this information need, a multi-disciplinary project team conducted Sea Grant sponsored research in Louisiana and Mississippi with traditional ecosystem users and natural resource managers to determine a method for producing localized vulnerability and sustainability maps for projected SLR and storm surge impacts, and determine how and whether the results of such an approach can provide more useful information to enhance hazard mitigation planning. The goals of the project are to develop and refine SLR visualization tools for local implementation in areas experiencing subsidence and erosion, and discover the different ways stakeholder groups evaluate risk and plan mitigation strategies associated with projected SLR and storm surge. Results from physical information derived from data and modeling of subsidence, erosion, engineered restoration and coastal protection features, historical land loss, and future land projections under SLR are integrated with complimentary traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) offered by the collaborating local ecosystem users for these assessments. The data analysis involves interviewing stakeholders, coding the interviews for themes, and then converting the themes into vulnerability and sustainability factors. Each factor is weighted according to emphasis by the TEK experts and number of experts who mention it to determine which factors are the highest priority. The priority factors are then mapped with emphasis on the perception of contributing to local community vulnerability or sustainability to SLR and storm surge. The maps are used by the collaborators to benefit

  7. Western Alaska ESI: HYDRO (Land Mass Polygons)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains vector polygons representing coastal hydrography that defines the primary land masses used in the creation of the Environmental Sensitivity...

  8. Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability Through the Use of GIS Tools in South Sicily (Italy)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anfuso, Giorgio; Martínez Del Pozo, José Ángel

    2009-03-01

    This study assessed coastal erosion vulnerability along a 90-km sector, which included both erosional and accretionary beaches, and different levels of human occupation. Two aerial photogrammetric flights were used to reconstruct coastal evolution between 1977 and 1999. During this period, extensive accretion was recorded updrift of human structures at harbors and ports, e.g., Scoglitti (105.6 m), Donnalucata (52.8 m), and Pozzallo (94.6 m). Conversely, erosion was recorded in downdrift areas, with maximum values at Modica Stream mouth (63.8 m) and Point Castellazzo (35.2 m). Assessments were subsequently divided into four categories ranging from “high erosion” to “accretion.” Several sources were examined to assess human activities and land use. The latter was mapped and divided into four categories, ranging from “very high” to “no capital” land use. Subsequently, coastal erosion vulnerability was assessed by combining land use categories with recorded coastline behavior. Results showed “very high” to “high” vulnerability along 5.8% and 16.6%, respectively, of the littoral, while 20.9% and 56.7%, respectively, was found to exhibit “medium” and “low/very low” vulnerability. A very good agreement between predicted coastal vulnerability and coastal trend had been observed over recent years. Furthermore, several human structures and activities are located within the “imminent collapse zone (ICZ)” which reached maximum values of 17.5 m at Modica Stream and 13.5 m at Point Braccetto.

  9. Dimensions of biodiversity loss: Spatial mismatch in land-use impacts on species, functional and phylogenetic diversity of European bees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Palma, Adriana; Kuhlmann, Michael; Bugter, Rob; Ferrier, Simon; Hoskins, Andrew J; Potts, Simon G; Roberts, Stuart P M; Schweiger, Oliver; Purvis, Andy

    2017-12-01

    Agricultural intensification and urbanization are important drivers of biodiversity change in Europe. Different aspects of bee community diversity vary in their sensitivity to these pressures, as well as independently influencing ecosystem service provision (pollination). To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of human impacts on bee diversity across Europe, we assess multiple, complementary indices of diversity. One Thousand four hundred and forty six sites across Europe. We collated data on bee occurrence and abundance from the published literature and supplemented them with the PREDICTS database. Using Rao's Quadratic Entropy, we assessed how species, functional and phylogenetic diversity of 1,446 bee communities respond to land-use characteristics including land-use class, cropland intensity, human population density and distance to roads. We combined these models with statistically downscaled estimates of land use in 2005 to estimate and map-at a scale of approximately 1 km 2 -the losses in diversity relative to semi-natural/natural baseline (the predicted diversity of an uninhabited grid square, consisting only of semi-natural/natural vegetation). We show that-relative to the predicted local diversity in uninhabited semi-natural/natural habitat-half of all EU27 countries have lost over 10% of their average local species diversity and two-thirds of countries have lost over 5% of their average local functional and phylogenetic diversity. All diversity measures were generally lower in pasture and higher-intensity cropland than in semi-natural/natural vegetation, but facets of diversity showed less consistent responses to human population density. These differences have led to marked spatial mismatches in losses: losses in phylogenetic diversity were in some areas almost 20 percentage points (pp.) more severe than losses in species diversity, but in other areas losses were almost 40 pp. less severe. These results highlight the importance of exploring

  10. Job-housing imbalance and commuting of coastal industrial town in Liaoning province, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Fei; Lu, Wei; Cai, Jun; Yang, Qiyao

    2017-11-01

    During the Twelve Five period, China promulgated industrial policies promote the energy-intensive industries relocate to coastal areas in order to utilize marine shipping resources. Consequently, some major state-owned steel and petrochemical enterprises have relocated and resulted in a large scale coastal area development. Restricted by the port construction, most of the coastal industrial areas are located in the outer suburbs. To balance between employment and housing, new industrial coastal towns were constructed. In this paper, we adopt a case-study approach to analysis some typical industrial coastal towns of Liaoning Province situated in the Bohai Bay, which is currently under rapid economic growth. Our investigations reflect the common phenomenon of long distance commuting and massive amount of vacant residences. More specifically, large plant relocation caused hundreds of kilometers of daily commute and enterprises had to provide housing subsidies and education incentives to motivate employees to relocate to coastal areas. Nonetheless, many employees still refuse to relocate due to job stability, diverse needs of family members and access to convenient services. These employees averaged 4 hours of commute daily and some who lived further had to reside in temporary industrial housing units and subject to long-term family separation. As a result, only a small portion of employees purchase new coastal residences but mostly for investment and retirement purposes, leading to massive vacancy and ghost-town phenomenon. In contrast to the low demand, coastal areas tend to develop large amount of residences prior to industrial relocation, which may be directly related to local government finances. Some local governments have sold residential land to developers to general revenue to support the subsequent industrial development. Subject to the strong preference of ocean- view, residential housing developers tend to select coast-line land to construct new residential

  11. Seasonal breaching of coastal barriers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tuan, Thieu Quang

    2007-01-01

    Natural or unintended breaching can be catastrophic, causing loss of human lives and damage to infrastructures, buildings and natural habitats. Quantitative understand-ing of coastal barrier breaching is therefore of great importance to vulnerability as-sessment of protection works as well as to

  12. Land Cover Mapping using GEOBIA to Estimate Loss of Salacca zalacca Trees in Landslide Area of Clapar, Madukara District of Banjarnegara

    Science.gov (United States)

    Permata, Anggi; Juniansah, Anwar; Nurcahyati, Eka; Dimas Afrizal, Mousafi; Adnan Shafry Untoro, Muhammad; Arifatha, Na'ima; Ramadhani Yudha Adiwijaya, Raden; Farda, Nur Mohammad

    2016-11-01

    Landslide is an unpredictable natural disaster which commonly happens in highslope area. Aerial photography in small format is one of acquisition method that can reach and obtain high resolution spatial data faster than other methods, and provide data such as orthomosaic and Digital Surface Model (DSM). The study area contained landslide area in Clapar, Madukara District of Banjarnegara. Aerial photographs of landslide area provided advantage in objects visibility. Object's characters such as shape, size, and texture were clearly seen, therefore GEOBIA (Geography Object Based Image Analysis) was compatible as method for classifying land cover in study area. Dissimilar with PPA (PerPixel Analyst) method that used spectral information as base object detection, GEOBIA could use spatial elements as classification basis to establish a land cover map with better accuracy. GEOBIA method used classification hierarchy to divide post disaster land cover into three main objects: vegetation, landslide/soil, and building. Those three were required to obtain more detailed information that can be used in estimating loss caused by landslide and establishing land cover map in landslide area. Estimating loss in landslide area related to damage in Salak (Salacca zalacca) plantations. This estimation towards quantity of Salak tree that were drifted away by landslide was calculated in assumption that every tree damaged by landslide had same age and production class with other tree that weren't damaged. Loss calculation was done by approximating quantity of damaged trees in landslide area with data of trees around area that were acquired from GEOBIA classification method.

  13. Consequences of climate change, eutrophication, and other anthropogenic impacts to coastal salt marshes: multiple stressors reduce resiliency and sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, E. B.; Wigand, C.; Nelson, J.; Davey, E.; Van Dyke, E.; Wasson, K.

    2011-12-01

    Coastal salt marshes provide a wide variety of ecosystem services, including habitat for protected vertebrates and ecologically valuable invertebrate fauna, flood protection, and improvements in water quality for adjacent marine and estuarine environments. Here, we consider the impacts of future sea level rise combined with other anthropogenic stressors to salt marsh sustainability through the implementation of field and laboratory mesocosms, manipulative experiments, correlative studies, and predictive modeling conducted in central California and southern New England salt marshes. We report on measurements of soil respiration, decomposition, sediment accumulation, and marsh elevation, which considered jointly suggest an association between nitrate input and marsh elevation loss resulting from mineralization of soil organic matter. Furthermore, use of imaging techniques (CT scans) has shown differences in belowground root and rhizome structure associated with fertilization, resulting in a loss of sediment cohesion promoted by fine root structure. Additionally, field and greenhouse mesocosm experiments have provided insight into the specific biogeochemical processes responsible for plant mortality at high immersion or salinity levels. In conclusion, we have found that poor water quality (i.e. eutrophication) leads to enhanced respiration and decomposition of soil organic matter, which ultimately contributes to a loss of salt marsh sustainability. However, marsh deterioration studied at field sites (Jamaica Bay, NY and Elkhorn Slough, CA) is associated not only with enhanced nutrient loads, but also increased immersion due to tidal range increases resulting from dredging. To ensure the continuation of the ecosystem services provided by tidal wetlands and to develop sustainable management strategies that provide favorable outcomes under a variety of future sea level rise and land use scenarios, we need to develop a better understanding of the relative impacts of the

  14. A Landsat-Based Assessment of Mobile Bay Land Use and Land Cover Change from 1974 to 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spruce, Joseph; Ellis, Jean; Smoot, James; Swann, Roberta; Graham, William

    2009-01-01

    The Mobile Bay region has experienced noteworthy land use and land cover (LULC) change in the latter half of the 20th century. Accompanying this change has been urban expansion and a reduction of rural land uses. Much of this LULC change has reportedly occurred since the landfall of Hurricane Frederic in 1979. The Mobile Bay region provides great economic and ecologic benefits to the Nation, including important coastal habitat for a broad diversity of fisheries and wildlife. Regional urbanization threatens the estuary s water quality and aquatic-habitat dependent biota, including commercial fisheries and avian wildlife. Coastal conservation and urban land use planners require additional information on historical LULC change to support coastal habitat restoration and resiliency management efforts. This presentation discusses results of a Gulf of Mexico Application Pilot project that was conducted in 2008 to quantify and assess LULC change from 1974 to 2008. This project was led by NASA Stennis Space Center and involved multiple Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) partners, including the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (NEP), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration s (NOAA s) National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC), and the NOAA Coastal Services Center. Nine Landsat images were employed to compute LULC products because of their availability and suitability for the application. The project also used Landsat-based national LULC products, including coastal LULC products from NOAA s Coastal Change & Analysis Program (C-CAP), available at 5-year intervals since 1995. Our study was initiated in part because C-CAP LULC products were not available to assess the region s urbanization prior to 1995 and subsequent to post Hurricane Katrina in 2006. This project assessed LULC change across the 34-year time frame and at decadal and middecadal scales. The study area included the majority of Mobile and Baldwin counties that

  15. Coastal defence solutions (approach of ComCoast)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verhagen, H.J.; Visser, P.J.

    2007-01-01

    Along the North Sea coast, water levels are rising and waves are intensifying due to climate change. The best scientific evidence suggests that both phenomena are likely to accelerate over the coming decades. In some North Sea coastal areas also land is sinking and tidal heights and rates of erosion

  16. Coastal and tidal landform detection from high resolution topobathymetric LiDAR data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skovgaard Andersen, Mikkel; Al-Hamdani, Zyad; Steinbacher, Frank; Rolighed Larsen, Laurids; Brandbyge Ernstsen, Verner

    2016-04-01

    Coastal and tidal environments are valuable ecosystems, which, however, are under pressure in many areas around the world due to globalisation and/or climate change. Detailed mapping of these environments is required in order to manage the coastal zone in a sustainable way. However, historically these transition zones between land and water are difficult or even impossible to map and investigate in high spatial resolution due to the challenging environmental conditions. The new generation of airborne topobathymetric light detection and ranging (LiDAR) potentially enables full-coverage and high-resolution mapping of these land-water transition zones. We have carried out topobathymetric LiDAR surveys in the Knudedyb tidal inlet system, a coastal environment in the Danish Wadden Sea which is part of the Wadden Sea National Park and UNESCO World Heritage. Detailed digital elevation models (DEMs) with a grid cell size of 0.5 m x 0.5 m were generated from the LiDAR point cloud with a mean point density in the order of 20 points/m2. The DEM was analysed morphometrically using a modification of the tool Benthic Terrain Modeler (BTM) developed by Wright et al. (2005). Initially, stage (the elevation in relation to tidal range) was used to divide the area of investigation into the different tidal zones, i.e. subtidal, intertidal and supratidal. Subsequently, morphometric units were identified and characterised by a combination of statistical neighbourhood analysis with varying window sizes (using the Bathymetric Positioning Index (BPI) from the BTM, moving average and standard deviation), slope parameters and area/perimeter ratios. Finally, these morphometric units were classified into six different types of landforms based on their stage and morphometric characteristics, i.e. either subtidal channel, intertidal flat, intertidal creek, linear bar, swash bar or beach dune. We hereby demonstrate the potential of using airborne topobathymetric LiDAR for seamless mapping of land

  17. Extreme phosphorus losses in drainage from grazed dairy pastures on marginal land.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDowell, Richard W; Monaghan, Ross M

    2015-03-01

    With the installation of artificial drainage and large inputs of lime and fertilizer, dairy farming can be profitable on marginal land. We hypothesized that this will lead to large phosphorus (P) losses and potential surface water impairment if the soil has little capacity to sorb added P. Phosphorous was measured in drainage from three "marginal" soils used for dairying: an Organic soil that had been developed out of scrub for 2 yr and used for winter forage cropping, a Podzol that had been developed into pasture for 10 yr, and an intergrade soil that had been in pasture for 2 yr. Over 18 mo, drainage was similar among all sites (521-574 mm), but the load leached to 35-cm depth from the Organic soil was 87 kg P ha (∼89% of fertilizer-P added); loads were 1.7 and 9.0 kg ha from the Podzol and intergrade soils, respectively. Soil sampling to 100 cm showed that added P leached throughout the Organic soil profile but was stratified and enriched in the top 15 cm of the Podzol. Poor P sorption capacity (<5%) in the Organic soil, measured as anion storage capacity, and tillage (causing mineralization and P release) in the Organic and intergrade soils were thought to be the main causes of high P loss. It is doubtful that strategies would successfully mitigate these losses to an environmentally acceptable level. However, anion storage capacity could be used to identify marginal soils with high potential for P loss for the purpose of managing risk. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  18. C-CAP Land Cover, Big Island, Hawaii

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to determine...

  19. C-CAP Land Cover, Kauai, Hawaii 2005

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to determine...

  20. Connecting Systems Model Design to Decision-Maker and Stakeholder Needs: Lessons from Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischbach, J. R.; Johnson, D.

    2017-12-01

    Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast is a 50-year plan designed to reduce flood risk and minimize land loss while allowing for the continued provision of economic and ecosystem services from this critical coastal region. Conceived in 2007 in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the master plan is updated on a five-year planning cycle by the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). Under the plan's middle-of-the-road (Medium) environmental scenario, the master plan is projected to reduce expected annual damage from storm surge flooding by approximately 65% relative to a future without action: from 5.3 billion to 2.2 billion in 2040, and from 12.1 billion to 3.7 billion in 2065. The Coastal Louisiana Risk Assessment model (CLARA) is used to estimate the risk reduction impacts of projects that have been considered for implementation as part of the plan. Evaluation of projects involves estimation of cost effectiveness in multiple future time periods and under a range of environmental uncertainties (e.g., the rates of sea level rise and land subsidence, changes in future hurricane intensity and frequency), operational uncertainties (e.g., system fragility), and economic uncertainties (e.g., patterns of population change and asset exposure). Between the 2012 and 2017 planning cycles, many improvements were made to the CLARA model. These included changes to the model's spatial resolution and definition of policy-relevant spatial units, an improved treatment of parametric uncertainty and uncertainty propagation between model components, the addition of a module to consider critical infrastructure exposure, and a new population growth model. CPRA also developed new scenarios for analysis in 2017 that were responsive to new scientific literature and to accommodate a new approach to modeling coastal morphology. In this talk, we discuss how CLARA has evolved over the 2012 and 2017 planning cycles in response to the needs

  1. Tsunami vulnerability assessment in the western coastal belt in Sri Lanka

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranagalage, M. M.

    2017-12-01

    26th December 2004 tsunami disaster has caused massive loss of life, damage to coastal infrastructures and disruption to economic activities in the coastal belt of Sri Lanka. Tsunami vulnerability assessment is a requirement for disaster risk and vulnerability reduction. It plays a major role in identifying the extent and level of vulnerabilities to disasters within the communities. There is a need for a clearer understanding of the disaster risk patterns and factors contributing to it in different parts of the coastal belt. The main objective of this study is to investigate tsunami vulnerability assessment of Moratuwa Municipal council area in Sri Lanka. We have selected Moratuwa area due to considering urbanization pattern and Tsunami hazards of the country. Different data sets such as one-meter resolution LiDAR data, orthophoto, population, housing data and road layer were employed in this study. We employed tsunami vulnerability model for 1796 housing units located there, for a tsunami scenario with a maximum run-up 8 meters. 86% of the total land area affected by the tsunami in 8 meters scenarios. Additionally, building population has been used to estimate population in different vulnerability levels. The result shows that 32% of the buildings have extremely critical vulnerability level, 46% have critical vulnerability level, 22% have high vulnerability level, and 1% have a moderate vulnerability. According to the population estimation model results, 18% reside building with extremely critical vulnerability, 43% with critical vulnerability, 36% with high vulnerability and 3% belong to moderate vulnerability level. The results of the study provide a clear picture of tsunami vulnerability. Outcomes of this analysis can use as a valuable tool for urban planners to assess the risk and extent of disaster risk reduction which could be achieved via suitable mitigation measures to manage the coastal belt in Sri Lanka.

  2. Learning from Loss: Eroding Coastal Heritage in Scotland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ellie Graham

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Heritage sites are constantly changing due to natural processes, and this change can happen fastest at the coast. Much legislation has been enacted to protect sites of historic interest, but these do not protect sites from natural processes. Change is already happening, and climate change predictions suggest that the pace will accelerate in the future. Instead of seeing the potential destruction of heritage sites as a disaster, we should embrace the opportunity that they can provide for us to learn about the past and to plan for the future. Heritage laws often enshrine a policy of preservation in situ, meaning that our most spectacular sites are preserved in a state of equilibrium, with a default position of no permitted intervention. However, the options for threatened coastal sites mirror those of shoreline management plans, which usually recommend either the construction of a coastal defence or, more likely, a strategy of managed retreat, where erosion is allowed to take its course after appropriate mitigations strategies have been enacted. Managed retreat can lead to a range of research projects, some of which would not normally be possible at similar, unthreatened and legally protected monuments. Such research also has the potential to involve members of the public, who can help in the discovery process, and cascade what they have learned through their communities. Information shared can be about the heritage site itself, including how communities in the past coped at times of climatic stress; and also about the processes that are now threatening the monument, thus helping teach about present day climate change.

  3. Surrounding land cover types as predictors of palustrine wetland vegetation quality in conterminous USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stapanian, Martin A.; Gara, Brian; Schumacher, William

    2018-01-01

    The loss of wetland habitats and their often-unique biological communities is a major environmental concern. We examined vegetation data obtained from 380 wetlands sampled in a statistical survey of wetlands in the USA. Our goal was to identify which surrounding land cover types best predict two indices of vegetation quality in wetlands at the regional scale. We considered palustrine wetlands in four regions (Coastal Plains, North Central East, Interior Plains, and West) in which the dominant vegetation was emergent, forested, or scrub-shrub. For each wetland, we calculated weighted proportions of eight land cover types surrounding the area in which vegetation was assessed, in four zones radiating from the edge of the assessment area to 2 km. Using Akaike's Information Criterion, we determined the best 1-, 2- and 3-predictor models of the two indices, using the weighted proportions of the land cover types as potential predictors. Mean values of the two indices were generally higher in the North Central East and Coastal Plains than the other regions for forested and emergent wetlands. In nearly all cases, the best predictors of the indices were not the dominant surrounding land cover types. Overall, proportions of forest (positive effect) and agriculture (negative effect) surrounding the assessment area were the best predictors of the two indices. One or both of these variables were included as predictors in 65 of the 72 models supported by the data. Wetlands surrounding the assessment area had a positive effect on the indices, and ranked third (33%) among the predictors included in supported models. Development had a negative effect on the indices and was included in only 28% of supported models. These results can be used to develop regional management plans for wetlands, such as creating forest buffers around wetlands, or to conserve zones between wetlands to increase habitat connectivity.

  4. The influence of engineering design considerations on species recruitment and succession on coastal defence structures

    OpenAIRE

    Jackson, Juliette Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    Engineering design considerations of artificial coastal structures were tested to resemble as far as possible the nearest natural equivalent habitat, ecologically valuable rocky shores, as a potential management option. Coastal areas around the world attract urbanisation but these transitional areas between sea and land are inherently vulnerable to risk of flooding and erosion. Thus hard structures are often built in sensitive coastal environments to defend assets such as property and infrast...

  5. Influences of Urban Expansion on Cultivated Lands in China Since 1970S

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, F.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, X.; Yu, S.; Wang, X.; Zuo, L.

    2018-04-01

    Urban expansion has far-reaching influences on cultivated lands, and has a serious effect on grain output and safety. However, relatively little attention has been paid to monitor cultivated land losses through urban expansion over a long timeframe and multi-frequency, especially its differences on national scale systematically. In this work, the characteristics of Chinese cultivated land dynamics were described using annual occupied area per city, contribution rate of cultivated lands to urban expansion and the classification method of basic trend of cultivated land losses. Results indicate that: (1) in the past four decades, large amount of cultivated lands have been occupied during the urban expansion process, and have become the first land source for Chinese urban expansion. (2) Cultivated land loss among municipalities, provincial capitals and other cities was obviously different. The higher of cities' administrative level was, the more obvious of cultivated land loss in these cities appeared, and the earlier of acceleration loss stage of cultivated lands occurred. (3) Cultivated land loss in five population-size cities was unbalanced, representing obviously different loss process and contribution on urban expansion. The bigger of cities' population size was, the more obvious of cultivated land loss in these cities appeared, and the earlier of acceleration loss stage of cultivated lands occurred. (4) Cultivated land losses during urban expansion process were imbalanced in China, and were classified into seven trends. (5) Chinese cultivated land protection has been carried out from the awakening stage to the deep implementation stage.

  6. Comparing the cost effectiveness of nature-based and coastal adaptation: A case study from the Gulf Coast of the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reguero, Borja G; Beck, Michael W; Bresch, David N; Calil, Juliano; Meliane, Imen

    2018-01-01

    Coastal risks are increasing from both development and climate change. Interest is growing in the protective role that coastal nature-based measures (or green infrastructure), such as reefs and wetlands, can play in adapting to these risks. However, a lack of quantitative information on their relative costs and benefits is one principal factor limiting their use more broadly. Here, we apply a quantitative risk assessment framework to assess coastal flood risk (from climate change and economic exposure growth) across the United States Gulf of Mexico coast to compare the cost effectiveness of different adaptation measures. These include nature-based (e.g. oyster reef restoration), structural or grey (e.g., seawalls) and policy measures (e.g. home elevation). We first find that coastal development will be a critical driver of risk, particularly for major disasters, but climate change will cause more recurrent losses through changes in storms and relative sea level rise. By 2030, flooding will cost $134-176.6 billion (for different economic growth scenarios), but as the effects of climate change, land subsidence and concentration of assets in the coastal zone increase, annualized risk will more than double by 2050 with respect to 2030. However, from the portfolio we studied, the set of cost-effective adaptation measures (with benefit to cost ratios above 1) could prevent up to $57-101 billion in losses, which represents 42.8-57.2% of the total risk. Nature-based adaptation options could avert more than $50 billion of these costs, and do so cost effectively with average benefit to cost ratios above 3.5. Wetland and oyster reef restoration are found to be particularly cost-effective. This study demonstrates that the cost effectiveness of nature-based, grey and policy measures can be compared quantitatively with one another, and that the cost effectiveness of adaptation becomes more attractive as climate change and coastal development intensifies in the future. It also

  7. URBAN EXPANSION AND LOSS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr Osondu

    1987-09-23

    Sep 23, 1987 ... study and to assess its influence on agricultural lands. ... average annual rates of urban growth in Uyo Urban area were 4.48%, 0.56% between 1978/1988, 8.57% .... region (Woodwell et, al; 1984 and Williams, ... The reverse was the case with agricultural land. ... cohesive, organized network of vegetable.

  8. Land-use intensification can exaggerate the reduction of functionality with increasing soil biodiversity loss in an alpine meadow on eastern Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Manqiang; Chen, Xiaoyun; Chen, Chenying; Hu, Zhengkun; Guo, Hui; Li, Junyong; Du, Guozhen; Li, Huixin; Hu, Feng

    2017-04-01

    Soil biota plays a pivotal role in ecosystem functionality which is of central importance to sustainable services such as food and fiber production. Intensive land use is associated with species loss and subsequent the related functionality loss. Currently, the claim that negligible effects of soil biodiversity loss due to high functional redundancy has been questioned in the face of intense human activities. Recent studies corroborated that soil biodiversity guaranteed functionality following perturbation. Few studies have, however, attempted to explore the intensive land use on the relationship between soil biodiversity and function particularly for the region susceptible to human perturbation and climate change. With increasing demands for livestock on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, extensive fertilization is a common way to fill the gap of grass productivity in the alpine meadow. However, excess chemical fertilizer can lead to the species loss and functionality degradation. Do the fertilizer-induced changes in soil biota lead to a higher risk of functionality? We predicted that fertilization would exacerbate effects of biodiversity-loss on the reduction of functionality. Herein, a dilution-to-extinction approach was used to set up soil biodiversity loss by inoculating serially diluted soil suspension (ranging from 100 to 10-8 levels) from two long-term fertilization treatments to the sterilized soil that has never been fertilized. The two fertilization treatments represented two distinct intensification land use including the unfertilized control (NP0) and a fertilized treatment (NP120) amended with (NH4)2HPO4 annually (120 kg ha-1 yr-1) since 2002 in an alpine meadow on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Soil microcosms of 2 fertilization levels crossing 8 biodiversity levels were incubated for 8 months. Then, soil community and multi-functionality parameters including carbon (C)and nutrient mineralization, plant growth and functional stability were determined

  9. Cloud Formation, Sea-Air-Land Interaction, Mozambique, Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-01-01

    This rare depiction of the physical interactions of air land and sea in cloud formation was seen over Mozambique (12.0S, 40.5E). Moist low air, heated as it moves over land, rises and forms clouds. Even the coastal islands have enough heat to initiate the process. Once begun, the circulation is dynamic and the descending motion suppresses cloud formation on either side of the cloud stream. As clouds move inland, they rise to follow the land upslope.

  10. A meta-analysis of soil salinization effects on nitrogen pools, cycles and fluxes in coastal ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Minghua; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Vereecken, Harry; Brüggemann, Nicolas

    2017-03-01

    Salinity intrusion caused by land subsidence resulting from increasing groundwater abstraction, decreasing river sediment loads and increasing sea level because of climate change has caused widespread soil salinization in coastal ecosystems. Soil salinization may greatly alter nitrogen (N) cycling in coastal ecosystems. However, a comprehensive understanding of the effects of soil salinization on ecosystem N pools, cycling processes and fluxes is not available for coastal ecosystems. Therefore, we compiled data from 551 observations from 21 peer-reviewed papers and conducted a meta-analysis of experimental soil salinization effects on 19 variables related to N pools, cycling processes and fluxes in coastal ecosystems. Our results showed that the effects of soil salinization varied across different ecosystem types and salinity levels. Soil salinization increased plant N content (18%), soil NH 4 + (12%) and soil total N (210%), although it decreased soil NO 3 - (2%) and soil microbial biomass N (74%). Increasing soil salinity stimulated soil N 2 O fluxes as well as hydrological NH 4 + and NO 2 - fluxes more than threefold, although it decreased the hydrological dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) flux (59%). Soil salinization also increased the net N mineralization by 70%, although salinization effects were not observed on the net nitrification, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium in this meta-analysis. Overall, this meta-analysis improves our understanding of the responses of ecosystem N cycling to soil salinization, identifies knowledge gaps and highlights the urgent need for studies on the effects of soil salinization on coastal agro-ecosystem and microbial N immobilization. Additional increases in knowledge are critical for designing sustainable adaptation measures to the predicted intrusion of salinity intrusion so that the productivity of coastal agro-ecosystems can be maintained or improved and the N losses and pollution of the natural

  11. Innovative approach for restoring coastal wetlands using treated drill cuttings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veil, J. A.; Hocking, E. K.

    1999-01-01

    The leading environmental problem facing coastal Louisiana regions is the loss of wetlands. Oil and gas exploration and production activities have contributed to wetland damage through erosion at numerous sites where canals have been cut through the marsh to access drilling sites. An independent oil and gas producer, working with Southeastern Louisiana University and two oil field service companies, developed a process to stabilize drill cuttings so that they could be used as a substrate to grow wetlands vegetation. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded a project under which the process would be validated through laboratory studies and field demonstrations. The laboratory studies demonstrated that treated drill cuttings support the growth of wetlands vegetation. However, neither the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) nor the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would grant regulatory approval for afield trial of the process. Argonne National Laboratory was asked to join the project team to try to find alternative mechanisms for gaining regulatory approval. Argonne worked with EPA's Office of Reinvention and learned that EPA's Project XL would be the only regulatory program under which the proposed field trial could be done. One of the main criteria for an acceptable Project XL proposal is to have a formal project sponsor assume the responsibility and liability for the project. Because the proposed project involved access to private land areas, the team felt that an oil and gas company with coastal Louisiana land holdings would need to serve as sponsor. Despite extensive communication with oil and gas companies and industry associations, the project team was unable to find any organization willing to serve as sponsor. In September 1999, the Project XL proposal was withdrawn and the project was canceled

  12. Elevation uncertainty in coastal inundation hazard assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gesch, Dean B.; Cheval, Sorin

    2012-01-01

    Coastal inundation has been identified as an important natural hazard that affects densely populated and built-up areas (Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction, 2008). Inundation, or coastal flooding, can result from various physical processes, including storm surges, tsunamis, intense precipitation events, and extreme high tides. Such events cause quickly rising water levels. When rapidly rising water levels overwhelm flood defenses, especially in heavily populated areas, the potential of the hazard is realized and a natural disaster results. Two noteworthy recent examples of such natural disasters resulting from coastal inundation are the Hurricane Katrina storm surge in 2005 along the Gulf of Mexico coast in the United States, and the tsunami in northern Japan in 2011. Longer term, slowly varying processes such as land subsidence (Committee on Floodplain Mapping Technologies, 2007) and sea-level rise also can result in coastal inundation, although such conditions do not have the rapid water level rise associated with other flooding events. Geospatial data are a critical resource for conducting assessments of the potential impacts of coastal inundation, and geospatial representations of the topography in the form of elevation measurements are a primary source of information for identifying the natural and human components of the landscape that are at risk. Recently, the quantity and quality of elevation data available for the coastal zone have increased markedly, and this availability facilitates more detailed and comprehensive hazard impact assessments.

  13. Coastal Wetlands Protection Act: Case of Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF River

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Latif Gürkan KAYA

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Coastal wetlands, being important components of estuarine and coastal systems, stand for all publicly owned lands subject to the ebb and flow of the tide. They are below the watermark of ordinary high tide. The coastal wetlands contain a vital natural resource system. The coastal wetlands resource system, unless impossible, to reconstruct or rehabilitate once adversely affected by human. In the USA, the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF river states (i.e. Georgia, Alabama and Florida have variation in the structure and the function of their wetland program affecting the ACF river basins' wetlands. Although some states have no special wetlands program, they have permits and water quality certification for these areas. Some state programs affect state agencies while local government implements other programs.

  14. Risk Analysis of Coastal hazard Considering Sea-level Rise and Local Environment in Coastal Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sangjin, P.; Lee, D. K.; KIM, H.; Ryu, J. E.; Yoo, S.; Ryoo, H.

    2014-12-01

    more vulnerable when a typhoon comes, on the other hand, the west and the south coast are the mostly inundated areas due to their large difference of tide and low lands. In conclusion, the south coast of Korea is the most vulnerable area. This research could support the efficient planning of coastal zone management plan across the nation.

  15. Soil Loss Prediction on Mobile Platform Using Universal Soil-Loss Equation (USLE Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Effendi Rahim Supli

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Indirect method for soil loss predictions are plentiful, one of which is Universal soil-loss equation (USLE model. Available technology in mobile applications prompted the authors to develop a tool for calculating soil loss for many land types by transforming the USLE model into smart mobile application. The application is designed by using simple language for calculating each and every factor and lastly summing up the results. Factors that are involved in the calculation of soil loss are namely erosivity, erodibility, slope steepness, length of slope, land cover and conservation measures. The program will also be able to give its judgment for each of the prediction of soil loss rates for each and every possible land uses ranging from very light to very heavy. The application is believed to be useful for land users, students, farmers, planners, companies and government officers. It is shown by conducting usability testing using usability model, which is designed for mobile application. The results showed from 120 respondents that the usability of the system in this study was in “very good” classification, for three characteristics (ease of use, user satisfaction, and learnability. Only attractiveness characteristic that falls into “good” classification.

  16. Intertidal zones as carbon dioxide sources to coastal oceans

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    DileepKumar, M.; George, M.D.; Rajagopal, M.D.

    To understand the factors controlling carbon dioxide (CO sub(2)) exchanges near land-sea boundary diurnal observations have been made twice on CO sub(2) in the air and water in a coastal region. The results suggest that CO sub(2) enrichment...

  17. The economic impact of sea-level rise on nonmarket lands in Singapore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Wei-Shiuen; Mendelsohn, Robert

    2006-09-01

    Sea-level rise, as a result of climate change, will likely inflict considerable economic consequences on coastal regions, particularly low-lying island states like Singapore. Although the literature has addressed the vulnerability of developed coastal lands, this is the first economic study to address nonmarket lands, such as beaches, marshes and mangrove estuaries. This travel cost and contingent valuation study reveals that consumers in Singapore attach considerable value to beaches. The contingent valuation study also attached high values to marshes and mangroves but this result was not supported by the travel cost study. Although protecting nonmarket land uses from sea-level rise is expensive, the study shows that at least highly valued resources, such as Singapore's popular beaches, should be protected.

  18. Louisiana Coastal Area, Louisiana. Land Loss and Marsh Creation

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-11-01

    Blue runner Southern flounder Crevalle jack American oyster Greater amberjack Rangia clam Florida pompano White shrimp Dolphin Brown shrimp Red snapper...are winter residents and the Mississippi kite and broad-winged hawk are common summer residents (Lowery 1974a). -7. 0 Oftmm# za oSZ I.- ~ ~ M j cz~~e

  19. Mapping and analysis land-use and land-cover changes during 1996-2016 in Lubuk Kertang mangrove forest, North Sumatra, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basyuni, M.; Fitri, A.; Harahap, Z. A.

    2018-03-01

    Mangrove forest plays a significant role for biogeochemical carbon cycle in the context of climate change along the tropical coastal area. The present study analyzed the land-use and land-cover changes from 1996, 2006 and 2016 in Lubuk Kertang mangrove forest, Langkat, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Mangrove diversity in Lubuk Kertang consists of fifteen species, Acanthus ilicifolius, Avicennia marina, A. lanata, A. officinalis, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, B. sexangula, Ceriops tagal, Excoecaria agallocha, Lumnitzera racemosa, L. littorea, R. apiculata, R. mucronata, Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea, Sonneratia caseolaris, and Xylocarpus granatum. The land use/land cover consists of seven classes namely, mangrove forest, river, residential, paddy field, oil palm plantation, aquaculture, and open space area. A land use change matrix showed that the decrease of mangrove forest 109.4 ha from 1996-2006 converted to aquaculture 51.5 ha (47.1%). By contrast, mangrove lost 291.2 ha during 2006-2016, with main driver deforestation was oil palm plantation 128.1 ha (44%). During twenty years mangrove forest has been lost more than 400.4 ha, which is equal to 20.02 ha/year. On the other hand, oil palm plantation and aquaculture have been increased 155.3 ha and 114.1 ha during 1996-2016, respectively, suggested that both land-uses are mainly responsible for mangrove deforestation. These data are likely to contribute towards coastal management planning and practice and mitigating actions for emission reduction scenario.

  20. Influence of the Houma Navigation Canal on Salinity Patterns and Landscape Configuration in Coastal Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steyer, Gregory D.; Sasser, Charles; Evers, Elaine; Swenson, Erick; Suir, Glenn; Sapkota, Sijan

    2008-01-01

    appears that the dredging events opened up a deeper route from the canal to Crozier and into Grand Bayou Caillou, but it also may be a result of the general breakup of the marsh in the adjacent area, which resulted in greater exchange of bay water and subsequently higher salinity levels. Although the available salinity data were insufficient to conduct statistical correlations, there was close agreement between salinity changes and specific dredging events of the HNC. A procedure for analyzing marsh landscapes, which utilizes the FRAGSTATS landscape statistical application and a two-part marsh classification system, was developed as a means of determining the connectivity and configuration of marsh and water patches within the study area. Individual landscape metrics were used to determine the percentage and rate of land change and the shifts in density, shape, and cohesiveness of water within the marsh. Wetland loss rates for coastal Louisiana and Terrebonne basin were compared to the long- and short-term loss rates of the Houma Navigation Canal study area that were quantified by using the FRAGSTATS landscape analysis method. These results suggest that the canal study area was losing land at a significantly faster rate than both the marshes of coastal Louisiana (over all periods) and the other highly degraded neighboring marshes within Terrebonne basin. Overall, 37 percent (17,625 ha) of the project area marsh was lost between 1958 and 1998. As a means of quantifying the distance and degree of influence that the HNC had on marsh degradation, a 3-km interval buffer array and comparable years of vegetation data were used to describe the changes in primary metric values across the three project dates (1958, 1968/69, and 1998). The patterns across landscape metrics varied, and it was difficult to discern direct relationships based on proximity to the canal. Even though the canal may have an influence on marsh degradation, these analyses show that the degree and d

  1. Genetic Enhancement of Coastal Ecosystem (abstract)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parida, A.

    2005-01-01

    Coastal and marine areas contain some of the world's most diverse and productive biological systems. They are sensitive to human activities, impact and interventions. Pressures on these systems are growing more intense. As rapid development and population growth continue in coastal areas increasing demands are expected on natural resources and on remaining natural habitats along the coasts. The problem is more serious in Indian context that has a 7,500 km long coastline and is facing increasing soil erosion and water pollution. The prospects of sea level rise, expected to be in the order of 8-29 cm due to the global warming by 2025, necessitates immediate measures to foster the sustainable and equitable management of the coastal wetland ecosystems. Salinity is a significant limiting factor to agricultural productivity affecting about 9 x 10/sup 8/ha, worldwide. About one-third of all irrigated land is affected by salt due to secondary salinisation and it is estimated that 50% of the arable lands will be salinised by the year 2050. The problem of salinity is most acute in the coastal regions affecting the productivity of the agricultural system. Improving or maintaining yield potential of the crops under increased salinisation is of greater significance for the future. With a view to identify and isolate novel genetic combinations offering resistance to coastal salinity, MSSRF has initiated work on mangrove species. Mangroves are salt tolerant plant communities occupying the coastal estuarine regions of the tropics. They serve as a vital link between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and provide livelihood and ecological security for the coastal communities. MSSRF is the first institution worldwide to have undertaken modern molecular marker based analysis of mangroves. These studies have provided substantial information for developing unambiguous identification systems for individual species, elucidating nature and extent of genetic diversity at intra- and inter

  2. Estimation of phosphorous loss from agricultural land in the Heartland region of the U.S.A. using the APEX model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Accurate phosphorus (P) loss estimation from agricultural land is important for development of best management practices and protection of water quality. The Agricultural Policy/Environmental Extender (APEX) model is a powerful simulation model designed to simulate edge-of-field water, sediment, an...

  3. Predicting severe winter coastal storm damage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hondula, David M; Dolan, Robert

    2010-01-01

    Over the past 40 years residents of, and visitors to, the North Carolina coastal barrier islands have experienced the destructive forces of several 'named' extratropical storms. These storms have caused large-scale redistributions of sand and loss of coastal structures and infrastructure. While most of the population living on the islands are familiar with the wintertime storms, the damage and scars of the 'super northeasters'-such as the Ash Wednesday storm of 7 March 1962, and the Halloween storm of 1989-are slipping away from the public's memory. In this research we compared the damage zones of the 1962 Ash Wednesday storm, as depicted on aerial photographs taken after the storm, with photos taken of the same areas in 2003. With these high-resolution aerial photos we were able to estimate the extent of new development which has taken place along the Outer Banks of North Carolina since 1962. Three damage zones were defined that extend across the islands from the ocean landward on the 1962 aerial photos: (1) the zone of almost total destruction on the seaward edge of the islands where the storm waves break; (2) the zone immediately inland where moderate structural damage occurs during severe storms; and (3) the zone of flood damage at the landward margin of the storm surge and overwash. We considered the rate of coastal erosion, the rate of development, and increases in property values as factors which may contribute to changing the financial risk for coastal communities. In comparing the values of these four factors with the 1962 damage data, we produced a predicted dollar value for storm damage should another storm of the magnitude of the 1962 Ash Wednesday storm occur in the present decade. This model also provides an opportunity to estimate the rate of increase in the potential losses through time as shoreline erosion continues to progressively reduce the buffer between the development and the edge of the sea. Our data suggest that the losses along the North

  4. Predicting severe winter coastal storm damage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hondula, David M; Dolan, Robert, E-mail: hondula@virginia.edu [Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, PO Box 400123, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States)

    2010-07-15

    Over the past 40 years residents of, and visitors to, the North Carolina coastal barrier islands have experienced the destructive forces of several 'named' extratropical storms. These storms have caused large-scale redistributions of sand and loss of coastal structures and infrastructure. While most of the population living on the islands are familiar with the wintertime storms, the damage and scars of the 'super northeasters'-such as the Ash Wednesday storm of 7 March 1962, and the Halloween storm of 1989-are slipping away from the public's memory. In this research we compared the damage zones of the 1962 Ash Wednesday storm, as depicted on aerial photographs taken after the storm, with photos taken of the same areas in 2003. With these high-resolution aerial photos we were able to estimate the extent of new development which has taken place along the Outer Banks of North Carolina since 1962. Three damage zones were defined that extend across the islands from the ocean landward on the 1962 aerial photos: (1) the zone of almost total destruction on the seaward edge of the islands where the storm waves break; (2) the zone immediately inland where moderate structural damage occurs during severe storms; and (3) the zone of flood damage at the landward margin of the storm surge and overwash. We considered the rate of coastal erosion, the rate of development, and increases in property values as factors which may contribute to changing the financial risk for coastal communities. In comparing the values of these four factors with the 1962 damage data, we produced a predicted dollar value for storm damage should another storm of the magnitude of the 1962 Ash Wednesday storm occur in the present decade. This model also provides an opportunity to estimate the rate of increase in the potential losses through time as shoreline erosion continues to progressively reduce the buffer between the development and the edge of the sea. Our data suggest that the

  5. Predicting severe winter coastal storm damage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hondula, David M.; Dolan, Robert

    2010-07-01

    Over the past 40 years residents of, and visitors to, the North Carolina coastal barrier islands have experienced the destructive forces of several 'named' extratropical storms. These storms have caused large-scale redistributions of sand and loss of coastal structures and infrastructure. While most of the population living on the islands are familiar with the wintertime storms, the damage and scars of the 'super northeasters'—such as the Ash Wednesday storm of 7 March 1962, and the Halloween storm of 1989—are slipping away from the public's memory. In this research we compared the damage zones of the 1962 Ash Wednesday storm, as depicted on aerial photographs taken after the storm, with photos taken of the same areas in 2003. With these high-resolution aerial photos we were able to estimate the extent of new development which has taken place along the Outer Banks of North Carolina since 1962. Three damage zones were defined that extend across the islands from the ocean landward on the 1962 aerial photos: (1) the zone of almost total destruction on the seaward edge of the islands where the storm waves break; (2) the zone immediately inland where moderate structural damage occurs during severe storms; and (3) the zone of flood damage at the landward margin of the storm surge and overwash. We considered the rate of coastal erosion, the rate of development, and increases in property values as factors which may contribute to changing the financial risk for coastal communities. In comparing the values of these four factors with the 1962 damage data, we produced a predicted dollar value for storm damage should another storm of the magnitude of the 1962 Ash Wednesday storm occur in the present decade. This model also provides an opportunity to estimate the rate of increase in the potential losses through time as shoreline erosion continues to progressively reduce the buffer between the development and the edge of the sea. Our data suggest that the losses along the

  6. Dry season distribution of land crabs, Gecarcinus quadratus (Crustacea: Gecarcinidae), in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Megan E; Mohammad, Basma A; Vega, Andres

    2007-03-01

    The land crab Gecarcinus quadratus is an engineering species that controls nutrient cycling in tropical forests. Factors regulating their coastal distribution are not fully understood. We quantified land crab distribution during the dry season at Sirena Field Station in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica, and found that land crab burrow density decreases with increasing distance from the ocean. Leaf litter depth and tree seedling density are negatively correlated with land crab burrow density. Burrows are strongly associated with sand substrate and burrow density is comparatively low in clay substrate. Results suggest that G. quadratus is limited to a narrow coastal zone with sand substrate, and this distribution could have profound effects on plant community structure.

  7. Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-09-19

    activities, splash points and Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) operations) and non-military Base activities (e.g., sewage treatment , storm water runoff and...We will measure the metabolism of benthic microalgae, the water column, eelgrass, and any dominant macroalgae by developing series of photosynthesis...activities (storm water control and sewage treatment ). Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) Research Plan DCERP Research Plan 32 September 19

  8. C-CAP Land Cover, Territory of Guam 2011

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to determine...

  9. 2011 C-CAP Land Cover of Oahu, Hawaii

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to determine...

  10. 2005 C-CAP Land Cover of Oahu, Hawaii

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land cover derived from high resolution imagery according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol. This data set utilized...

  11. Analysis of relationships between land surface temperature and land use changes in the Yellow River Delta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ning, Jicai; Gao, Zhiqiang; Meng, Ran; Xu, Fuxiang; Gao, Meng

    2018-06-01

    This study analyzed land use and land cover changes and their impact on land surface temperature using Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor imagery of the Yellow River Delta. Six Landsat images comprising two time series were used to calculate the land surface temperature and correlated vegetation indices. The Yellow River Delta area has expanded substantially because of the deposited sediment carried from upstream reaches of the river. Between 1986 and 2015, approximately 35% of the land use area of the Yellow River Delta has been transformed into salterns and aquaculture ponds. Overall, land use conversion has occurred primarily from poorly utilized land into highly utilized land. To analyze the variation of land surface temperature, a mono-window algorithm was applied to retrieve the regional land surface temperature. The results showed bilinear correlation between land surface temperature and the vegetation indices (i.e., Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Adjusted-Normalized Vegetation Index, Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index, and Modified Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index). Generally, values of the vegetation indices greater than the inflection point mean the land surface temperature and the vegetation indices are correlated negatively, and vice versa. Land surface temperature in coastal areas is affected considerably by local seawater temperature and weather conditions.

  12. Impact of urbanization and agriculture on the occurrence of bacterial pathogens and stx genes in coastal waterbodies of central California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walters, Sarah P; Thebo, Anne L; Boehm, Alexandria B

    2011-02-01

    Fecal pollution enters coastal waters through multiple routes, many of which originate from land-based activities. Runoff from pervious and impervious land surfaces transports pollutants from land to sea and can cause impairment of coastal ocean waters. To understand how land use practices and water characteristics influence concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and pathogens in natural waters, fourteen coastal streams, rivers, and tidal lagoons, surrounded by variable land use and animal densities, were sampled every six weeks over two years (2008 & 2009). Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB; Escherichia coli and Enterococci) and Salmonella concentrations, the occurrence of Bacteroidales human, ruminant, and pig-specific fecal markers, E. coli O157:H7, and Shiga toxin (stx) genes present in E. coli, were measured. In addition, environmental and climatic variables (e.g., temperature, salinity, rainfall), as well as human and livestock population densities and land cover were quantified. Concentrations of FIB and Salmonella were correlated with each other, but the occurrence of host-specific Bacteroidales markers did not correlate with FIB or pathogens. FIB and Salmonella concentrations, as well as the occurrence of E. coli harboring stx genes, were positively associated with the fraction of the surrounding subwatershed that was urban, while the occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 was positively associated with the agricultural fraction. FIB and Salmonella concentrations were negatively correlated to salinity and temperature, and positively correlated to rainfall. Areal loading rates of FIB, Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 to the coastal ocean were calculated for stream and river sites and varied with land cover, salinity, temperature, and rainfall. Results suggest that FIB and pathogen concentrations are influenced, in part, by their flux from the land, which is exacerbated during rainfall; once waterborne, bacterial persistence is affected by water temperature and

  13. Study on water quality around mangrove ecosystem for coastal rehabilitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guntur, G.; Sambah, A. B.; Arisandi, D. M.; Jauhari, A.; Jaziri, A. A.

    2018-01-01

    Coastal ecosystems are vulnerable to environmental degradation including the declining water quality in the coastal environment due to the influence of human activities where the river becomes one of the input channels. Some areas in the coastal regions of East Java directly facing the Madura Strait indicate having experienced the environmental degradation, especially regarding the water quality. This research was conducted in the coastal area of Probolinggo Regency, East Java, aiming to analyze the water quality as the basis for coastal rehabilitation planning. This study was carried out using survey and observation methods. Water quality measurement results were analyzed conforming to predetermined quality standards. The coastal area rehabilitation planning as a means to restore the degraded water quality parameters is presumably implemented through mangrove planting. Thus, the mangrove mapping was also devised in this research. Based on 40 sampling points, the results illustrate that according to the quality standard, the water quality in the study area is likely to be deteriorated. On account of the mapping analysis of mangrove distribution in the study area, the rehabilitation of the coastal zone can be done through planning the mangrove forest plantation. The recommended coastal area maintenance is a periodic water quality observation planning in the river region which is divided into three zones to monitor the impact of fluctuating changes in land use or human activities on the coastal water quality.

  14. The impact of land use and season on the riverine transport of mercury into the marine coastal zone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saniewska, Dominika; Bełdowska, Magdalena; Bełdowski, Jacek; Saniewski, Michał; Szubska, Marta; Romanowski, Andrzej; Falkowska, Lucyna

    2014-11-01

    In Mediterranean seas and coastal zones, rivers can be the main source of mercury (Hg). Catchment management therefore affects the load of Hg reaching the sea with surface runoff. The major freshwater inflows to the Baltic Sea consist of large rivers. However, their systems are complex and identification of factors affecting the outflow of Hg from its catchments is difficult. For this reason, a study into the impact of watershed land use and season on mercury biogeochemistry and transport in rivers was performed along two small rivers which may be considered typical of the southern Baltic region. Neither of these rivers are currently impacted by industrial effluents, thus allowing assessment of the influence of catchment terrain and season on Hg geochemistry. The study was performed between June 2008 and May 2009 at 13 sampling points situated at different terrain types within the catchments (forest, wetland, agriculture and urban). Hg analyses were conducted by CVAFS. Arable land erosion was found to be an important source of Hg to the aquatic system, similar to urban areas. Furthermore, inflows of untreated storm water discharge resulted in a fivefold increase of Hg concentration in the rivers. The highest Hg concentration in the urban runoff was observed with the greatest amount of precipitation during summer. Moderate rainfalls enhance the inflow of bioavailable dissolved mercury into water bodies. Despite the lack of industrial effluents entering the rivers directly, the sub-catchments with anthropogenic land use were important sources of Hg in the rivers. This was caused by elution of metal, deposited in soils over the past decades, into the rivers. The obtained results are especially important in the light of recent environmental conscience regulations, enforcing the decrease of pollution by Baltic countries.

  15. Coastal city subsidence in Shenzhen (China), monitored using multi-frequency radar interferometry time-series techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Peng; Li, Yongsheng; Singleton, Andrew; Li, Qingquan; Zhang, Jingfa; Li, Zhenhong

    2014-05-01

    In just 26 years, the coastal city of Shenzhen (Southern China) has been transformed from a small fishing village to a modern city with a population exceeding 8.5 million people. Following its designation as a Special Economic Zone in the 1980s, the city became a test bed for China's economic reforms and currently leads many new practices in urban planning. The rapid economic development was matched by a sharp increase in the demand for usable land and consequently, extensive coastal reclamation has been undertaken by piling rock fragments from nearby hills onto the seabed. However, it has recently been reported that new apartments, offices and transport networks built on the reclaimed land have become unusable due to ground subsidence. The additional threat of coastal inundation from sea-level rise also requires serious consideration. InSAR time-series techniques (such as Persistent Scatterer and Small Baseline InSAR) are capable of detecting sub-centimetre elevation changes of the Earth's surface over large areas and at a density far exceeding the capabilities of a GPS network - particularly for such an urban environment as Shenzhen. This study uses numerous independent tracks of SAR data (two ENVISAT C-band tracks and two ALOS L-band tracks) to determine the surface movements between 2004 and 2013. Quantitative comparative analyses are carried out in the overlapping area between two adjacent tracks, and thus no ground data is required to validate InSAR results. The results show greatest subsidence in coastal areas with the areas of reclaimed land also predominantly undergoing subsidence. The combination of different ascending and descending tracks allows 2D velocity fields to be estimated and it will be important to determine whether the subsidence from the recently reclaimed land is consolidation or part of a longer-term trend. This ability to provide accurate measurements of ground stability for the city of Shenzhen will help focus investigations into areas of

  16. Coastal ecosystems for protection against storm surge

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Mascarenhas, A.

    and infrastructure in single catastrophe exceeded Rs. 2750 crore. Economic loss is thus prohibitive and hence unsustainable. This paper acknowledges the intrinsic protective value of coastal sand dunes, vegetation and wetlands as a functional natural defence...

  17. Correlation between land use changes and shoreline changes around THE Nakdong River in Korea using landsat images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, J. S.; Lim, C.; Baek, S. G.; Shin, S.

    2015-12-01

    Coastal erosion has badly affected the marine environment, as well as the safety of various coastal structures. In order to monitor shoreline changes due to coastal erosion, remote sensing techniques are being utilized. The land-cover map classifies the physical material on the surface of the earth, and it can be utilized in establishing eco-policy and land-use policy. In this study, we analyzed the correlation between land-use changes around the Nakdong River and shoreline changes at Busan Dadaepo Beach adjacent to the river. We produced the land-cover map based on the guidelines published by the Ministry of Environment Korea, using eight Landsat satellite images obtained from 1984 to 2015. To observe land use changes around the Nakdong River, the study site was set to include the surroundings areas of the Busan Dadaepo Beach, the Nakdong River as well as its estuary, and also Busan New Port. For the land-use classification of the study site, we also produced a land-cover map divided into seven categories according to the Ministry of Environment, Korea guidelines and using the most accurate Maximum Likelihood Method (MLM). Land use changes inland, at 500m from the shoreline, were excluded for the correlation analysis between land use changes and shoreline changes. The other categories, except for the water category, were transformed into numerical values and the land-use classifications, using all other categories, were analyzed. Shoreline changes were observed by setting the base-line and three cut-lines. We assumed that longshore bars around the Nakdong River and the shoreline of the Busan Dadaepo Beach are affected. Therefore, we expect that shoreline changes happen due to the influence of barren land, wetlands, built-up areas and deposition. The causes are due to natural factors, such as weather, waves, tide currents, longshore currents, and also artificial factors such as coastal structures, construction, and dredging.

  18. On the use of InSAR technology to assess land subsidence in Jakarta coastal flood plain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koudogbo, Fifame; Duro, Javier; Garcia Robles, Javier; Arnaud, Alain; Abidin, Hasanuddin Z.

    2014-05-01

    Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia and is home to approximately 10 million people on the coast of the Java Sea. It is situated on the northern coastal alluvial plane of Java which shares boundaries with West Java Province in the south and in the east, and with Banten Province in the west. The Capital District of Jakarta (DKI) sits in the lowest lying areas of the basin. Its topography varies, with the northern part just meters above current sea level and lying on a flood plain. Subsequently, this portion of the city frequently floods. The southern part of the city is hilly. Thirteen major rivers flow through Jakarta to the Java Sea. The Ciliwung River is the most significant river and divides the city West to East. In the last three decades, urban growing of Jakarta has been very fast in sectors as industry, trade, transportation, real estate, among others. This exponential development has caused several environmental issues; land subsidence is one of them. Subsidence in Jakarta has been known since the early part of the 20th century. It is mainly due to groundwater extraction, the fast development (construction load), soil natural consolidation and tectonics. Evidence of land subsidence exists through monitoring with GPS, level surveys and InSAR investigations. InSAR states for "Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar". Its principle is based on comparing the distance between the satellite and the ground in consecutive satellite passes over the same area on the Earth's surface. Radar satellites images record, with very high precision, the distance travelled by the radar signal that is emitted by the satellite is registered. When this distance is compared through time, InSAR technology can provide highly accurate ground deformation measurements. ALTAMIRA INFORMATION, company specialized in ground motion monitoring, has developed GlobalSARTM, which combines several processing techniques and algorithms based on InSAR technology, to achieve ground motion

  19. Large networks of artificial radar reflectors to monitor land subsidence in natural lowlying coastal areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosi, Luigi; Strozzi, Tazio; Teatini, Pietro

    2014-05-01

    Deltas, lagoons, estuaries are generally much prone to land subsidence. They are also very sensitive to land lowering due to their small elevation with respect to the mean sea level, also in view of the expected eustatic sea rise due to climate changes. Land subsidence can be presently monitored with an impressive accuracy by Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) on the large megacities that are often located on lowlying coastlands, e.g., Shanghai (China) on the Yangtze River delta, Dhaka (Bangladesh) on the Gange River delta, New Orleans (Louisiana) on the Mississippi river delta. Conversely, the land movements of the portions of these transitional coastlands where natural environments still persist are very challenging to be measured. The lack of anthropogenic structures strongly limits the use of PSI and the difficult accessibility caused by the presence of marshlands, tidal marshes, channels, and ponds yield traditional methodologies, such as levelling and GPS, both time-consuming and costly. In this contribution we present a unique experimental study aimed at using a large network of artificial radar reflectors to measure land subsidence in natural coastal areas. The test site is the 60-km long, 10-15 km wide lagoon of Venice, Italy, where previous PSI investigations revealed the lack of radar reflectors in large portions of the northern and southern lagoon basins (e.g., Teatini et al., 2011). A network of 57 trihedral corner reflectors (TCRs) were established between the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007 and monitored by ENVISAT ASAR and TerraSAR-X acquisitions covering the time period from 2007 to 2011 (Strozzi et al., 2012). The application has provided general important insights on the possibility of controlling land subsidence using this approach. For example: (i) relatively small-size (from 0.5 to 1.0 m edge length) and cheap (few hundred euros) TCRs suffice to be clearly detectable from the radar sensors because of the low backscattering

  20. Hydrodynamic Based Decision Making Framework for Impact Assessment of Extreme Storm Events on Coastal Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nazari, R.; Miller, K.; Hurler, C.

    2015-12-01

    Coastal and inland flooding has been a problematic occurrence, specifically over the past century. Global warming has caused an 8 inch sea level rise since 1990, which made the coastal flood zone wider, deeper and more damaging. Additionally, riverine flooding is extremely damaging to the country's substructure and economy as well which causes river banks to overflow, inundating low-lying areas. New Jersey and New York are two areas at severe risk for flood hazard, sea level rise, land depletion and economic loss which are the main study area of this work. A decision making framework is being built to help mitigate the impacts of the environmental and economical dangers of storm surges, sea level rise, flashfloods and inland flooding. With vigorous research and the use of innovative hydrologic modeling software, this tool can be built and utilized to form resiliency for coastal communities. This will allow the individuals living in a coastal community to understand the details of climatic hazards in their area and risks associated to their communities. This tool will also suggest the best solution for the problem each community faces. Atlantic City and New York City has been modeled and compared using potential storm events and the outcomes have been analyzed. The tool offers all the possible solutions for the type of flooding that occurs. Green infrastructure such as rain gardens, detention basins and green roofs can be used as small scale solutions. Greater scale solutions such as removable flood barriers, concrete walls and height adjustable walls will also be displayed if that poses as the best solution. The results and benefits from the simulation and modeling techniques, will allow coastal communities to choose the most appropriate method for building a long lasting and sustainable resilience plan in the future.

  1. Impacts of land use and land cover on surface and air temperature in urban landscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crum, S.; Jenerette, D.

    2015-12-01

    Accelerating urbanization affects regional climate as the result of changing land cover and land use (LCLU). Urban land cover composition may provide valuable insight into relationships among urbanization, air, and land-surface temperature (Ta and LST, respectively). Climate may alter these relationships, where hotter climates experience larger LULC effects. To address these hypotheses we examined links between Ta, LST, LCLU, and vegetation across an urban coastal to desert climate gradient in southern California, USA. Using surface temperature radiometers, continuously measuring LST on standardized asphalt, concrete, and turf grass surfaces across the climate gradient, we found a 7.2°C and 4.6°C temperature decrease from asphalt to vegetated cover in the coast and desert, respectively. There is 131% more temporal variation in asphalt than turf grass surfaces, but 37% less temporal variation in concrete than turf grass. For concrete and turf grass surfaces, temporal variation in temperature increased from coast to desert. Using ground-based thermal imagery, measuring LST for 24 h sequences over citrus orchard and industrial use locations, we found a 14.5°C temperature decrease from industrial to orchard land use types (38.4°C and 23.9°C, respectively). Additionally, industrial land use types have 209% more spatial variation than orchard (CV=0.20 and 0.09, respectively). Using a network of 300 Ta (iButton) sensors mounted in city street trees throughout the region and hyperspectral imagery data we found urban vegetation greenness, measured using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), was negatively correlated to Ta at night across the climate gradient. Contrasting previous findings, the closest coupling between NDVI and Ta is at the coast from 0000 h to 0800 h (highest r2 = 0.6, P urbanized regions of southern California, USA decrease Ta and LST and spatial variation in LST, while built surfaces and land uses have the opposite effect. Furthermore

  2. Climate extremes and challenges to infrastructure development in coastal cities in Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sowmen Rahman

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Most of the coastal cities in Bangladesh are situated on the riverbanks of low-lying tidal zones at an average elevation of 1.0–1.5 m from the sea level. Construction and management of buildings, roads, power and telecommunication transmission lines, drainage and sewerage and waste management are very difficult and vulnerable to climate change disasters. Cyclonic storms associated with tidal floods impact seriously the infrastructures and thus the livelihoods. Although coastal cities are the ultimate shelters of the coastal people during the extremes events, the coastal cities are not safe and cannot support them due to poor infrastructure. This study analyses the challenges coastal urbanization faces under different situations like cyclones, floods and water-logging, salinity, land-sliding and erosion etc. during the disasters and their effects on city lives for water supply and sanitation, power and electricity and waste management etc., and puts forward recommendations towards sustainable planning of coastal cities.

  3. Estimating global "blue carbon" emissions from conversion and degradation of vegetated coastal ecosystems.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linwood Pendleton

    Full Text Available Recent attention has focused on the high rates of annual carbon sequestration in vegetated coastal ecosystems--marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses--that may be lost with habitat destruction ('conversion'. Relatively unappreciated, however, is that conversion of these coastal ecosystems also impacts very large pools of previously-sequestered carbon. Residing mostly in sediments, this 'blue carbon' can be released to the atmosphere when these ecosystems are converted or degraded. Here we provide the first global estimates of this impact and evaluate its economic implications. Combining the best available data on global area, land-use conversion rates, and near-surface carbon stocks in each of the three ecosystems, using an uncertainty-propagation approach, we estimate that 0.15-1.02 Pg (billion tons of carbon dioxide are being released annually, several times higher than previous estimates that account only for lost sequestration. These emissions are equivalent to 3-19% of those from deforestation globally, and result in economic damages of $US 6-42 billion annually. The largest sources of uncertainty in these estimates stems from limited certitude in global area and rates of land-use conversion, but research is also needed on the fates of ecosystem carbon upon conversion. Currently, carbon emissions from the conversion of vegetated coastal ecosystems are not included in emissions accounting or carbon market protocols, but this analysis suggests they may be disproportionally important to both. Although the relevant science supporting these initial estimates will need to be refined in coming years, it is clear that policies encouraging the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems could significantly reduce carbon emissions from the land-use sector, in addition to sustaining the well-recognized ecosystem services of coastal habitats.

  4. Towards an Integrated Management and Planning in the Romanian Black Sea Coastal Zones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anton Catalin

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The socio-economic and “natural” systems are, to a variable extent, now locked in a coevolutionary path, characterized by a joint determinism and complex feedback effects. The management of the coastal zones, including also modeling and assessment measures, should, be reoriented over time to properly capture the causes and consequences of the joint system changes as manifested in the coastal areas. This will require a collaborative work among a range of economical, environmental and social science disciplines. The pressures and the high instability are similar between the coast and the sea, in both senses (from the land to the sea and also from the sea to the land, being given by various factors as the strong winds, waves, storms, open sea, currents, as well well also the variability of temperatures, salinity, density, due to the Danube impact, etc. The influence of the rivers discharging into the Black Sea is important, while the coastal erosion, flooding, urbanization, tourism, naval industry have an impact on the coast and the sea environment. The Marine Spatial Planning Directive is appropriate in Romania to put in practice the similar tools, and practical approach from the coast to the maritime space. This paper aims to represent an useful starting point in the management of the coastal zones for both natural and social science research that would be seeked (by a more integrated modelling and assessment process to better describe and understand the functioning of the ecosystems, that form the coastal interface, and in particular the filter effect is exerted on nutrients in response to the environmental pressures, both anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic - the climate change, land use/cover change, urbanization and effluent treatment from both point and non-point sources. For this it is necessary a broad analytical framework (rather than a specific model in which to set a more detailed analysis.

  5. Regime shifts and resilience in China's coastal ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ke

    2016-02-01

    Regime shift often results in large, abrupt, and persistent changes in the provision of ecosystem services and can therefore have significant impacts on human wellbeing. Understanding regime shifts has profound implications for ecosystem recovery and management. China's coastal ecosystems have experienced substantial deterioration within the past decades, at a scale and speed the world has never seen before. Yet, information about this coastal ecosystem change from a dynamics perspective is quite limited. In this review, I synthesize existing information on coastal ecosystem regime shifts in China and discuss their interactions and cascading effects. The accumulation of regime shifts in China's coastal ecosystems suggests that the desired system resilience has been profoundly eroded, increasing the potential of abrupt shifts to undesirable states at a larger scale, especially given multiple escalating pressures. Policy and management strategies need to incorporate resilience approaches in order to cope with future challenges and avoid major losses in China's coastal ecosystem services.

  6. Developing Remote Sensing Products for Monitoring and Modeling Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Vulnerability to Climate Change and Land Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourgeau-Chavez, L. L.; Miller, M. E.; Battaglia, M.; Banda, E.; Endres, S.; Currie, W. S.; Elgersma, K. J.; French, N. H. F.; Goldberg, D. E.; Hyndman, D. W.

    2014-12-01

    Spread of invasive plant species in the coastal wetlands of the Great Lakes is degrading wetland habitat, decreasing biodiversity, and decreasing ecosystem services. An understanding of the mechanisms of invasion is crucial to gaining control of this growing threat. To better understand the effects of land use and climatic drivers on the vulnerability of coastal zones to invasion, as well as to develop an understanding of the mechanisms of invasion, research is being conducted that integrates field studies, process-based ecosystem and hydrological models, and remote sensing. Spatial data from remote sensing is needed to parameterize the hydrological model and to test the outputs of the linked models. We will present several new remote sensing products that are providing important physiological, biochemical, and landscape information to parameterize and verify models. This includes a novel hybrid radar-optical technique to delineate stands of invasives, as well as natural wetland cover types; using radar to map seasonally inundated areas not hydrologically connected; and developing new algorithms to estimate leaf area index (LAI) using Landsat. A coastal map delineating wetland types including monocultures of the invaders (Typha spp. and Phragmites austrailis) was created using satellite radar (ALOS PALSAR, 20 m resolution) and optical data (Landsat 5, 30 m resolution) fusion from multiple dates in a Random Forests classifier. These maps provide verification of the integrated model showing areas at high risk of invasion. For parameterizing the hydrological model, maps of seasonal wetness are being developed using spring (wet) imagery and differencing that with summer (dry) imagery to detect the seasonally wet areas. Finally, development of LAI remote sensing high resolution algorithms for uplands and wetlands is underway. LAI algorithms for wetlands have not been previously developed due to the difficulty of a water background. These products are being used to

  7. Progress in the Study of Coastal Storm Deposits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Haixian; Huang, Guangqing; Fu, Shuqing; Qian, Peng

    2018-05-01

    Numerous studies have been carried out to identify storm deposits and decipher storm-induced sedimentary processes in coastal and shallow-marine areas. This study aims to provide an in-depth review on the study of coastal storm deposits from the following five aspects. 1) The formation of storm deposits is a function of hydrodynamic and sedimentary processes under the constraints of local geological and ecological factors. Many questions remain to demonstrate the genetic links between storm-related processes and a variety of resulting deposits such as overwash deposits, underwater deposits and hummocky cross-stratification (HCS). Future research into the formation of storm deposits should combine flume experiments, field observations and numerical simulations, and make full use of sediment source tracing methods. 2) Recently there has been rapid growth in the number of studies utilizing sediment provenance analysis to investigate the source of storm deposits. The development of source tracing techniques, such as mineral composition, magnetic susceptibility, microfossil and geochemical property, has allowed for better understanding of the depositional processes and environmental changes associated with coastal storms. 3) The role of extreme storms in the sedimentation of low-lying coastal wetlands with diverse ecosystem services has also drawn a great deal of attention. Many investigations have attempted to quantify widespread land loss, vertical marsh sediment accumulation and wetland elevation change induced by major hurricanes. 4) Paleostorm reconstructions based on storm sedimentary proxies have shown many advantages over the instrumental records and historic documents as they allow for the reconstruction of storm activities on millennial or longer time scales. Storm deposits having been used to establish proxies mainly include beach ridges and shelly cheniers, coral reefs, estuary-deltaic storm sequences and overwash deposits. Particularly over the past few

  8. 150 years of land degradation and development: loss of habitats, natural resources due to quarrying and industrialization followed by land reclamation in the heart of Budapest city

    Science.gov (United States)

    Török, Ákos

    2017-04-01

    The urban development and land degradation is an accelerated process in the 21st century; however several examples are known when this happened in the past. A historic case study is discussed in this research when clump of three former small towns (named: Buda, Pest and Óbuda) became a million population city more than hundred years ago invoking significant land degradation, drastic and surprising changes in land use. Budapest which is now the capital of Hungary has seen rapid land use changes in the past 150 years especially from 1850'ies to early 20th century. The population of the city rapidly grown from the end of 19th century to early 20th century; i.e. it is tripled from 1880 to 1920 and reached nearly 1 million in 40 years. This population boom induced significant land degradation, changes in land use and loss of habitats. The paper presents examples how the land use has changed in the past 105 years with historic maps and interpreted cases suggesting different pathways leading to land degradation. The first one focuses on vineyards and grape cultivation and explains how these areas were first converted to limestone quarries to provide construction material to the city and then transformed to urban habitat in the early 20th century again. The cellars - former quarry galleries - than were used for housing (urban habitat) and later were used as storage facilities and mushroom cultivation sites. At present these subsurface openings cause high risk of land development (collapse) and limit the land use of the given area. The current paper also outlines the development of the city via the perspective of natural resources, since drinking water and industrial water need modified the land development and urbanization. Another example is also given how the brewery industry exploited natural resources and the surface water use was shifted to exploitation of karstic waters causing land degradation and drop of water table. Additional example demonstrates how the former

  9. Evaluation of pond lands utilization and study of organic matter spatial distribution of Vanname shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei aquaculture in the coastal area of Lamongan Regency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Insani L.

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Coastal areas have a wide range of resources that can be utilized in multiple ways. Land utilization of coastal areas has been done for various interests, one of which is for shrimp aquaculture (farming. Continuous shrimp farming activities will lead to environmental degradation, characterized by decreased water quality. Besides, the area or spatial arrangement of shrimp aquaculture development that does not pay attention to the environmental carrying capacity due to improper management can cause environmental problems with all aspects of its complications in a long period of time, one of which is the problem emerging from shrimp farming with the use of intensive technology. Intensive shrimp farming can produce organic wastes, primarily from the residual feed, feces, and dissolved matters discharged into waters that significantly affect the quality of the coastal environment. This study aimed to determine the distribution pattern of organic matters resulted from Vanname shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei aquaculture in the coastal area of Lamongan Regency. This study was conducted from January to March 2018. The study used a descriptive method with Geographical Information System (GIS approach. The spatial distribution analysis of organic materials was carried out using geostatistical analysis, by interpolating point data into areas (polygons using IDW method. The interpolation results of each water quality of the ponds, river, and coastal waters were arranged in the form of thematic maps. The value pollution load index (PLI value of the shrimp farming activities was determined based on six main indicators, namely dissolved oxygen, BOD5, TOM, Ammonia, Nitrate, and Phosphate. Based on the results obtained, the highest spatial distribution value of organic matters was showed by the BOD parameter of 3.12 mg/l – 3.25 mg/l, included in the medium-polluted category. Meanwhile, the measurement result of the phosphate content as an indicator of water

  10. Associations between accelerated glacier mass wastage and increased summer temperature in coastal regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyurgerov, M.; McCabe, G.J.

    2006-01-01

    Low-elevation glaciers in coastal regions of Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, individual ice caps around the Greenland ice sheet, and the Patagonia Ice Fields have an aggregate glacier area of about 332 ?? 103 km 2 and account for approximately 42% of all the glacier area outside the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. They have shown volume loss, especially since the end of the 1980s, increasing from about 45% in the 1960s to nearly 67% in 2003 of the total wastage from all glaciers on Earth outside those two largest ice sheets. Thus, a disproportionally large contribution of coastal glacier ablation to sea level rise is evident. We examine cumulative standardized departures (1961-2000 reference period) of glacier mass balances and air temperature data in these four coastal regions. Analyses indicate a strong association between increases in glacier volume losses and summer air temperature at regional and global scales. Increases in glacier volume losses in the coastal regions also coincide with an accelerated rate of ice discharge from outlet glaciers draining the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets. These processes imply further increases in sea level rise. ?? 2006 Regents of the University of Colorado.

  11. Environmental setting and factors that affect water quality in the Georgia-Florida Coastal Plain study unit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berndt, M.P.; Oaksford, E.T.; Darst, M.R.; Marella, R.L.

    1996-01-01

    The Georgia-Florida Coastal Plain study unit covers an area of nearly 62,000 square miles in the southeastern United States, mostly in the Coastal Plain physiographic province. Land resource provinces have been designated based on generalized soil classifications. Land resource provinces in the study area include: the Coastal Flatwoods, the Southern Coastal Plain, the Central Florida Ridge, the Sand Hills, and the Southern Piedmont. The study area includes all or parts of seven hydrologic subregions: the Ogeechee-Savannah, the Altamaha- St.Marys, the Suwannee, the Ochlockonee, the St. Johns, the Peace-Tampa Bay, and the Southern Florida. The primary source of water for public supply in the study area is ground water from the Upper Floridan aquifer. In 1990, more than 90 percent of the 2,888 million gallons per day of ground water used came from this aquifer. The population of the study area was 9.3 million in 1990. The cities of Jacksonville, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, and Tampa, Florida, and parts of Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, are located in the study area. Forest and agricultural areas are the most common land uses in the study area, accounting for 48 percent and 25 percent of the study area, respectively. Climatic conditions range from temperate in Atlanta, Georgia, where mean annual temperature is about 61.3 degrees Fahrenheit, to subtropical in Tampa, Florida, where mean annual temperature is about 72.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Long-term average precipitation (1961-90) ranges from 43.9 inches per year in Tampa, Florida, and 44.6 in Macon, Georgia, to 65.7 inches per year in Tallahassee, Florida. Floods in the study area result from frontal systems, hurricanes, tropical storms, or severe thunderstorms. Droughts are not common in the study area,especially in the Florida part of the study area due to extensive maritime exposure. The primary physical and cultural characteristics in the study area include physiography, soils and land resource provinces

  12. Understanding human impacts to tropical coastal ecosystems through integrated hillslope erosion measurements, optical coastal waters characterization, watershed modeling, marine ecosystem assessments, and natural resource valuations in two constrasting watersheds in Puerto Rico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz-Zayas, J.; Melendez, J.; Barreto, M.; Santiago, L.; Torres-Perez, J. L.; Ramos-Scharron, C. E.; Figueroa, Y.; Setegn, S. G.; Guild, L. S.; Armstrong, R.

    2017-12-01

    Coastal ecosystems are an asset to many tropical island economies. In Puerto Rico, however, many invaluable coastal ecosystems are at risk due to multiple social and natural environmental stressors. To quantify the role of anthropogenic versus natural stressors, an integrated multidisciplinary approach was applied in two contrasting watersheds in Puerto Rico. The Rio Loco (RL) watershed in Southeastern Puerto Rico is hydrologically modified with interbasin water transfers, hydroelectric generation, and with water extraction for irrigation and water supply. Intensive agricultural production dominates both the lower and upper portions of the basin. In contrast, the Rio Grande de Manatí (RGM) shows a natural flow regime with minor flow regulation and limited agriculture. The Surface Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to each watershed to assess the effects of land use changes on water and sediment fluxes to coastal areas. From 1977 to 2016, forest areas increased in both watersheds due to the abandonment of farms in the mountains. However, in upper and lower RL, agricultural lands have remained active. Coffee plantations in the upper watershed contribute with high sediment loads, particularly in unpaved service roads. We hypothesize that water fluxes will be higher in the larger RGM than in RL. However, suspended sediment fluxes will be higher in the agriculturally active RL basin. A willingness-to-pay approach was applied to assess how residents from each watershed value water and coastal ecosystems revealing a general higher natural resources valuation in the RGM than in RL. Coastal ecosystems at each site revealed structural differences in benthic coral communities due to local currents influenced largely by coastal morphology. The optical properties of coastal waters are also being determined and linked to fluvial sediment fluxes. Stakeholder meetings are being held in each watershed to promote transfer of scientific insights into a sustainable coastal and

  13. Multi-hazards coastal vulnerability assessment of Goa, India, using geospatial techniques.

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Kunte, P.D.; Jauhari, N.; Mehrotra, U.; Kotha, M.; Hursthouse, A.S.; Gagnon, A.S.

    that are the most and least vulnerable to erosion, flooding and inundation of coastal lands, and that the inclusion of socio-economic parameters influences the overall assessment of vulnerability. This study provides information aimed at increasing awareness amongst...

  14. Modeled Sea Level Rise Impacts on Coastal Ecosystems at Six Major Estuaries on Florida’s Gulf Coast: Implications for Adaptation Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birch, Anne P.; Brenner, Jorge; Gordon, Doria R.

    2015-01-01

    The Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) was applied at six major estuaries along Florida’s Gulf Coast (Pensacola Bay, St. Andrews/Choctawhatchee Bays, Apalachicola Bay, Southern Big Bend, Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor) to provide quantitative and spatial information on how coastal ecosystems may change with sea level rise (SLR) and to identify how this information can be used to inform adaption planning. High resolution LiDAR-derived elevation data was utilized under three SLR scenarios: 0.7 m, 1 m and 2 m through the year 2100 and uncertainty analyses were conducted on selected input parameters at three sites. Results indicate that the extent, spatial orientation and relative composition of coastal ecosystems at the study areas may substantially change with SLR. Under the 1 m SLR scenario, total predicted impacts for all study areas indicate that coastal forest (-69,308 ha; -18%), undeveloped dry land (-28,444 ha; -2%) and tidal flat (-25,556 ha; -47%) will likely face the greatest loss in cover by the year 2100. The largest potential gains in cover were predicted for saltmarsh (+32,922 ha; +88%), transitional saltmarsh (+23,645 ha; na) and mangrove forest (+12,583 ha; +40%). The Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay study areas were predicted to experience the greatest net loss in coastal wetlands The uncertainty analyses revealed low to moderate changes in results when some numerical SLAMM input parameters were varied highlighting the value of collecting long-term sedimentation, accretion and erosion data to improve SLAMM precision. The changes predicted by SLAMM will affect exposure of adjacent human communities to coastal hazards and ecosystem functions potentially resulting in impacts to property values, infrastructure investment and insurance rates. The results and process presented here can be used as a guide for communities vulnerable to SLR to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies that slow and/or accommodate the changes underway. PMID:26207914

  15. Using Modified Remote Sensing Imagery to Interpret Changes in Cultivated Land under Saline-Alkali Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui Gao

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Managing the rapidly changing saline-alkali land under cultivation in the coastal areas of China is important not only for mitigating the negative impacts of such land on the environment, but also for ensuring long-term sustainability of agriculture. In this light, setting up rapid monitoring systems to assist decision-making in developing sustainable management plans is therefore an absolute necessity. In this study, we developed a new interpretation system where symbols are used to grade and classify saline-alkali lands in space and time, based on the characteristics of plant cover and features of remote sensing images. The system was used in combination with the maximum likelihood supervised classification to analyze the changes in cultivated lands under saline-alkali conditions in Huanghua City. The analysis revealed changes in the area and spatial distribution of cultivated under saline-alkali conditions in the region. The total area of saline-alkali land was 139,588.8 ha in 1992 and 134,477.5 ha in 2011. Compared with 1992, severely and moderately saline-alkali land areas decreased in 2011. However, non/slightly saline land areas increased over that in 1992. The results showed that the salinization rate of arable lands in Huanghua City decreased from 1992 to 2011. The moderately saline-alkali land southeast of the city transformed into non/slightly saline-alkaline. Then, severely saline-alkali land far from the coastal zone west of the city became moderately saline-alkaline. Spatial changes in cultivated saline-alkali lands in Huanghua City were such that the centers of gravity (CG of severely and non/slightly saline-alkali land moved closer the coastline, while that of the moderately saline-alkali land moved from southwest coastal line to northwest. Factors influencing changes in cultivated lands in the saline-alkali ecosystem included climate, hydrology and human activity. Thus, studies are required to further explore these factors in

  16. Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) for coastal California, 1995-2002-era land cover change analysis (NODC Accession 0038579)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains the 1995-era and 2002-era classifications of Coastal California and can be used to analyze change. This data set utilized 87 full or partial...

  17. Increased SST and Frequent Occurrence of Rough Sea Events in the Bay of Bengal: Implications for livelihoods of Coastal Populace in Bangladesh (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, A. U.

    2010-12-01

    safe cultivation’ opportunities since the 1960s. With the increased frequency of rough sea events and high energy wave interactions, combined with poor management of embankments, there have been repeated incidences of embankment failure, erosion and subsequent saline inundation. Such events generally wreck havoc in the affected areas, while crop lands suddenly become unsuitable for cropping, thereby devastating farming-based livelihoods. Climate change and sea level rise have already posed significant risks to coastal livelihoods in Bangladesh. Farming and capture fisheries are the two most dominant forms of livelihoods along the coastal zone. Both forms of livelihoods are now facing tremendous challenges. Due to successive crop loss and losses incurred from abandoned fishing trips, not only that people has become significantly indebted to local money-lenders, a social survey revealed that the poor in general are contemplating out migration to find alternative livelihoods in urban areas. Meanwhile the government has been investing large amounts to run social safety net programs. The economic and social toll of adapting to climate change is becoming much higher than estimated earlier.

  18. Coastal Carbon Dynamics as a New Chapter in SOCCR2: Tidal Wetlands and Estuaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Windham-Myers, L.; Megonigal, P.; Cai, W. J.; Hopkinson, C.; Wang, A. Z.; Andersson, A. J.; Hinson, A.; Lagomasino, D.; Peteet, D. M.; Giri, C. P.; Howard, J.; Tang, J.; Crosswell, J.; Martin Hernandez-Ayon, J. M.; Dunton, K. H.; Kroeger, K. D.; Paulsen, M. L.; Allison, M. A.; Siedlecki, S. A.; Alin, S. R.; Hu, X.; Tzortziou, M.; Najjar, R.; Schafer, K. V.; Watson, E.; Pidgeon, E.

    2016-12-01

    Estuaries and tidal wetlands have been identified as distinct landscape elements for carbon cycling, worthy of a chapter in the pending State of the Carbon Cycle Report - version 2. Despite relatively small aerial coverage compared to other subsystems, tidal wetlands and estuaries have the greatest influence on carbon dynamics of any coastal ocean subsystem. As conduits that filter all material passing between land and the sea, they also exhibit the highest transfer rates of CO2 with the atmosphere of any of the coastal ocean subsystems. Carbon dynamics in estuaries and wetlands are constantly changing, reflecting geomorphic and ecological responses to long and short-term perturbations in external drivers such as sea-level rise, climate change, nutrient loading and land-use change. The influence of these drivers are profound in coastal systems, often more so than in inland wetlands or open ocean environments, and thus require distinct attention to patterns and processes associated with coastal ecosystem functioning, including carbon sequestration services in tidal wetland soils. This new chapter focusses on data sources available in North America to: (1) assess the current state of carbon stocks and fluxes in coastal settings, (2) document understanding of drivers associated with significant fluxes and stocks, and (3) synthesize carbon dynamics from a global context to regional perspectives (East, West, Gulf and high-latitude coastlines). Insights from remote sensing, in situ field data, and numerical models have advanced our ability to monitor and project carbon cycling in this dynamic and narrow fringe at the land-ocean interface. This synthetic chapter will address how these advances can help in decision making, as well as address remaining gaps in our knowledge and monitoring capabilities for these diverse and productive habitats.

  19. Estimating Global “Blue Carbon” Emissions from Conversion and Degradation of Vegetated Coastal Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Brian C.; Crooks, Stephen; Jenkins, W. Aaron; Sifleet, Samantha; Craft, Christopher; Fourqurean, James W.; Kauffman, J. Boone; Marbà, Núria; Megonigal, Patrick; Pidgeon, Emily; Herr, Dorothee; Gordon, David; Baldera, Alexis

    2012-01-01

    Recent attention has focused on the high rates of annual carbon sequestration in vegetated coastal ecosystems—marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses—that may be lost with habitat destruction (‘conversion’). Relatively unappreciated, however, is that conversion of these coastal ecosystems also impacts very large pools of previously-sequestered carbon. Residing mostly in sediments, this ‘blue carbon’ can be released to the atmosphere when these ecosystems are converted or degraded. Here we provide the first global estimates of this impact and evaluate its economic implications. Combining the best available data on global area, land-use conversion rates, and near-surface carbon stocks in each of the three ecosystems, using an uncertainty-propagation approach, we estimate that 0.15–1.02 Pg (billion tons) of carbon dioxide are being released annually, several times higher than previous estimates that account only for lost sequestration. These emissions are equivalent to 3–19% of those from deforestation globally, and result in economic damages of $US 6–42 billion annually. The largest sources of uncertainty in these estimates stems from limited certitude in global area and rates of land-use conversion, but research is also needed on the fates of ecosystem carbon upon conversion. Currently, carbon emissions from the conversion of vegetated coastal ecosystems are not included in emissions accounting or carbon market protocols, but this analysis suggests they may be disproportionally important to both. Although the relevant science supporting these initial estimates will need to be refined in coming years, it is clear that policies encouraging the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems could significantly reduce carbon emissions from the land-use sector, in addition to sustaining the well-recognized ecosystem services of coastal habitats. PMID:22962585

  20. Geomorphic Regionalization of Coastal Zone Using Geospatial Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manoranjan Mishra

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The world coastal environment is made of diversified landforms and are also potentially vulnerable to climate variability, delta sinking, extreme events and anthropogenic interferences. Sustainable management of coastal resources and transforming quality ecosystem services to future generation are the goals of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM. Geographical homogenous unit are the basic implementation locus and back bone of these kinds of integrated management strategy and activities. However, coastal zone management projects in developing world using use arbitrary land-ward and sea-ward boundaries from physical reference as unit of management. The oversimplified fixed distance approaches are not able to map the spatial and temporal changes in coastal systems. The spatio-temporal variations of coastal systems are configured in geomorphic landforms and further that work on interaction between natural forces and anthropogenic inputs. The present research work is an attempt to present a simplified method of regionalization geomorphic landforms using geospatial platforms for delineating Orissa coast into smaller homogenous geographic unit as reference point for future management. Geomorphic landforms are reconstructed using Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+ imagery, Survey of India topomaps, field survey and Digital Elevation Model data at geographic information system (GIS plat form. Seventy geomorphic features covering an area of 5033.64 km2 were identified and further, regionalized into five homogenous geographic units. The need of time is to recognize unsustainable coastal systems in these homogenous geographic units by fine tuning development parameters and also same time allowing coastal systems to adapt naturally to any kind of variability. Although, the methodology applied to Orissa for delineation homogenous geographic area but it can be replicated to any coast in world.

  1. Jiangsu coastal highland reclamation and its wetland ecological construction-a case analysis of the Tiaozini reclamation project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Meixiu; Xu, Xianghong

    2017-04-01

    Reclamation is one potential solution for the increasing demand of new land for living and development. In past centuries, many coastal countries, such as the Netherlands, UK, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, had exploited extensively sea enclosing and reclamation fordefense against storm surges,agricultural and industrial development, as well as for coastal city expansion along the coast. China has continuously reclaimed coastal sea areas from the 1950s. With rapid economic development and increasing population in coastal areas during recent decades, reclamation has been regarded as an effective measure to resolve the land shortage as cities and industries expand, particularly in South-East coastal areas. Jiangsu province, located in East China, has a similar amount of land territory area to the Netherlands, however, its population is almost fivefold instead. Since its coastal area generates large amounts of tidal flat resources due to its unique hydrodynamic and geomorphic conditions, coastal reclamation plays a vital role in guaranteeing the food security for the Jiangsu Province or even the whole nation. The Tiaozini Reclamation Project (TRP), located between N32.720°-32.882°, E120.894°-120.969°, in Jianggang county of Jiangsu coastal region, with an area of 6,746ha, was reclaimed along the prograding muddy silt coast in 2012. It should be noted that the TRP was reclaimed from theoretical bathymetrical datum of about 4.6m. It is estimated that the shoreline moves towards the sea at a rate of 100m/year and the tidal flat raises at a rate of 5 10 cm/year respectively because of the external tidal flat being continually prograding and drying. After finishing reclamation,the TRP develops with nature: for the dried tidal flat high land,developing ecological agriculture after integrated soil improvement with reducing salt and cultivating fertilizer; for the drying tidal flat,developing ecological fishery by inceasing artificial wetland area; for lower tidal flat

  2. Future export of particulate and dissolved organic carbon from land to coastal zones of the Baltic Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strååt, Kim Dahlgren; Mörth, Carl-Magnus; Undeman, Emma

    2018-01-01

    The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed brackish sea in Northern Europe with a drainage basin four times larger than the sea itself. Riverine organic carbon (Particulate Organic Carbon, POC and Dissolved Organic Carbon, DOC) dominates carbon input to the Baltic Sea and influences both land-to-sea transport of nutrients and contaminants, and hence the functioning of the coastal ecosystem. The potential impact of future climate change on loads of POC and DOC in the Baltic Sea drainage basin (BSDB) was assessed using a hydrological-biogeochemical model (CSIM). The changes in annual and seasonal concentrations and loads of both POC and DOC by the end of this century were predicted using three climate change scenarios and compared to the current state. In all scenarios, overall increasing DOC loads, but unchanged POC loads, were projected in the north. In the southern part of the BSDB, predicted DOC loads were not significantly changing over time, although POC loads decreased in all scenarios. The magnitude and significance of the trends varied with scenario but the sign (+ or -) of the projected trends for the entire simulation period never conflicted. Results were discussed in detail for the "middle" CO2 emission scenario (business as usual, a1b). On an annual and entire drainage basin scale, the total POC load was projected to decrease by ca 7% under this scenario, mainly due to reduced riverine primary production in the southern parts of the BSDB. The average total DOC load was not predicted to change significantly between years 2010 and 2100 due to counteracting decreasing and increasing trends of DOC loads to the six major sub-basins in the Baltic Sea. However, predicted seasonal total loads of POC and DOC increased significantly by ca 46% and 30% in winter and decreased by 8% and 21% in summer over time, respectively. For POC the change in winter loads was a consequence of increasing soil erosion and a shift in duration of snowfall and onset of the spring flood

  3. Coastal Thematic Exploitation Platform (C-TEP): An innovative and collaborative platform to facilitate Big Data coastal research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuohy, Eimear; Clerc, Sebastien; Politi, Eirini; Mangin, Antoine; Datcu, Mihai; Vignudelli, Stefano; Illuzzi, Diomede; Craciunescu, Vasile; Aspetsberger, Michael

    2017-04-01

    indicators (water quality, water level, vegetation stress) from Near Real Time data. To demonstrate the benefits of C-TEP, three pilot cases have been implemented, each addressing specific, and highly topical, coastal research needs. These applications include change detection in land and seabed cover, water quality monitoring and reporting, and a coastal altimetry processor. The pilot cases demonstrate the wide scope of C-TEP and how it may contribute to European projects and international coastal networks. In conclusion, CTEP aims to provide new services and tools which will revolutionise accessibility to EO datasets, support a multi-disciplinary research collaboration, and the provision of long-term data series and innovative services for the monitoring of coastal regions.

  4. Mapping and quantifying geodiversity in land-water transition zones using MBES and topobathymetric LiDAR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandbyge Ernstsen, Verner; Skovgaard Andersen, Mikkel; Gergely, Aron; Schulze Tenberge, Yvonne; Al-Hamdani, Zyad; Steinbacher, Frank; Rolighed Larsen, Laurids; Winter, Christian; Bartholomä, Alexander

    2016-04-01

    Land-water transition zones, like e.g. coastal and fluvial environments, are valuable ecosystems which are often characterised by high biodiversity and geodiversity. However, often these land-water transition zones are difficult or even impossible to map and investigate in high spatial resolution due to the challenging environmental conditions. Combining vessel borne shallow water multibeam echosounder (MBES) surveys ,to cover the subtidal coastal areas and the river channel areas, with airborne topobathymetric light detection and ranging (LiDAR) surveys, to cover the intertidal and supratidal coastal areas and the river floodplain areas, potentially enables full-coverage and high-resolution mapping in these challenging environments. We have carried out MBES and topobathymetric LiDAR surveys in the Knudedyb tidal inlet system, a coastal environment in the Danish Wadden Sea which is part of the Wadden Sea National Park and UNESCO World Heritage, and in the Ribe Vesterå, a fluvial environment in the Ribe Å river catchment discharging into the Knudedyb tidal basin. Detailed digital elevation models (DEMs) with a grid cell size of 0.5 m x 0.5 m were generated from the MBES and the LiDAR point clouds, which both have point densities in the order of 20 points/m2. Morphometric analyses of the DEMs enabled the identification and mapping of the different landforms within the coastal and fluvial environments. Hereby, we demonstrate that vessel borne MBES and airborne topobathymetric LiDAR, here in combination, are promising tools for seamless mapping across land-water transition zones as well as for the quantification of a range of landforms at landscape scale in different land-water transition zone environments. Hence, we demonstrate the potential for mapping and quantifying geomorphological diversity, which is one of the main components of geodiversity and a prerequisite for assessing geoheritage. Acknowledgements This work was funded by the Danish Council for

  5. The USGS role in mapping the nation's submerged lands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwab, Bill; Haines, John

    2004-01-01

    The seabed provides habitat for a diverse marine life having commercial, recreational, and intrinsic value. The habitat value of the seabed is largely a function of the geological structure and related geological, biological, oceanologic, and geochemical processes. Of equal importance, the nation's submerged lands contain energy and mineral resources and are utilized for the siting of offshore infrastructure and waste disposal. Seabed character and processes influence the safety and viability of offshore operations. Seabed and subseabed characterization is a prerequisite for the assessment, protection, and utilization of both living and non-living marine resources. A comprehensive program to characterize and understand the nation's submerged lands requires scientific expertise in the fields of geology, biology, hydrography, and oceanography. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has long experience as the Federal agency charged with conducting geologic research and mapping in both coastal and offshore regions. The USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) leads the nation in expertise related to characterization of seabed and subseabed geology, geological processes, seabed dynamics, and (in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and international partners) habitat geoscience. Numerous USGS studies show that sea-floor geology and processes determine the character and distribution of biological habitats, control coastal evolution, influence the coastal response to storm events and human alterations, and determine the occurrence and concentration of natural resources.

  6. Eco-morphological Real-time Forecasting tool to predict hydrodynamic, sediment and nutrient dynamic in Coastal Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messina, F.; Meselhe, E. A.; Buckman, L.; Twight, D.

    2017-12-01

    Louisiana coastal zone is one of the most productive and dynamic eco-geomorphic systems in the world. This unique natural environment has been alternated by human activities and natural processes such as sea level rise, subsidence, dredging of canals for oil and gas production, the Mississippi River levees which don't allow the natural river sediment. As a result of these alterations land loss, erosion and flood risk are becoming real issues for Louisiana. Costal authorities have been studying the benefits and effects of several restoration projects, e.g. freshwater and sediment diversions. The protection of communities, wildlife and of the unique environments is a high priority in this region. The Water Institute of the Gulf, together with Deltares, has developed a forecasting and information system for a pilot location in Coastal Louisiana, specifically for Barataria Bay and Breton Sound Basins in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. The system provides a 7-day forecast of water level, salinity, and temperature, under atmospheric and coastal forecasted conditions, such as freshwater riverine inflow, rainfall, evaporation, wind, and tide. The system also forecasts nutrient distribution (e.g., Chla and dissolved oxygen) and sediment transport. The Flood Early Warning System FEWS is used as a platform to import multivariate data from several sources, use them to monitor the pilot location and to provide boundary conditions to the model. A hindcast model is applied to compare the model results to the observed data, and to provide the initial condition to the forecast model. This system represents a unique tool which provides valuable information regarding the overall conditions of the basins. It offers the opportunity to adaptively manage existing and planned diversions to meet certain salinity and water level targets or thresholds while maximizing land-building goals. Moreover, water quality predictions provide valuable information on the current ecological

  7. Planting Jatropha curcas on Constrained Land: Emission and Effects from Land Use Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Firdaus, M. S.; Husni, M. H. A.

    2012-01-01

    A study was carried out to assess carbon emission and carbon loss caused from land use change (LUC) of converting a wasteland into a Jatropha curcas plantation. The study was conducted for 12 months at a newly established Jatropha curcas plantation in Port Dickson, Malaysia. Assessments of soil carbon dioxide (CO2) flux, changes of soil total carbon and plant biomass loss and growth were made on the wasteland and on the established plantation to determine the effects of land preparation (i.e., tilling) and removal of the wasteland's native vegetation. Overall soil CO2 flux showed no significant difference (P Jatropha curcas to recover the biomass carbon stock lost during land conversion. As far as the present study is concerned, converting wasteland to Jatropha curcas showed no adverse effects on the loss of carbon from soil and biomass and did not exacerbate soil respiration. PMID:22545018

  8. Mechanisms and ecological role of carbon transfer within coastal seascapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyndes, Glenn A; Nagelkerken, Ivan; McLeod, Rebecca J; Connolly, Rod M; Lavery, Paul S; Vanderklift, Mathew A

    2014-02-01

    Worldwide, coastal systems provide some of the most productive habitats, which potentially influence a range of marine and terrestrial ecosystems through the transfer of nutrients and energy. Several reviews have examined aspects of connectivity within coastal seascapes, but the scope of those reviews has been limited to single systems or single vectors. We use the transfer of carbon to examine the processes of connectivity through multiple vectors in multiple ecosystems using four coastal seascapes as case studies. We discuss and compare the main vectors of carbon connecting different ecosystems, and then the natural and human-induced factors that influence the magnitude of effect for those vectors on recipient systems. Vectors of carbon transfer can be grouped into two main categories: detrital particulate organic carbon (POC) and its associated dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (DOC/DIC) that are transported passively; and mobile consumers that transport carbon actively. High proportions of net primary production can be exported over meters to hundreds of kilometers from seagrass beds, algal reefs and mangroves as POC, with its export dependent on wind-generated currents in the first two of these systems and tidal currents for the last. By contrast, saltmarshes export large quantities of DOC through tidal movement, while land run-off plays a critical role in the transport of terrestrial POC and DOC into temperate fjords. Nekton actively transfers carbon across ecosystem boundaries through foraging movements, ontogenetic migrations, or 'trophic relays', into and out of seagrass beds, mangroves or saltmarshes. The magnitude of these vectors is influenced by: the hydrodynamics and geomorphology of the region; the characteristics of the carbon vector, such as their particle size and buoyancy; and for nekton, the extent and frequency of migrations between ecosystems. Through a risk-assessment process, we have identified the most significant human disturbances

  9. Dynamics of sylvatic Chagas disease vectors in coastal Ecuador is driven by changes in land cover.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario J Grijalva

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Chagas disease is a serious public health problem in Latin America where about ten million individuals show Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Despite significant success in controlling domiciliated triatomines, sylvatic populations frequently infest houses after insecticide treatment which hampers long term control prospects in vast geographical areas where vectorial transmission is endemic. As a key issue, the spatio-temporal dynamics of sylvatic populations is likely influenced by landscape yet evidence showing this effect is rare. The aim of this work is to examine the role of land cover changes in sylvatic triatomine ecology, based on an exhaustive field survey of pathogens, vectors, hosts, and microhabitat characteristics' dynamics.The study was performed in agricultural landscapes of coastal Ecuador as a study model. Over one year, a spatially-randomized sampling design (490 collection points allowed quantifying triatomine densities in natural, cultivated and domestic habitats. We also assessed infection of the bugs with trypanosomes, documented their microhabitats and potential hosts, and recorded changes in landscape characteristics. In total we collected 886 individuals, mainly represented by nymphal stages of one triatomine species Rhodnius ecuadoriensis. As main results, we found that 1 sylvatic triatomines had very high T. cruzi infection rates (71% and 2 densities of T. cruzi-infected sylvatic triatomines varied predictably over time due to changes in land cover and occurrence of associated rodent hosts.We propose a framework for identifying the factors affecting the yearly distribution of sylvatic T. cruzi vectors. Beyond providing key basic information for the control of human habitat colonization by sylvatic vector populations, our framework highlights the importance of both environmental and sociological factors in shaping the spatio-temporal population dynamics of triatomines. A better understanding of the dynamics of such socio

  10. On the formation of coastal polynyas in the area of Commonwealth Bay, Eastern Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wendler, Gerd; Gilmore, Dan; Curtis, Jan

    Antarctica's King George V Land and Adélie Land were first explored by Sir Douglas Mawson and his party during their 1911-1913 expedition. They were astounded by the strength of the katabatic wind, which is so dominant in this area. These strong offshore winds can move the sea ice away from shore, forming coastal polynya, not only in summer but even in midwinter. Poor visibility due to darkness and frequently occurring blowing snow make the study of these polynyas from land-based observations difficult. Recently, coverage of this area by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery, which has a high resolution of 40 m (pixel size 12.5 m), gave additional insight into the characteristics of these polynyas. This high resolution is needed because the width of the polynya is small (10 km or so). Furthermore, of special importance is the fact that SAR data can be obtained during darkness and overcast conditions. Following original Russian work, we modified a simple model for wind-driven coastal polynyas, using actual meteorological data from our coastal automatic weather stations as input. Using mean monthly data for the stations, we show that coastal polynyas are to be expected in the windiest area (Cape Denison-Port Martin); while to the west (Dumont d'Urville) and east (Penguin Point), the average conditions do not produce them. Here, they occur only during strong and long-lasting storms. Our observational data of the polynyas as viewed from SAR and advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) confirm these findings.

  11. Impact of Biomass Burning Aerosols on Cloud Formation in Coastal Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, U. S.; Wu, Y.; Reid, J. S.

    2017-12-01

    In the tropics, shallow and deep convective cloud structures organize in hierarchy of spatial scales ranging from meso-gamma (2-20 km) to planetary scales (40,000km). At the lower end of the spectrum is shallow convection over the open ocean, whose upscale growth is dependent upon mesoscale convergence triggers. In this context, cloud systems associated with land breezes that propagate long distances into open ocean areas are important. We utilized numerical model simulations to examine the impact of biomass burning on such cloud systems in the maritime continent, specifically along the coastal regions of Sarawak. Numerical model simulations conducted using the Weather Research and Forecasting Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model show spatial patterns of smoke that show good agreement to satellite observations. Analysis of model simulations show that, during daytime the horizontal convective rolls (HCRs) that form over land play an important role in organizing transport of smoke in the coastal regions. Alternating patterns of low and high smoke concentrations that are well correlated to the wavelengths of HCRs are found in both the simulations and satellite observations. During night time, smoke transport is modulated by the land breeze circulation and a band of enhanced smoke concentration is found along the land breeze front. Biomass burning aerosols are ingested by the convective clouds that form along the land breeze and leads to changes in total water path, cloud structure and precipitation formation.

  12. Emerging methods for the study of coastal ecosystem landscape structure and change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brock, John C.; Danielson, Jeffrey J.; Purkis, Sam

    2013-01-01

    Coastal landscapes are heterogeneous, dynamic, and evolve over a range of time scales due to intertwined climatic, geologic, hydrologic, biologic, and meteorological processes, and are also heavily impacted by human development, commercial activities, and resource extraction. A diversity of complex coastal systems around the globe, spanning glaciated shorelines to tropical atolls, wetlands, and barrier islands are responding to multiple human and natural drivers. Interdisciplinary research based on remote-sensing observations linked to process studies and models is required to understand coastal ecosystem landscape structure and change. Moreover, new techniques for coastal mapping and monitoring are increasingly serving the needs of policy-makers and resource managers across local, regional, and national scales. Emerging remote-sensing methods associated with a diversity of instruments and platforms are a key enabling element of integrated coastal ecosystem studies. These investigations require both targeted and synoptic mapping, and involve the monitoring of formative processes such as hydrodynamics, sediment transport, erosion, accretion, flooding, habitat modification, land-cover change, and biogeochemical fluxes.

  13. Diurnal variability of CO2 flux at coastal zone of Taiwan based on eddy covariance observation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chien, Hwa; Zhong, Yao-Zhao; Yang, Kang-Hung; Cheng, Hao-Yuan

    2018-06-01

    In this study, we employed shore-based eddy covariance systems for a continuous measurement of the coastal CO2 flux near the northwestern coast of Taiwan from 2011 to 2015. To ensure the validity of the analysis, the data was selected and filtered with a footprint model and an empirical mode decomposition method. The results indicate that the nearshore air-sea and air-land CO2 fluxes exhibited a significant diurnal variability and a substantial day-night difference. The net air-sea CO2 flux was -1.75 ± 0.98 μmol-C m-2 s-1, whereas the net air-land CO2 flux was 0.54 ± 7.35 μmol-C m-2 s-1, which indicated that in northwestern Taiwan, the coastal water acts as a sink of atmospheric CO2 but the coastal land acts as a source. The Random Forest Method was applied to hierarchize the influence of Chl-a, SST, DO, pH and U10 on air-sea CO2 fluxes. The result suggests that the strength of the diurnal air-sea CO2 flux is strongly influenced by the local wind speed.

  14. Decision Support Model for Optimal Management of Coastal Gate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ditthakit, Pakorn; Chittaladakorn, Suwatana

    2010-05-01

    The coastal areas are intensely settled by human beings owing to their fertility of natural resources. However, at present those areas are facing with water scarcity problems: inadequate water and poor water quality as a result of saltwater intrusion and inappropriate land-use management. To solve these problems, several measures have been exploited. The coastal gate construction is a structural measure widely performed in several countries. This manner requires the plan for suitably operating coastal gates. Coastal gate operation is a complicated task and usually concerns with the management of multiple purposes, which are generally conflicted one another. This paper delineates the methodology and used theories for developing decision support modeling for coastal gate operation scheduling. The developed model was based on coupling simulation and optimization model. The weighting optimization technique based on Differential Evolution (DE) was selected herein for solving multiple objective problems. The hydrodynamic and water quality models were repeatedly invoked during searching the optimal gate operations. In addition, two forecasting models:- Auto Regressive model (AR model) and Harmonic Analysis model (HA model) were applied for forecasting water levels and tide levels, respectively. To demonstrate the applicability of the developed model, it was applied to plan the operations for hypothetical system of Pak Phanang coastal gate system, located in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern part of Thailand. It was found that the proposed model could satisfyingly assist decision-makers for operating coastal gates under various environmental, ecological and hydraulic conditions.

  15. Effects of land use change on streamflow and stream water quality of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study aimed to link land cover/use change to water quality in an important water supply coastal catchment. The approach followed a spatial and temporal analysis of historical catchment land use change to assess how changes influenced water quality and river flow in the Touws and Duiwe Rivers, southwestern Cape, ...

  16. APPLICATION OF SOIL LOSS SCENARIOS USING THE ROMSEM MODEL DEPENDING ON MAXIMUM LAND USE PRETABILITY CLASSES. A CASE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SANDA ROȘCA

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Application of Soil Loss Scenarios Using the ROMSEM Model Depending on Maximum Land Use Pretability Classes. A Case Study. Practicing a modern agriculture that takes into consideration the favourability conditions and the natural resources of a territory represents one of the main national objectives. Due to the importance of the agricultural land, which prevails among the land use types from the Niraj river basin, as well as the pedological and geomorphological characteristics, different areas where soil erosion is above the accepted thresholds were identified by applying the ROMSEM model. In order to do so, a GIS database was used, regrouping quantitative information regarding soil type, land use, climate and hydrogeology, used as indicators in the model. Estimations for the potential soil erosion have been made on the entire basin as well as on its subbasins. The essential role played by the morphometrical characteristics has also been highlighted (concavity, convexity, slope length etc.. Taking into account the strong agricultural characteristic of the analysed territory, the scoring method was employed for the identification of crop favourability in the case of wheat, barley, corn, sunflower, sugar beet, potato, soy and pea-bean. The results have been used as input data for the C coefficient (crop/vegetation and management factor in the ROMSEM model that was applied for the present land use conditions, as well as for other four scenarios depicting the land use types with maximum favourability. The theoretical, modelled values of the soil erosion were obtained dependent on land use, while the other variables of the model were kept constant.

  17. Validating the use of 137Cs and 210Pbex measurements to estimate rates of soil loss from cultivated land in southern Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porto, Paolo; Walling, Des E

    2012-04-01

    Soil erosion represents an important threat to the long-term sustainability of agriculture and forestry in many areas of the world, including southern Italy. Numerous models and prediction procedures have been developed to estimate rates of soil loss and soil redistribution, based on the local topography, hydrometeorology, soil type and land management. However, there remains an important need for empirical measurements to provide a basis for validating and calibrating such models and prediction procedures as well as to support specific investigations and experiments. In this context, erosion plots provide useful information on gross rates of soil loss, but are unable to document the efficiency of the onward transfer of the eroded sediment within a field and towards the stream system, and thus net rates of soil loss from larger areas. The use of environmental radionuclides, particularly caesium-137 ((137)Cs) and excess lead-210 ((210)Pb(ex)), as a means of estimating rates of soil erosion and deposition has attracted increasing attention in recent years and the approach has now been recognised as possessing several important advantages. In order to provide further confirmation of the validity of the estimates of longer-term erosion and soil redistribution rates provided by (137)Cs and (210)Pb(ex) measurements, there is a need for studies aimed explicitly at validating the results obtained. In this context, the authors directed attention to the potential offered by a set of small erosion plots located near Reggio Calabria in southern Italy, for validating estimates of soil loss provided by (137)Cs and (210)Pb(ex) measurements. A preliminary assessment suggested that, notwithstanding the limitations and constraints involved, a worthwhile investigation aimed at validating the use of (137)Cs and (210)Pb(ex) measurements to estimate rates of soil loss from cultivated land could be undertaken. The results demonstrate a close consistency between the measured rates of soil

  18. METHODOLOGICAL BASIS IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS IN LAND USE, BURDENED LAND RIGHTS DURING LAND TENURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorosh J.

    2016-05-01

    of territorial restrictions in land use, formed on the principles of state security, a combination of state and local interests, to achieve a balanced ratio of economic and environmental interests of society and to ensure rational land use. Information on restrictions on land use rights and encumbrances on the land, was amended land systematized: • formation of land use and protection zones of objects and territories nature reserve fund objects Environmental Network; • definition (specification of borders of natural and agricultural zoning and parcels with especially valuable land; • definition (specification of land borders and security zones and areas of historical, cultural, health and recreational purposes; • definition (specification of land borders and security zones, objects (industry, transport, communications, defense, etc. and their protection zones; • definition (specification of limits of water protection zones and coastal strips, objects of sanitary protection; • definition (specification of limits of radioactive contaminated territories, and contaminated by heavy metals; • definition (specification limits encumbrances established easements, contracts, court order; • definition (specification limits areas formed in accordance with the previously approved land management documentation; • definition (specification boundaries of territories with special regime of land use; • definition (approval of the legal regime of land use in areas of special protection of land and formation of restrictions and encumbrances in land use.

  19. MONITORING CONCEPTS FOR COASTAL AREAS USING LIDAR DATA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Schmidt

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Coastal areas are characterized by high spatial and temporal variability. In order to detect undesired changes at early stages, enabling rapid countermeasures to mitigate or minimize potential harm or hazard, a recurrent monitoring becomes necessary. In this paper, we focus on two monitoring task: the analysis of morphological changes and the classification and mapping of habitats. Our concepts are solely based on airborne lidar data which provide substantial information in coastal areas. For the first task, we generate a digital terrain model (DTM from the lidar point cloud and analyse the dynamic of an island by comparing the DTMs of different epochs with a time difference of six years. For the deeper understanding of the habitat composition in coastal areas, we classify the lidar point cloud by a supervised approach based on Conditional Random Fields. From the classified point cloud, water-land-boundaries as well as mussel bed objects are derived afterwards. We evaluate our approaches on two datasets of the German Wadden Sea.

  20. Mapping of coastal landforms and volumetric change analysis in the south west coast of Kanyakumari, South India using remote sensing and GIS techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Kaliraj

    2017-12-01

    of sediment load estimated based on DoD model depict a loss of 241.69 m3/km2 for 62.82 km2 of the area and land gain of 6.96 m3/km2 for 202.80 km2 of the area during 2000–2011. However, an area of 26.38 km2 unchanged by maintaining equilibrium in sediment budgeting along the coastal stretch. The study apart from providing insight into the decadal change of coastal settings also supplements a database on the vulnerability of the coast, which would help the coastal managers in future.

  1. Coastal High-resolution Observations and Remote Sensing of Ecosystems (C-HORSE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guild, Liane

    2016-01-01

    Coastal benthic marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, and kelp forests are highly productive as well as ecologically and commercially important resources. These systems are vulnerable to degraded water quality due to coastal development, terrestrial run-off, and harmful algal blooms. Measurements of these features are important for understanding linkages with land-based sources of pollution and impacts to coastal ecosystems. Challenges for accurate remote sensing of coastal benthic (shallow water) ecosystems and water quality are complicated by atmospheric scattering/absorption (approximately 80+% of the signal), sun glint from the sea surface, and water column scattering (e.g., turbidity). Further, sensor challenges related to signal to noise (SNR) over optically dark targets as well as insufficient radiometric calibration thwart the value of coastal remotely-sensed data. Atmospheric correction of satellite and airborne remotely-sensed radiance data is crucial for deriving accurate water-leaving radiance in coastal waters. C-HORSE seeks to optimize coastal remote sensing measurements by using a novel airborne instrument suite that will bridge calibration, validation, and research capabilities of bio-optical measurements from the sea to the high altitude remote sensing platform. The primary goal of C-HORSE is to facilitate enhanced optical observations of coastal ecosystems using state of the art portable microradiometers with 19 targeted spectral channels and flight planning to optimize measurements further supporting current and future remote sensing missions.

  2. Coastal Morphology and Coastal Protection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van de Graaff, J.

    2009-01-01

    Lecture notes ct5309. Tides, currents and water; coastal problems; sediment transport processes; coastal transport modes; longshore transport; cross-shore transport; fundamentals of mud; channels and trenches; coastal protection; application of structures; application of nourishments.

  3. Inferring coastal processes from regional-scale mapping of 222Radon and salinity: examples from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stieglitz, Thomas C.; Cook, Peter G.; Burnett, William C.

    2010-01-01

    The radon isotope 222 Rn and salinity in coastal surface water were mapped on regional scales, to improve the understanding of coastal processes and their spatial variability. Radon was measured with a surface-towed, continuously recording multi-detector setup on a moving vessel. Numerous processes and locations of land-ocean interaction along the Central Great Barrier Reef coastline were identified and interpreted based on the data collected. These included riverine fluxes, terrestrially-derived fresh submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and the tidal pumping of seawater through mangrove forests. Based on variations in the relationship of the tracers radon and salinity, some aspects of regional freshwater inputs to the coastal zone and to estuaries could be assessed. Concurrent mapping of radon and salinity allowed an efficient qualitative assessment of land-ocean interaction on various spatial and temporal scales, indicating that such surveys on coastal scales can be a useful tool to obtain an overview of SGD locations and processes.

  4. Ice core melt features in relation to Antarctic coastal climate

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaczmarska, M.; Isaksson, E.; Karlöf, L.; Brandt, O.; Winther, J.G.; van de Wal, R.S.W.; van den Broeke, M.R.; Johnsen, S.J.

    2006-01-01

    Measurement of light intensity transmission was carried out on an ice core S100 from coastal Dronning Maud Land (DML). Ice lenses were observed in digital pictures of the core and recorded as peaks in the light transmittance record. The frequency of ice layer occurrence was compared with climate

  5. Effect of Construction Land Expansion on Energy-Related Carbon Emissions: Empirical Analysis of China and Its Provinces from 2001 to 2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuankai Deng

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Construction land expansion significantly affects energy-related carbon emissions. This paper analyzed the effect of construction land expansion on energy-related carbon emissions in China and its provinces from 2001 to 2011 by using the logarithmic mean Divisia index method. We divided the study into two intervals (2001–2006 and 2006–2011 and categorized the 30 provinces of China into eight zones. Results indicated that construction land expansion exerted the second largest positive effect on carbon emission growth in China and in the 30 provinces from 2001 to 2011. The north, east, and south coastal regions as well as the middle Yellow River region, were the highly affected regions in the same period. Between the two study intervals, the effect of construction land expansion on carbon emissions decreased in China and in the coastal regions, but increased in inland regions. The Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Yunnan, Chongqing, Ningxia, and Xinjiang provinces, which are concentrated in the north, east, and south coastal regions, were selected for the reduction of carbon emissions by controlling construction land expansion.

  6. Water pollution in estuaries and coastal zones. (Latest citations from the NTIS bibliographic database). Published Search

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-02-01

    The bibliography contains citations concerning the studies of water pollution in estuaries and coastal zones. Citations examine the development, management, and protection of estuary and coastal resources. Topics include pollution sources, environmental monitoring, water chemistry, eutrophication, models, land use, government policy, and laws and regulations. (Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.) (Copyright NERAC, Inc. 1995)

  7. Multi-scale trends analysis of landscape stressors in an urbanizing coastal watershed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthropogenic land based stressors within a watershed can deliver major impacts to downstream and adjacent coastal waterways affecting water quality and estuarine habitats. Our research focused on a subset of non-point sources of watershed stressors specifically, human population...

  8. Climate Risk and Vulnerability in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico Region: Interactions with Spatial Population and Land Cover Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, R. S.; Levy, M.; Baptista, S.; Adamo, S.

    2010-12-01

    Vulnerability to climate variability and change will depend on dynamic interactions between different aspects of climate, land-use change, and socioeconomic trends. Measurements and projections of these changes are difficult at the local scale but necessary for effective planning. New data sources and methods make it possible to assess land-use and socioeconomic changes that may affect future patterns of climate vulnerability. In this paper we report on new time series data sets that reveal trends in the spatial patterns of climate vulnerability in the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico Region. Specifically, we examine spatial time series data for human population over the period 1990-2000, time series data on land use and land cover over 2000-2009, and infant mortality rates as a proxy for poverty for 2000-2008. We compare the spatial trends for these measures to the distribution of climate-related natural disaster risk hotspots (cyclones, floods, landslides, and droughts) in terms of frequency, mortality, and economic losses. We use these data to identify areas where climate vulnerability appears to be increasing and where it may be decreasing. Regions where trends and patterns are especially worrisome include coastal areas of Guatemala and Honduras.

  9. C-CAP Kahoolawe 2005 era High Resolution Land Cover Metadata

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to determine...

  10. Beyond the Floodplain: Drivers of Flood Risk in Coastal Cities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenzweig, B.; McPhearson, T.; Rosi, E. J.

    2017-12-01

    While the catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Katrina increased awareness of coastal flood risk, conventional approaches to flood risk assessment do not adequately represent the drivers of flood risk in the unique, highly engineered landscape of dense cities. We review the recent (1996-2016) history of flooding events and current regional climate change projection for 4 diverse coastal cities in the United States: San Juan, Miami, Baltimore and New York. Our review suggests that while all 4 of these cities face increased risk from direct coastal flooding with climate change, pluvial flooding will be an additional, important driver of risk that is currently poorly quantified. Unlike other types of flooding, pluvial flood risk is not limited to a contiguous riverine or coastal floodplain, but is instead driven by interactions between spatially variable geophysical drivers (intense rainfall, shallow groundwater, and influent tidal water), social drivers (patterns of land use) and technical drivers (urban stormwater and coastal infrastructure). We discuss approaches for quantitative assessment of pluvial flood risk, the challenges presented by the lack of data on geophysical flooding drivers in dense cities, and opportunities for integrated research to provide the scientific information needed by practitioners.

  11. Land-related conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    conflicts discernible, and managing land conflicts. Access to and .... programmes and the political motivations for land occupations (and resultant conflicts) ..... human and structural losses from disaster events) and land management (which.

  12. Global assessment of the economics of land degradation and improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nkonya, Ephraim

    2017-04-01

    Land degradation—defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report as the long-term loss of ecosystems services—is a global problem, negatively affecting the livelihoods and food security of billions of people. Intensifying efforts, mobilizing more investments and strengthening the policy commitment for addressing land degradation at the global level needs to be supported by a careful evaluation of the costs and benefits of action versus costs of inaction against land degradation. Consistent with the definition of land degradation, we adopt the Total Economic Value (TEV) approach to determine the costs of land degradation and use remote sensing data and global statistical databases in our analysis. The results show that the annual costs of land degradation due to land use and land cover change (LUCC) are about US231 billion per year or about 0.41 % of the global GDP of US56.49 trillion in 2007. Contrary to past global land degradation assessment studies, land degradation is severe in both tropical and temperate countries. However, the losses from LUCC are especially high in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 26 % of the total global costs of land degradation due to LUCC. However, the local tangible losses (mainly provisioning services) account only for 46 % of the total cost of land degradation and the rest of the cost is due to the losses of ecosystem services (ES) accruable largely to beneficiaries other than the local land users. These external ES losses include carbon sequestration, biodiversity, genetic information and cultural services. This implies that the global community bears the largest cost of land degradation, which suggests that efforts to address land degradation should be done bearing in mind that the global community,as a whole, incurs larger losses than the local communities experiencing land degradation. The cost of soil fertility mining due to using land degrading management practices on maize, rice and wheat is estimated to be

  13. Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise: Advancing coastal management through integrated research and engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidwell, D. M.

    2012-12-01

    Rising sea level represents a significant threat to coastal communities and ecosystems through land loss, altered habitats, and increased vulnerability to coastal storms and inundation. This threat is exemplified in the northern Gulf of Mexico where low topography, expansive marshes, and a prevalence of tropical storms have already resulted in extensive coastal impacts. The development of robust predictive capabilities that incorporate complex biological processes with physical dynamics are critical for informed planning and restoration efforts for coastal ecosystems. Looking to build upon existing predictive modeling capabilities and allow for use of multiple model (i.e., ensemble) approaches, NOAA initiated the Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise program in 2010 to advance physical/biological integrative modeling capabilities in the region with a goal to provide user friendly predictive tools for coastal ecosystem management. Focused on the northern Gulf of Mexico, this multi-disciplinary project led by the University of Central Florida will use in situ field studies to parameterize physical and biological models. These field studies will also result in a predictive capability for overland sediment delivery and transport that will further enhance marsh, oyster, and submerged aquatic vegetation models. Results from this integrated modeling effort are envisioned to inform management strategies for reducing risk, restoration and breakwater guidelines, and resource sustainability for project planning, among other uses. In addition to the science components, this project incorporates significant engagement of the management community through a management applications principle investigator and an advisory management committee. Routine engagement between the science team and the management committee, including annual workshops, are focused on ensuring the development of applicable, relevant, and useable products and tools at the conclusion of this project. Particular

  14. Comparison of groundwater flow in Southern California coastal aquifers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Randall T.; Izbicki, John A.; Reichard, Eric G.; Edwards, Brian D.; Land, Michael; Martin, Peter

    2009-01-01

    Development of the coastal aquifer systems of Southern California has resulted in overdraft, changes in streamflow, seawater intrusion, land subsidence, increased vertical flow between aquifers, and a redirection of regional flow toward pumping centers. These water-management challenges can be more effectively addressed by incorporating new understanding of the geologic, hydrologic, and geochemical setting of these aquifers.

  15. Future habitat loss and extinctions driven by land-use change in biodiversity hotspots under four scenarios of climate-change mitigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jantz, Samuel M; Barker, Brian; Brooks, Thomas M; Chini, Louise P; Huang, Qiongyu; Moore, Rachel M; Noel, Jacob; Hurtt, George C

    2015-08-01

    Numerous species have been pushed into extinction as an increasing portion of Earth's land surface has been appropriated for human enterprise. In the future, global biodiversity will be affected by both climate change and land-use change, the latter of which is currently the primary driver of species extinctions. How societies address climate change will critically affect biodiversity because climate-change mitigation policies will reduce direct climate-change impacts; however, these policies will influence land-use decisions, which could have negative impacts on habitat for a substantial number of species. We assessed the potential impact future climate policy could have on the loss of habitable area in biodiversity hotspots due to associated land-use changes. We estimated past extinctions from historical land-use changes (1500-2005) based on the global gridded land-use data used for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report and habitat extent and species data for each hotspot. We then estimated potential extinctions due to future land-use changes under alternative climate-change scenarios (2005-2100). Future land-use changes are projected to reduce natural vegetative cover by 26-58% in the hotspots. As a consequence, the number of additional species extinctions, relative to those already incurred between 1500 and 2005, due to land-use change by 2100 across all hotspots ranged from about 220 to 21000 (0.2% to 16%), depending on the climate-change mitigation scenario and biological factors such as the slope of the species-area relationship and the contribution of wood harvest to extinctions. These estimates of potential future extinctions were driven by land-use change only and likely would have been higher if the direct effects of climate change had been considered. Future extinctions could potentially be reduced by incorporating habitat preservation into scenario development to reduce projected future land-use changes in hotspots or by

  16. Issues in ecology: Nutrient pollution of coastal rivers, bays, and seas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howarth, Robert W.; Anderson, D. B.; Cloern, James E.; Elfring, Chris; Hopkinson, Charles S.; Lapointe, Brian; Maloney, Thomas J.; Marcus, Nancy; McGlathery, Karen; Sharpley, A.N.; Walker, D.

    2000-01-01

    Over the past 40 years, antipollution laws have greatly reduced discharges of toxic substances into our coastal waters. This effort, however, has focused largely on point-source pollution of industrial and municipal effluent. No comparable effort has been made to restrict the input of nitrogen (N) from municipal effluent, nor to control the flows of N and phosphorus (P) that enter waterways from dispersed or nonpoint sources such as agricultural and urban runoff or as airborne pollutants. As a result, inputs of nonpoint pollutants, particularly N, have increased dramatically. Nonpoint pollution from N and P now represents the largest pollution problem facing the vital coastal waters of the United States. Nutrient pollution is the common thread that links an array of problems along the nation’s coastline, including eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, ”dead zones,” fish kills, some shellfish poisonings, loss of seagrass and kelp beds, some coral reef destruction, and even some marine mammal and seabird deaths. More than 60 percent of our coastal rivers and bays in every coastal state of the continental United States are moderately to severely degraded by nutrient pollution. This degradation is particularly severe in the mid Atlantic states, in the southeast, and in the Gulf of Mexico. A recent report from the National Research Council entitled “Clean Coastal Waters: Understanding and Reduc- ing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution” concludes that: Nutrient over-enrichment of coastal ecosystems generally triggers ecological changes that decrease the biologi- cal diversity of bays and estuaries. While moderate N enrichment of some coastal waters may increase fish production, over-enrichment generally degrades the marine food web that supports commercially valuable fish. The marked increase in nutrient pollution of coastal waters has been accompanied by an increase in harmful algal blooms, and in at least some cases, pollution has triggered these blooms. High

  17. Coastal erosion risk assessment using natural and human factors in different scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexandrakis, George; Kampanis, Nikolaos

    2015-04-01

    Climate change, including sea-level rise and increasing storms, raise the threats of coastal erosion. Mitigating and adapting to coastal erosion risks in areas of human interest, like urban areas, culture heritage sites, and areas of economic interest, present a major challenge for society. In this context, decision making needs to be based in reliable risk assessment that includes environmental, social and economic factors. By integrating coastal hazard and risk assessments maps into coastal management plans, risks in areas of interest can be reduced. To address this, the vulnerability of the coast to sea level rise and associated erosion, in terms of expected land loss and socioeconomic importance need to be identified. A holistic risk assessment based in environmental, socioeconomic and economics approach can provide managers information how to mitigate the impact of coastal erosion and plan protection measures. Such an approach needs to consider social, economic and environmental factors, which interactions can be better assessed when distributed and analysed along the geographical space. In this work, estimations of climate change impact to coastline are based on a combination of environmental and economic data analysed in a GIS database. The risk assessment is implemented through the estimation of the vulnerability and exposure variables of the coast in two scales. The larger scale estimates the vulnerability in a regional level, with the use environmental factors with the use of CVI. The exposure variable is estimated by the use of socioeconomic factors. Subsequently, a smaller scale focuses on highly vulnerable beaches with high social and economic value. The vulnerability assessment of the natural processes to the environmental characteristics of the beach is estimated with the use of the Beach Vulnerability Index. As exposure variable, the value of beach width that is capitalized in revenues is implemented through a hedonic pricing model. In this

  18. Land

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Audouin, M

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available the factors contributing to desertification and practical measures necessary to combat desertification and mitigate the effect of drought. The priority issues reported on in this chapter are soil and veld degradation, and the loss of land for agricultural use....

  19. Sulfate accumulation in a sea breeze/land breeze circulation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cass, G.R.; Shair, F.H.

    1984-01-01

    An atmosphere tracer study using SF 6 was conducted on July 22, 1977, to examine the origin of the high particulate sulfate concentrations observed in coastal Los Angeles County. It was found that the sea breeze/land breeze circulation system in the Los Angeles Basin both increases the retention time for sulfate formation in the marine environment and causes individual air parcels to make multiple passes over large coastal emissions sources. Day-old sulfur oxides emissions advected out to sea by the land breeze at night were estimated to be the largest single contributor to 24-hour average sulfate air quality over land the next day. In contrast, 24-hour average SO 2 concentrations were dominated by fresh emissions from nearby sources. The overall rate of SO 2 transformation to form particular sulfur oxides along some trajectories that spent a considerable time over the ocean at night probably exceeds the rate that can be explained by known photochemical processes acting during the daylight portion of these trajectories. This suggests that appreciable aerosol formation may occur in a polluted marine environment at night

  20. Paths to Change: Bio-Economic Factors, Geographical Gradients and the Land-Use Structure of Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masini, Emanuela; Barbati, Anna; Bencardino, Massimiliano; Carlucci, Margherita; Corona, Piermaria; Salvati, Luca

    2018-01-01

    This study introduces a bio-economic approach to evaluate the influence of local socioeconomic contexts on complex processes of landscape transformation (urbanization, withdrawal of farming with woodland creation and loss in crop mosaics) in a sustainable development perspective. Land-use and socioeconomic indicators (including shares of agriculture, industry and services in total product, per-worker value added, productivity by economic sector, distance from central cities, latitude and elevation) at the local district scale in Italy have been considered together in an exploratory approach based on multivariate statistics. The combined use of land-use and socioeconomic indicators was preferred to more traditional approaches based on single-variable analysis and allows identifying latent factors of landscape transformation at the local scale. Our approach sheds light in the intimate relationship between regional economic structures and land-use change in districts with varying socio-environmental attributes across Italy. Urban-rural divides, coastal-inland dichotomy and the elevation gradient were relevant factors shaping urbanization-driven landscape transformations at the country scale. Indicators of economic structure (and especially industrial production and per-worker productivity of industry and services) were also documented to influence greatly entity and direction of change in the use of land. Discontinuous and dispersed urbanization has been demonstrated to be spatially-decoupled from consolidated (continuous and compact) urbanization, expanding into undeveloped rural areas progressively far away from central cities and being spatially associated with forest land.

  1. Lake Superior Coastal Wetland Fish Assemblages and ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    The role of the coastal margin and the watershed context in defining the ecology of even very large lakes is increasingly being recognized and examined. Coastal wetlands are both important contributors to the biodiversity and productivity of large lakes and important mediators of the lake-basin connection. We explored wetland-watershed connections and their relationship to wetland function and condition using data collected from 37 Lake Superior wetlands spanning a substantial geographic and geomorphic gradient. While none of these wetlands are particularly disturbed, there were nevertheless clear relationships between watershed landuse and wetland habitat and biota, and these varied consistently across wetland type categories that reflected the strength of connection to the watershed. For example, water clarity and vegetation structure complexity declined with decreasing percent natural land cover, and these effects were strongest in riverine wetlands (having generally large watersheds and tributary-dominated hydrology) and weakest in lagoon wetlands (having generally small watersheds and lake-dominate hydrology). Fish abundance and species richness both increased with decreasing percent natural land cover while species diversity decreased, and again the effect was strongest in riverine wetlands. Lagoonal wetlands, which lack any substantial tributary, consistently harbored the fewest species of fish and a composition different from the more watershed-lin

  2. Assessing effects of changing land use practices on sediment loads in Panther Creek, north coastal California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madej, Mary Ann; Bundros, Greg; Klein, Randy

    2011-01-01

    Revisions to the California Forest Practice Rules since 1974 were intended to increase protection of water quality in streams draining timber harvest areas. The effects of improved timber harvesting methods and road designs on sediment loading are assessed for the Panther Creek basin, a 15.4 km2 watershed in Humboldt County, north coastal California. We compute land use statistics, analyze suspended sediment discharge rating curves, and compare sediment yields in Panther Creek to a control (unlogged) stream, Little Lost Man Creek. From 1978 to 2008, 8.2 km2 (over half the watershed) was clearcut and other timber management activities (thinning, selection cuts, and so forth) affected an additional 5.9 km2. Since 1984, 40.7 km of streams in harvest units received riparian buffer strip protection. Between 2000 and 2009, 22 km of roads were upgraded and 9.7 km were decommissioned, reducing potential sediment production by an estimated 40,000 m3. Road density is currently 3.1 km/km2. Sediment rating curves from 2005 to 2010 indicate a decrease in suspended sediment concentrations when compared to the pre-1996 period, although Panther Creek still has a higher sediment yield on a per unit area basis than the control stream.

  3. South Texas coastal classification maps - Mansfield Channel to the Rio Grande

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Robert A.; Peterson, Russell L.

    2006-01-01

    The Nation's rapidly growing coastal population requires reliable information regarding the vulnerability of coastal regions to storm impacts. This has created a need for classifying coastal lands and evaluating storm-hazard vulnerability. Government officials and resource managers responsible for dealing with natural hazards also need accurate assessments of potential storm impacts in order to make informed decisions before, during, and after major storm events. Both economic development and coastal-damage mitigation require integrated models of storm parameters, hazard vulnerability, and expected coastal responses. Thus, storm-hazard vulnerability assessments constitute one of the fundamental components of forecasting storm impacts. Each year as many as 10 to 12 hurricanes and tropical storms will be the focus of national attention. Of particular interest are intense hurricanes (Categories 3 to 5 of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) that have the potential to cause substantial economic and environmental damage to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. These coastal regions include some of the largest metropolitan areas in the country and they continue to experience rapid population growth. Based on media reports, there is a general lack of public knowledge regarding how different coastal segments will respond to the same storm or how the same coastal segment will respond differently depending on storm conditions. A primary purpose of the USGS National Assessment of Coastal Change Project is to provide accurate representations of pre-storm ground conditions for areas that are designated high priority because they have dense populations or valuable resources that are at risk. A secondary purpose is to develop a broad coastal classification that, with only minor modification, can be applied to most coastal regions in the United States.

  4. Up-scaling of multi-variable flood loss models from objects to land use units at the meso-scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreibich, Heidi; Schröter, Kai; Merz, Bruno

    2016-05-01

    Flood risk management increasingly relies on risk analyses, including loss modelling. Most of the flood loss models usually applied in standard practice have in common that complex damaging processes are described by simple approaches like stage-damage functions. Novel multi-variable models significantly improve loss estimation on the micro-scale and may also be advantageous for large-scale applications. However, more input parameters also reveal additional uncertainty, even more in upscaling procedures for meso-scale applications, where the parameters need to be estimated on a regional area-wide basis. To gain more knowledge about challenges associated with the up-scaling of multi-variable flood loss models the following approach is applied: Single- and multi-variable micro-scale flood loss models are up-scaled and applied on the meso-scale, namely on basis of ATKIS land-use units. Application and validation is undertaken in 19 municipalities, which were affected during the 2002 flood by the River Mulde in Saxony, Germany by comparison to official loss data provided by the Saxon Relief Bank (SAB).In the meso-scale case study based model validation, most multi-variable models show smaller errors than the uni-variable stage-damage functions. The results show the suitability of the up-scaling approach, and, in accordance with micro-scale validation studies, that multi-variable models are an improvement in flood loss modelling also on the meso-scale. However, uncertainties remain high, stressing the importance of uncertainty quantification. Thus, the development of probabilistic loss models, like BT-FLEMO used in this study, which inherently provide uncertainty information are the way forward.

  5. Inferring coastal processes from regional-scale mapping of {sup 222}Radon and salinity: examples from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stieglitz, Thomas C., E-mail: thomas.stieglitz@jcu.edu.a [AIMS-JCU, Townsville (Australia); Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB NO 3, Townsville QLD 4810 (Australia); School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville QLD 4811 (Australia); Cook, Peter G., E-mail: peter.g.cook@csiro.a [CSIRO Land and Water, Private Bag 2, Glen Osmond SA 5064 (Australia); Burnett, William C., E-mail: wburnett@mailer.fsu.ed [Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 (United States)

    2010-07-15

    The radon isotope {sup 222}Rn and salinity in coastal surface water were mapped on regional scales, to improve the understanding of coastal processes and their spatial variability. Radon was measured with a surface-towed, continuously recording multi-detector setup on a moving vessel. Numerous processes and locations of land-ocean interaction along the Central Great Barrier Reef coastline were identified and interpreted based on the data collected. These included riverine fluxes, terrestrially-derived fresh submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and the tidal pumping of seawater through mangrove forests. Based on variations in the relationship of the tracers radon and salinity, some aspects of regional freshwater inputs to the coastal zone and to estuaries could be assessed. Concurrent mapping of radon and salinity allowed an efficient qualitative assessment of land-ocean interaction on various spatial and temporal scales, indicating that such surveys on coastal scales can be a useful tool to obtain an overview of SGD locations and processes.

  6. Enhanced ocean carbon storage from anaerobic alkalinity generation in coastal sediments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thomas, H.; Schiettecatte, L.-S.; Suykens, K.; Koné, Y.J.M.; Shadwick, E.H.; Prowe, A.E.F.; Bozec, Y.; Baar, H.J.W. de; Borges, A.V.; Slomp, C.

    2009-01-01

    The coastal ocean is a crucial link between land, the open ocean and the atmosphere. The shallowness of the water column permits close interactions between the sedimentary, aquatic and atmospheric compartments, which otherwise are decoupled at long time scales (≅ 1000 yr) in the open oceans. Despite

  7. A coastal surface seawater analyzer for nitrogenous nutrient mapping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masserini, Robert T.; Fanning, Kent A.; Hendrix, Steven A.; Kleiman, Brittany M.

    2017-11-01

    Satellite-data-based modeling of chlorophyll indicates that ocean waters in the mesosphere category are responsible for the majority of oceanic net primary productivity. Coastal waters, which frequently have surface chlorophyll values in the mesosphere range and have strong horizontal chlorophyll gradients and large temporal variations. Thus programs of detailed coastal nutrient surveys are essential to the study of the dynamics of oceanic net primary productivity, along with land use impacts on estuarine and coastal ecosystems. The degree of variability in these regions necessitates flexible instrumentation capable of near real-time analysis to detect and monitor analytes of interest. This work describes the development of a portable coastal surface seawater analyzer for nutrient mapping that can simultaneously elucidate with high resolution the distribution of nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium - the three principal nitrogenous inorganic nutrients in coastal systems. The approach focuses on the use of pulsed xenon flash lamps to construct an analyzer which can be adapted to any automated chemistry with fluorescence detection. The system has two heaters, on-the-fly standardization, on-board data logging, an independent 24 volt direct current power supply, internal local operating network, a 12 channel peristaltic pump, four rotary injection/selection valves, and an intuitive graphical user interface. Using the methodology of Masserini and Fanning (2000) the detection limits for ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate plus nitrite were 11, 10, and 22 nM, respectively. A field test of the analyzer in Gulf of Mexico coastal waters demonstrated its ability to monitor and delineate the complexity of inorganic nitrogen nutrient enrichments within a coastal system.

  8. Multidsciplinary Approaches to Coastal Adaptation - Aplying Machine Learning Techniques to assess coastal risk in Latin America and The Caribbean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calil, J.

    2016-12-01

    The global population, currently at 7.3 billion, is increasing by nearly 230,000 people every day. As the world's population grows to an estimated 11.2 billion by 2100, the number of people living in low elevation areas, exposed to coastal hazards, is continuing to increase. In 2013, 22 million people were displaced by extreme weather events, with 37 events displacing at least 100,000 people each. Losses from natural disasters and disaster risk are determined by a complex interaction between physical hazards and the vulnerability of a society or social-ecological system, and its exposure to such hazards. Impacts from coastal hazards depend on the number of people, value of assets, and presence of critical resources in harm's way. Moreover, coastal risks are amplified by challenging socioeconomic dynamics, including ill-advised urban development, income inequality, and poverty level. Our results demonstrate that in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), more than half a million people live in areas where coastal hazards, exposure (of people, assets and ecosystems), and poverty converge, creating the ideal conditions for a perfect storm. In order to identify the population at greatest risk to coastal hazards in LAC, and in response to a growing demand for multidisciplinary coastal adaptation approaches, this study employs a combination of machine learning clustering techniques (K-Means and Self Organizing Maps), and a spatial index, to assess coastal risks on a comparative scale. Data for more than 13,000 coastal locations in LAC were collected and allocated into three categories: (1) Coastal Hazards (including storm surge, wave energy and El Niño); (2) Geographic Exposure (including population, agriculture, and ecosystems); and (3) Vulnerability (including income inequality, infant mortality rate and malnutrition). This study identified hotspots of coastal vulnerability, the key drivers of coastal risk at each geographic location. Our results provide important

  9. An Effort to Map and Monitor Baldcypress Forest Areas in Coastal Louisiana, Using Landsat, MODIS, and ASTER Satellite Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spruce, Joseph P.; Sader, Steve; Smoot, James

    2012-01-01

    This presentation discusses a collaborative project to develop, test, and demonstrate baldcypress forest mapping and monitoring products for aiding forest conservation and restoration in coastal Louisiana. Low lying coastal forests in the region are being negatively impacted by multiple factors, including subsidence, salt water intrusion, sea level rise, persistent flooding, hydrologic modification, annual insect-induced forest defoliation, timber harvesting, and conversion to urban land uses. Coastal baldcypress forests provide invaluable ecological services in terms of wildlife habitat, forest products, storm buffers, and water quality benefits. Before this project, current maps of baldcypress forest concentrations and change did not exist or were out of date. In response, this project was initiated to produce: 1) current maps showing the extent and location of baldcypress dominated forests; and 2) wetland forest change maps showing temporary and persistent disturbance and loss since the early 1970s. Project products are being developed collaboratively with multiple state and federal agencies. Products are being validated using available reference data from aerial, satellite, and field survey data. Results include Landsat TM- based classifications of baldcypress in terms of cover type and percent canopy cover. Landsat MSS data was employed to compute a circa 1972 classification of swamp and bottomland hardwood forest types. Landsat data for 1972-2010 was used to compute wetland forest change products. MODIS-based change products were applied to view and assess insect-induced swamp forest defoliation. MODIS, Landsat, and ASTER satellite data products were used to help assess hurricane and flood impacts to coastal wetland forests in the region.

  10. Sulfate accumulation in a sea breeze/land breeze circulation system

    OpenAIRE

    Cass, Glen R.; Shair, Frederick H.

    1984-01-01

    An atmospheric tracer study using SF_6 was conducted on July 22, 1977, to examine the origin of the high particulate sulfate concentrations observed in coastal Los Angeles County. It was found that the sea breeze/land breeze circulation system in the Los Angeles Basin both increases the retention time for sulfate formation in the marine environment and causes individual air parcels to make multiple passes over large coastal emissions sources. Day-old sulfur oxides emissions advected out to se...

  11. Promoting innovative stormwater solutions for coastal plain communities

    OpenAIRE

    Drescher, Sadie

    2010-01-01

    In 2008, the Center for Watershed Protection (CWP) surveyed seventy-three coastal plain communities to determine their current practices and need for watershed planning and low impact development (LID). The survey found that communities had varying watershed planning effectiveness and need better stormwater management, land use planning, and watershed management communication. While technical capacity is improving, stormwater programs are under staffed and innovative site designs ...

  12. The efficiency of voluntary incentive policies for preventing biodiversity loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    David J. Lewis; Andrew J. Plantinga; Erik Nelson; Stephen Polasky

    2011-01-01

    Habitat loss is a primary cause of loss of biodiversity but conserving habitat for species presents challenges. Land parcels differ in their ability to produce returns for landowners and landowners may have private information about the value of the land to them. Land parcels also differ in the type and quality of habitat and the spatial pattern of land use across...

  13. Effect of spatial adaptation measures on flood risk: study of coastal floods in Belgium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koks, E.E.; de Moel, H.; Aerts, J.C.J.H.; Bouwer, L.M.

    2014-01-01

    Flood risk in coastal zones is projected to increase due to climate change and socioeconomic changes. Over the last decades, population growth, increases in wealth, and urban expansion have been found to be the main causes for increasing losses in coastal areas. These changes may, however, be offset

  14. Monitoring and analysis of coastal reclamation from 1995-2015 in Tianjin Binhai New Area, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wengang; Wang, Dongchuan; Huang, Yong; Chen, Liding; Zhang, Lihui; Wei, Xiangwang; Sang, Mengqin; Wang, Feicui; Liu, Jinya; Hu, Bingxu

    2017-06-20

    Increasing coastal reclamation activities have been undertaken to solve the conflict between people and land resources, creating significant challenges for coordinating coastal reclamation, economic development and environmental protection. This paper analyzes the effects of coast reclamation on Gross Domestic Product growth and the quality of inshore seawater in the Tianjin Binhai New Area. Remote sensing and a Geographic Information System were used to extract the information of coastal reclamation. The correlation between the area of coastal reclamation, GDP growth and the quality of inshore seawater was analyzed and a decoupling elasticity model was used to explore trends in the relationship between economic development and coastal reclamation. Results showed that coastal reclamation activities played an important role in promoting economic development, but greatly damaged the ecological environment. Although the relationship between coastal reclamation and economic development has weakened during the last three periods, the influence on the environment will continue because of the cumulative effects of pollution. To maintain a balance between coastal reclamation, economic development and environmental protection, (1) coastal reclamation planning must address both economic and environmental outcomes; (2) environmental deficiencies from existing coastal reclamation projects must be rectified; and (3) the legal system regulating coastal reclamation needs to be refined and strengthened.

  15. The impacts of land reclamation on suspended-sediment dynamics in Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Guan Dong; Wang, Xiao Hua; Bao, Xian Wen; Song, Dehai; Lin, Xiao Pei; Qiao, Lu Lu

    2018-06-01

    A three-dimensional, high-resolution tidal model coupled with the UNSW sediment model (UNSW-Sed) based on Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM) was set up to study the suspended-sediment dynamics and its change in Jiaozhou Bay (JZB) due to land reclamation over the period 1935 to 2008. During the past decades, a large amount of tidal flats were lost due to land reclamation. Other than modulating the tides, the tidal flats are a primary source for sediment resuspensions, leading to turbidity maxima nearshore. The tidal dynamics are dominant in controlling the suspended-sediment dynamics in JZB and have experienced significant changes with the loss of tidal flats due to the land reclamation. The sediment model coupled with the tide model was used to investigate the changes in suspended-sediment dynamics due to the land reclamation from 1935 to 2008, including suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) and the horizontal suspended-sediment fluxes. This model can predict the general patterns of the spatial and temporal variation of SSC. The model was applied to investigate how the net transport of suspended sediments between JZB and its adjacent sea areas changed with land reclamation: in 1935 the net movement of suspended sediments was from JZB to the adjacent sea (erosion for JZB), primarily caused by horizontal advection associated with a horizontal gradient in the SSC; This seaward transport (erosion for JZB) had gradually declined from 1935 to 2008. If land reclamation on a large scale is continued in future, the net transport between JZB and the adjacent sea would turn landward and JZB would switch from erosion to siltation due to the impact of land reclamation on the horizontal advection of suspended sediments. We also evaluate the primary physical mechanisms including advection of suspended sediments, settling lag and tidal asymmetry, which control the suspended-sediment dynamics with the process of land reclamation.

  16. Evaluation of anthropogenic influence in probabilistic forecasting of coastal change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hapke, C. J.; Wilson, K.; Adams, P. N.

    2014-12-01

    Prediction of large scale coastal behavior is especially challenging in areas of pervasive human activity. Many coastal zones on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are moderately to highly modified through the use of soft sediment and hard stabilization techniques. These practices have the potential to alter sediment transport and availability, as well as reshape the beach profile, ultimately transforming the natural evolution of the coastal system. We present the results of a series of probabilistic models, designed to predict the observed geomorphic response to high wave events at Fire Island, New York. The island comprises a variety of land use types, including inhabited communities with modified beaches, where beach nourishment and artificial dune construction (scraping) occur, unmodified zones, and protected national seashore. This variation in land use presents an opportunity for comparison of model accuracy across highly modified and rarely modified stretches of coastline. Eight models with basic and expanded structures were developed, resulting in sixteen models, informed with observational data from Fire Island. The basic model type does not include anthropogenic modification. The expanded model includes records of nourishment and scraping, designed to quantify the improved accuracy when anthropogenic activity is represented. Modification was included as frequency of occurrence divided by the time since the most recent event, to distinguish between recent and historic events. All but one model reported improved predictive accuracy from the basic to expanded form. The addition of nourishment and scraping parameters resulted in a maximum reduction in predictive error of 36%. The seven improved models reported an average 23% reduction in error. These results indicate that it is advantageous to incorporate the human forcing into a coastal hazards probability model framework.

  17. Holocene coastal paleoenvironmental record, Bay of Brest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernane, Assia; Gandouin, Emmanuel; Goslin, Jérôme; Penaud, Aurélie; Van Vliet lanoë, Brigitte

    2013-04-01

    Coastal areas are sensitive environments regarding the risk of submersion and the impact on biodiversity induced by salinity changes. These areas thus provide good palaeocecological archives to monitor palaeo sea level changes and the associated adaptation of different biological communities. The north-western coast of France has poorly been investigated regarding its Holocene palaeoecological signatures (Morzadec-Kerfourn, 1974; Naughton et al., 2007). Chironomids have been recognized to be an efficient tool for palaeoclimate and palaeosalinity reconstructions in lakes (Brooks, 2006), and more recently in river floodplains (Gandouin et al, 2006). In this study, environmental changes related to both climate processes and human disturbances, were reconstructed over the last 5000 years, based on pollen and chironomid assemblages from two coastal cores retrieved at Pors Milin (Brittany, NW France). The sedimentary sequences consist of terrestrial peaty layers interdigited with marine clastic deposits. The study area is composed by a sandy beach, truncating the peat, limited by a high sandy bar, and a back marsh developed at + 4 m NGF. Pollen and chironomid results reveal that anthropogenic factors would mainly control environmental changes that occurred in this sector. The disappearance of many chironomid taxa (inhabitants of main river channel) and the dramatic fall in diversity may have been induced by the development of the Merovingian forest clearance at Pors Milin. Indeed, we suggest that the development of agriculture, the river embankment and the draining of wetlands may explain the chironomid habitat loss and the subsequent fall of biodiversity. This change in faunal assemblages occurred synchronously with a decrease in the "arborean / non arborean" pollen ratio reflecting the land opening of the watershed. Several nitrophilous and anthropogenic pollen taxa reinforce our hypothesis concerning the development of agricultural and livestock farming activities at

  18. MODIS Retrieval of Aerosol Optical Depth over Turbid Coastal Water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Wang

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available We present a new approach to retrieve Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS over the turbid coastal water. This approach supplements the operational Dark Target (DT aerosol retrieval algorithm that currently does not conduct AOD retrieval in shallow waters that have visible sediments or sea-floor (i.e., Class 2 waters. Over the global coastal water regions in cloud-free conditions, coastal screening leads to ~20% unavailability of AOD retrievals. Here, we refine the MODIS DT algorithm by considering that water-leaving radiance at 2.1 μm to be negligible regardless of water turbidity, and therefore the 2.1 μm reflectance at the top of the atmosphere is sensitive to both change of fine-mode and coarse-mode AODs. By assuming that the aerosol single scattering properties over coastal turbid water are similar to those over the adjacent open-ocean pixels, the new algorithm can derive AOD over these shallow waters. The test algorithm yields ~18% more MODIS-AERONET collocated pairs for six AERONET stations in the coastal water regions. Furthermore, comparison of the new retrieval with these AERONET observations show that the new AOD retrievals have equivalent or better accuracy than those retrieved by the MODIS operational algorithm’s over coastal land and non-turbid coastal water product. Combining the new retrievals with the existing MODIS operational retrievals yields an overall improvement of AOD over those coastal water regions. Most importantly, this refinement extends the spatial and temporal coverage of MODIS AOD retrievals over the coastal regions where 60% of human population resides. This expanded coverage is crucial for better understanding of impact of anthropogenic aerosol particles on coastal air quality and climate.

  19. Land Use in Korean Tidal Wetlands: Impacts and Management Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Sun-Kee; Koh, Chul-Hwan; Harris, Richard R.; Kim, Jae-Eun; Lee, Jeom-Sook; Ihm, Byung-Sun

    2010-05-01

    The coastal landscapes in southwestern Korea include a diverse array of tidal wetlands and salt marshes. These coastal zones link the ecological functions of marine tidal wetlands and freshwater ecosystems with terrestrial ecosystems. They are rich in biological diversity and play important roles in sustaining ecological health and processing environmental pollutants. Korean tidal wetlands are particularly important as nurseries for economically important fishes and habitats for migratory birds. Diking, draining, tourism, and conversion to agricultural and urban uses have adversely affected Korean tidal wetlands. Recent large development projects have contributed to further losses. Environmental impact assessments conducted for projects affecting tidal wetlands and their surrounding landscapes should be customized for application to these special settings. Adequate environmental impact assessments will include classification of hydrogeomorphic units and consideration of their responses to biological and environmental stressors. As is true worldwide, Korean laws and regulations are changing to be more favorable to the conservation and protection of tidal wetlands. More public education needs to be done at the local level to build support for tidal wetland conservation. Some key public education points include the role of tidal wetlands in maintaining healthy fish populations and reducing impacts of nonpoint source pollution. There is also a need to develop procedures for integrating economic and environmental objectives within the overall context of sustainable management and land uses.

  20. Risk Analysis of Coastal Disaster of Semarang City, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunaryo; Ambariyanto; Sugianto, Denny Nugroho; Helmi, Muhammad; Kaimuddin, Awaluddin Halirin; Indarjo, Agus

    2018-02-01

    Coastal areas are highly vulnerable to disasters, as they are affected by events occurring both on land and at sea. In the development of cities in these areas, information on vulnerability levels is needed as a consideration in determining policy. This study aims to identify potential vulnerability of Semarang city, and to investigate the potential of hazard and disaster risk levels of the city. The study was conducted in 17 villages in the northern coastal area of Semarang. The assessment approach used was score analysis to some variables, i.e geomorphology, erosion, coastal slope, waves and socio-economic aspects. The research showed that the highest level of coastal vulnerability in the Semarang city were at three villages i.e.Terboyo Kulon, Terboyo Wetan and Trimulyo with value of 4.5; while the lowest level were at the Maron beach, Marina beach and Tanah Mas with value of 2.8. The highest potential coastal hazard in the Semarang city were at two villages i.e. Tanjung Mas and Tambak Lorok with value of 4.5; and the lowest value were in the village of Randugarut, Karanganyar, Tugurejo, Marina beach and Tanah Mas with value of 1.25.The highest level of coastal risk in the Semarang city were in the Trimulyo village with value of 3.13; and the lowest level were in the Marina beach and Tanah mas with value of 1.32.

  1. Flood risk mitigation and anthropogenic modifications of a coastal plain in southern Italy: combined effects over the past 150 years

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Petrucci

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available A study of the effects of human modification of a coastal plain mainly involving land reclamation and flood protection is proposed. The approach involves historical, geomorphological and hydrological data as a whole, taking into account the equilibrium of rivers, plains and coastal areas.

    The test area, a telling example of profound economic and social transformation of a coastal plain, is the Piana di Sibari (Calabria, southern Italy, subject to major human modifications over the last 150 years. The study area, at most 300 m a.s.l., is 450 km2 wide and comprises 24 hydrographic basins.

    The approach is based on the creation and analysis of four databases: 1 a historical series of geo-coded flood damage (DAMAGES database, concerning damaging floods which occurred over the past few centuries in the study area; 2 a geocoded series of protection works for land reclamation, protection from floods and improvement of soil stability in steep areas (WORKS database, gathered from the archives of the agencies that carried out the works, organized in a GIS-format; 3 a historical series of maximum flood discharges and extreme rainy events (HYMAX database aimed at defining the trends of occurrence and the intensity of flooding; 4 a coastal line position and migration over time (COASTAL database, created using mainly literature data based on discontinuous data such as historical maps and images.

    The work describes the complex succession of floods, protection and reclamation works, human transformation of the plain and major land use changes over the last two centuries in the test area. The new characteristics of the plain and its modifications, including major engineering works, land-use transformation and urbanisation, are illustrated. The damaging floods of the last 200 years, the modifications of runoff and flooding due to works built over the basins, hydrological data and the records concerning coastal

  2. Prioritizing conservation areas for coastal plant diversity under increasing urbanization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doxa, Aggeliki; Albert, Cécile Hélène; Leriche, Agathe; Saatkamp, Arne

    2017-10-01

    Coastal urban expansion will continue to drive further biodiversity losses, if conservation targets for coastal ecosystems are not defined and met. Prioritizing areas for future protected area networks is thus an urgent task in such urbanization-threatened ecosystems. Our aim is to quantify past and future losses of coastal vegetation priority areas due to urbanization and assess the effectiveness of the existing protected area network for conservation. We conduct a prioritization analysis, based on 82 coastal plants, including common and IUCN red list species, in a highly-urbanized but biotically diverse region, in South-Eastern France. We evaluate the role of protected areas, by taking into account both strict and multi-use areas. We assess the impact of past and future urbanization on high priority areas, by combining prioritization analyses and urbanization models. We show that half of the highly diverse areas have already been lost due to urbanization. Remaining top priority areas are also among the most exposed to future urban expansion. The effectiveness of the existing protected area (PA) network is only partial. While strict PAs coincide well with top priority areas, they only represent less than one third of priority areas. The effectiveness of multi-use PAs, such as the Natura 2000 network, also remains limited. Our approach highlights the impact of urbanization on plant conservation targets. By modelling urbanization, we manage to identify those areas where protection could be more efficient to limit further losses. We suggest to use our approach in the future to expand the PA network in order to achieve the 2020 Aichi biodiversity targets. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Norfolk and environs: A land use perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Robert H.; Buzzanell, Peter J.; Fitzpatrick, Katherine A.; Lins, Harry F.; McGinty, Herbert K.

    1975-01-01

    The Norfolk-Portsmouth Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) in southeastern Virginia was the site of intensive testing of a number of land resources assessment methods, built around the availability of remotely sensed data from the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-I), later renamed LANDSAT I. The Norfolk tests were part of a larger experiment known as the Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site (CARETS), designed to test the extent to which LANDSAT and associated high-altitude aircraft data could be used as cost-effective inputs to a regional land use information system. The Norfolk SMSA contains a variety of land uses typical of the urbanized eastern seaboard, along with typical associated problems: rapid urbanization; heavy recreational, commercial, and residential demands on fragile beaches and coastal marsh environments; industrial, transportation, and governmental land and water uses impacting on residential and agricultural areas; drainage and land stability difficulties affecting construction and other uses; and increasing difficulties in maintaining satisfactory air and water quality.

  4. Modelling land degradation in IMAGE 2

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hootsmans RM; Bouwman AF; Leemans R; Kreileman GJJ; MNV

    2001-01-01

    Food security may be threatened by loss of soil productivity as a result of human-induced land degradation. Water erosion is the most important cause of land degradation, and its effects are irreversible. This report describes the IMAGE land degradation model developed for describing current and

  5. Visualizing Our Options for Coastal Places: Exploring Realistic Immersive Geovisualizations as Tools for Inclusive Approaches to Coastal Planning and Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Newell

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Effective coastal planning is inclusive and incorporates the variety of user needs, values and interests associated with coastal environments. Realistic, immersive geographic visualizations, i.e., geovisualizations, can serve as potentially powerful tools for facilitating such planning because they can provide diverse groups with vivid understandings of how they would feel about certain management outcomes or impacts if transpired in real places. However, the majority of studies in this area have focused on terrestrial environments, and research on applications of such tools in the coastal and marine contexts is in its infancy. The current study aims to advance such research by examining the potential a land-to-sea geovisualization has to serve as a tool for inclusive coastal planning efforts. The research uses Sidney Spit Park (BC, Canada as a study site, and a realistic, dynamic geovisualization of the park was developed (using Unity3D that allows users to interact with and navigate it through the first-person perspective. Management scenarios were developed based on discussions with Parks Canada, and these scenarios included fencing around vegetation areas, positioning of mooring buoys, and management of dog activity within the park. Scenarios were built into the geovisualization in a manner that allows users to toggle different options. Focus groups were then assembled, involving residents of the Capital Regional District (BC, Canada, and participants explored and provided feedback on the scenarios. Findings from the study demonstrate the geovisualization's usefulness for assessing certain qualities of scenarios, such as aesthetics and functionality of fencing options and potential viewshed impacts associated with different mooring boat locations. In addition, the study found that incorporating navigability into the geovisualization proved to be valuable for understanding scenarios that hold implications for the marine environment due to

  6. Monitoring Coastal Change after the Tsunami in Thailand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pantanahiran, W

    2014-01-01

    The tsunami on December 26, 2004 caused widespread devastation along the coast of Thailand, especially in Ban Nam Khem, Phang Nga province. This disaster claimed more than 941 lives, with 502 other people missing when the storm surge caught the residents of this area. The coastal geomorphology was impacted by this disaster. The objectives of the research were to study the effect of the tsunami on coastal change and the recovery of coastal areas. Six time-series datasets of aerial photographs and satellite images from 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010 were compared using the Geographic Information System (GIS). The results showed the effect of the tsunami on the buildings in the area. Fifty-eight point sixty-three percent of the buildings in the urban area were destroyed by the tsunami and constructions was raised to 103.60% and 197.12% between 2004 and 2010, thus indicating the recovery of the local community. Geomorphological change in Ko Kho Khao (the island) was found after the tsunami disaster, including coastal erosion and coastal deposition. The balance of nature played a major role in controlling the erosion and deposition. The coastal deposits were the highest in 2005; however, deposition was not found in 2004. The erosion rate from 2002-2003 was the highest (48.10 meter per year) and higher than 2003-2004 (39.03 meters per year), 2004-2009 (15.64 meters per year) and 2009-2010 (29.49 meters per year). The coastal area was more severe eroded than the estuary area, and severe coastal erosion caused the loss of coastal area, approximately 0.28 ha. Severe coastal erosion has been repeatedly found since 2005 in the lower part of the area, and hard structures such as concrete seawalls might have been affected by coastal erosion. In addition, extrapolation of coastal erosion at the rate of 30 meters per year showed that the lower part of Ko Kho Khao should disappear in 2015

  7. Coastal Geographic Structures in Coastal-Marine Environmental Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baklanov, P. Ya.; Ganzei, K. S.; Ermoshin, V. V.

    2018-01-01

    It has been proposed to distinguish the coastal geographic structures consisting of a spatial combination of three interconnected and mutually conditioned parts (coastal-territorial, coastal, coastal-marine), which are interlinked with each other by the cumulative effect of real-energy flows. Distinguishing specific resource features of the coastal structures, by which they play a connecting role in the complex coastalmarine management, has been considered. The main integral resource feature of the coastal structures is their connecting functions, which form transitional parts mutually connecting the coastal-territorial and coastalmarine environmental management.

  8. C-CAP Land Cover, United States Virgin Islands, St Thomas, 2012

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land cover derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to...

  9. C-CAP Land Cover, United States Virgin Islands, St. Croix, 2012

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land cover derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to...

  10. 2004 C-CAP Land Cover, Territory of American Samoa, West Manua

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of land derived from high resolution imagery and was analyzed according to the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol to determine...

  11. Planting Jatropha curcas on Constrained Land: Emission and Effects from Land Use Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. S. Firdaus

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A study was carried out to assess carbon emission and carbon loss caused from land use change (LUC of converting a wasteland into a Jatropha curcas plantation. The study was conducted for 12 months at a newly established Jatropha curcas plantation in Port Dickson, Malaysia. Assessments of soil carbon dioxide (CO2 flux, changes of soil total carbon and plant biomass loss and growth were made on the wasteland and on the established plantation to determine the effects of land preparation (i.e., tilling and removal of the wasteland's native vegetation. Overall soil CO2 flux showed no significant difference (<0.05 between the two plots while no significant changes (<0.05 on soil total carbon at both plots were detected. It took 1.5 years for the growth of Jatropha curcas to recover the biomass carbon stock lost during land conversion. As far as the present study is concerned, converting wasteland to Jatropha curcas showed no adverse effects on the loss of carbon from soil and biomass and did not exacerbate soil respiration.

  12. Evaluating Coastal Landscape Response to Sea-Level Rise in the Northeastern United States - Approach and Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lentz, Erika E.; Stippa, Sawyer R.; Thieler, E. Robert; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Gesch, Dean B.; Horton, Radley M.

    2015-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey is examining effects of future sea-level rise on the coastal landscape from Maine to Virginia by producing spatially explicit, probabilistic predictions using sea-level projections, vertical land movement rates (due to isostacy), elevation data, and land-cover data. Sea-level-rise scenarios used as model inputs are generated by using multiple sources of information, including Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models following representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5 in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report. A Bayesian network is used to develop a predictive coastal response model that integrates the sea-level, elevation, and land-cover data with assigned probabilities that account for interactions with coastal geomorphology as well as the corresponding ecological and societal systems it supports. The effects of sea-level rise are presented as (1) level of landscape submergence and (2) coastal response type characterized as either static (that is, inundation) or dynamic (that is, landform or landscape change). Results are produced at a spatial scale of 30 meters for four decades (the 2020s, 2030s, 2050s, and 2080s). The probabilistic predictions can be applied to landscape management decisions based on sea-level-rise effects as well as on assessments of the prediction uncertainty and need for improved data or fundamental understanding. This report describes the methods used to produce predictions, including information on input datasets; the modeling approach; model outputs; data-quality-control procedures; and information on how to access the data and metadata online.

  13. Evaluating coastal landscape response to sea-level rise in the northeastern United States: approach and methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lentz, Erika E.; Stippa, Sawyer R.; Thieler, E. Robert; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Gesch, Dean B.; Horton, Radley M.

    2014-02-13

    The U.S. Geological Survey is examining effects of future sea-level rise on the coastal landscape from Maine to Virginia by producing spatially explicit, probabilistic predictions using sea-level projections, vertical land movement rates (due to isostacy), elevation data, and land-cover data. Sea-level-rise scenarios used as model inputs are generated by using multiple sources of information, including Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models following representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5 in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report. A Bayesian network is used to develop a predictive coastal response model that integrates the sea-level, elevation, and land-cover data with assigned probabilities that account for interactions with coastal geomorphology as well as the corresponding ecological and societal systems it supports. The effects of sea-level rise are presented as (1) level of landscape submergence and (2) coastal response type characterized as either static (that is, inundation) or dynamic (that is, landform or landscape change). Results are produced at a spatial scale of 30 meters for four decades (the 2020s, 2030s, 2050s, and 2080s). The probabilistic predictions can be applied to landscape management decisions based on sea-level-rise effects as well as on assessments of the prediction uncertainty and need for improved data or fundamental understanding. This report describes the methods used to produce predictions, including information on input datasets; the modeling approach; model outputs; data-quality-control procedures; and information on how to access the data and metadata online.

  14. Restoring productivity to cogograss-infested land through reforestation

    Science.gov (United States)

    W.H. Faircloth; M.G. Patterson; James H. Miller; D.H. Teem

    2004-01-01

    Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) is an invasive grass that is rapidly colonizing the Gulf coastal plain, with potential to spread well into the interior of the Southeastern U.S. Cogongrass is particularly harmful to forested land. In such situations, cogongrass hinders plantation establishment, may contribute to crowning fires in young stands,...

  15. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Restoration

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Zinn, Jeffrey

    2005-01-01

    ... for a $1.1 billion multiyear program to construct five projects that would help to restore portions of the coastal Louisiana ecosystem by slowing the rate of wetland loss and restoring some wetlands...

  16. An approach of habitat degradation assessment for characterization on coastal habitat conservation tendency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xi-Yin; Lei, Kun; Meng, Wei

    2017-09-01

    Coastal zones are population and economy highly intensity regions all over the world, and coastal habitat supports the sustainable development of human society. The accurate assessment of coastal habitat degradation is the essential prerequisite for coastal zone protection. In this study, an integrated framework of coastal habitat degradation assessment including landuse classification, habitat classifying and zoning, evaluation criterion of coastal habitat degradation and coastal habitat degradation index has been established for better regional coastal habitat assessment. Through establishment of detailed three-class landuse classification, the fine landscape change is revealed, the evaluation criterion of coastal habitat degradation through internal comparison based on the results of habitat classifying and zoning could indicate the levels of habitat degradation and distinguish the intensity of human disturbances in different habitat subareas under the same habitat classification. Finally, the results of coastal habitat degradation assessment could be achieved through coastal habitat degradation index (CHI). A case study of the framework is carried out in the Circum-Bohai-Sea-Coast, China, and the main results show the following: (1) The accuracy of all land use classes are above 90%, which indicates a satisfactory accuracy for the classification map. (2) The Circum-Bohai-Sea-Coast is divided into 3 kinds of habitats and 5 subareas. (3) In the five subareas of the Circum-Bohai-Sea-Coast, the levels of coastal habitat degradation own significant difference. The whole Circum-Bohai-Sea-Coast generally is in a worse state according to area weighting of each habitat subarea. This assessment framework of coastal habitat degradation would characterize the landuse change trend, realize better coastal habitat degradation assessment, reveal the habitat conservation tendency and distinguish intensity of human disturbances. Furthermore, it would support for accurate coastal

  17. NASA Land Cover and Land Use Change (LCLUC): an interdisciplinary research program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Justice, Chris; Gutman, Garik; Vadrevu, Krishna Prasad

    2015-01-15

    Understanding Land Cover/Land Use Change (LCLUC) in diverse regions of the world and at varied spatial scales is one of the important challenges in global change research. In this article, we provide a brief overview of the NASA LCLUC program, its focus areas, and the importance of satellite remote sensing observations in LCLUC research including future directions. The LCLUC Program was designed to be a cross-cutting theme within NASA's Earth Science program. The program aims to develop and use remote sensing technologies to improve understanding of human interactions with the environment. Since 1997, the NASA LCLUC program has supported nearly 280 research projects on diverse topics such as forest loss and carbon, urban expansion, land abandonment, wetland loss, agricultural land use change and land use change in mountain systems. The NASA LCLUC program emphasizes studies where land-use changes are rapid or where there are significant regional or global LCLUC implications. Over a period of years, the LCLUC program has contributed to large regional science programs such as Land Biosphere-Atmosphere (LBA), the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI), and the Monsoon Area Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS). The primary emphasis of the program will remain on using remote sensing datasets for LCLUC research. The program will continue to emphasize integration of physical and social sciences to address regional to global scale issues of LCLUC for the benefit of society. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Up-scaling of multi-variable flood loss models from objects to land use units at the meso-scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Kreibich

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Flood risk management increasingly relies on risk analyses, including loss modelling. Most of the flood loss models usually applied in standard practice have in common that complex damaging processes are described by simple approaches like stage-damage functions. Novel multi-variable models significantly improve loss estimation on the micro-scale and may also be advantageous for large-scale applications. However, more input parameters also reveal additional uncertainty, even more in upscaling procedures for meso-scale applications, where the parameters need to be estimated on a regional area-wide basis. To gain more knowledge about challenges associated with the up-scaling of multi-variable flood loss models the following approach is applied: Single- and multi-variable micro-scale flood loss models are up-scaled and applied on the meso-scale, namely on basis of ATKIS land-use units. Application and validation is undertaken in 19 municipalities, which were affected during the 2002 flood by the River Mulde in Saxony, Germany by comparison to official loss data provided by the Saxon Relief Bank (SAB.In the meso-scale case study based model validation, most multi-variable models show smaller errors than the uni-variable stage-damage functions. The results show the suitability of the up-scaling approach, and, in accordance with micro-scale validation studies, that multi-variable models are an improvement in flood loss modelling also on the meso-scale. However, uncertainties remain high, stressing the importance of uncertainty quantification. Thus, the development of probabilistic loss models, like BT-FLEMO used in this study, which inherently provide uncertainty information are the way forward.

  19. Using Remotely Sensed Data and Watershed and Hydrodynamic Models to Evaluate the Effects of Land Cover Land Use Change on Aquatic Ecosystems in Mobile Bay, AL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hamdan, Mohammad Z.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Judd, Chaeli; Thom, Ron; Woodruff, Dana; Ellis, Jean T.; Quattrochi, Dale; Watson, Brian; Rodriquez, Hugo; Johnson, Hoyt

    2012-01-01

    Alabama coastal systems have been subjected to increasing pressure from a variety of activities including urban and rural development, shoreline modifications, industrial activities, and dredging of shipping and navigation channels. The impacts on coastal ecosystems are often observed through the use of indicator species. One such indicator species for aquatic ecosystem health is submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). Watershed and hydrodynamic modeling has been performed to evaluate the impact of land cover land use (LCLU) change in the two counties surrounding Mobile Bay (Mobile and Baldwin) on SAV stressors and controlling factors (temperature, salinity, and sediment) in the Mobile Bay estuary. Watershed modeling using the Loading Simulation Package in C++ (LSPC) was performed for all watersheds contiguous to Mobile Bay for LCLU scenarios in 1948, 1992, 2001, and 2030. Remotely sensed Landsat-derived National Land Cover Data (NLCD) were used in the 1992 and 2001 simulations after having been reclassified to a common classification scheme. The Prescott Spatial Growth Model was used to project the 2030 LCLU scenario based on current trends. The LSPC model simulations provided output on changes in flow, temperature, and sediment for 22 discharge points into the estuary. These results were inputted in the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Computer Code (EFDC) hydrodynamic model to generate data on changes in temperature, salinity, and sediment on a grid throughout Mobile Bay and adjacent estuaries. The changes in the aquatic ecosystem were used to perform an ecological analysis to evaluate the impact on SAV habitat suitability. This is the key product benefiting the Mobile Bay coastal environmental managers that integrates the influences of temperature, salinity, and sediment due to LCLU driven flow changes with the restoration potential of SAVs. Data products and results are being integrated into NOAA s EcoWatch and Gulf of Mexico Data Atlas online systems for

  20. Study on the Characteristics and Impacts of the Spatial-temporal Urban Sprawl in Chinese Coastal Cities using Ocelet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, M.; Lo Seen, D.; Zhang, Z.

    2015-12-01

    The urban population is expected to rise 67% in developing countries and 86% in developed regions by 2050. As the most populous country in the world, China has been experiencing a remarkable urbanization process since the initialization of the reform and opening-up policies in the late 1970s. During the past several decades, the coastal zone undergone the highest urbanization and motst rapid economic development in China. Accurately understanding the characteristics of the spatial-temporal urban sprawl is helpful for urban planning on optimal land use in the future. Ocelet is an interactive visual interpretation and dynamic coding method that has been designed for studying issues related to space, time and multiple scales that are raised when dynamic landscapes are modelled. Using Ocelet, we aim to study the characteristics of the spatial-temporal urban sprawl in thirteen major Chinese coastal cities and how urban sprawl affects the surrounding land changes. Landsat MSS/TM/ETM/OLI, the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) and Chinese HJ-1A data are adopted to acquire urban built-up areas and their dynamic changes from 1979 to 2013. The results show that the urban built-up area increased gradually from 1979 to 2002 (~105 km²/yr), then accelerated about four times from 2002 to 2010 (~396 km²/yr) in thirteen major Chinese coastal cities. Although the expansion slowed down since 2010, the urban built-up area still increased at a fairly high rate (~210 km²/yr) from 2010 to 2013. The urban sprawl speed and pattern in each coastal city has also been analyzed, and has been grouped in three costal zones geographically. As a result of urban sprawl, large areas of arable land, rural settlements and forests were lost in these coastal cities. The lost non-urban land types and areas are different in the three costal zones and quantified respectively.

  1. Metal concentrations and mobility in marine sediment and groundwater in coastal reclamation areas: A case study in Shenzhen, China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Kouping; Jiao, Jiu J.

    2008-01-01

    The concentrations of metals in the buried marine sediment and groundwater were differently affected by land reclamation. Nine metals (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) in sediment and coastal groundwater from reclamation areas in Shenzhen were examined. The gradually decreased concentrations (V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn) in sediment and relatively higher concentrations (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu and Cd) in groundwater within reclamation areas were observed. The increase of V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu and Cd concentrations in groundwater within reclamation areas subsequently after land reclamation should be resulted from the mobilization of these metals accumulated in the sediment. These metals appear to be easily mobilized from solid phase to solution phase after reclamation. The physico-chemical changes such as reduction in pH and salinity in water environment induced by land reclamation appear to be responsible for metal mobility in the sediment-groundwater system. - Metals in coastal groundwater and marine sediment are affected by land reclamation

  2. Modeling Urban Expansion and Agricultural Land Conversion in Henan Province, China: An Integration of Land Use and Socioeconomic Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Jiang

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available China has experienced rapid urban expansion and agricultural land loss, and the land conversion has accelerated in central provinces since the mid-1990s. The goal of this paper is to examine the relative importance of socioeconomic and policy factors on the urban conversion of agricultural land in Henan Province, China. Using panel econometric models, we examine how socioeconomic and policy factors affect agricultural land conversion at the county level across three time periods, 1995–2000, 2000–2005, and 2005–2010. The results show that both urban land rent and urban wages are essential factors that positively contribute to the conversion of agricultural land. It is also found that per capita GDP is correlated with more urban development and agricultural land loss. Consistent with expectations, agricultural financial support is negatively correlated with agricultural land conversion, suggesting a policy success. Finally, the decomposition analysis illustrates that urban wages are the most influential positive factor and agricultural financial support is the most influential negative factor affecting the urban conversion of agricultural land.

  3. The impact of watershed management on coastal morphology: A case study using an integrated approach and numerical modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samaras, Achilleas G.; Koutitas, Christopher G.

    2014-04-01

    Coastal morphology evolves as the combined result of both natural- and human- induced factors that cover a wide range of spatial and temporal scales of effect. Areas in the vicinity of natural stream mouths are of special interest, as the direct connection with the upstream watershed extends the search for drivers of morphological evolution from the coastal area to the inland as well. Although the impact of changes in watersheds on the coastal sediment budget is well established, references that study concurrently the two fields and the quantification of their connection are scarce. In the present work, the impact of land-use changes in a watershed on coastal erosion is studied for a selected site in North Greece. Applications are based on an integrated approach to quantify the impact of watershed management on coastal morphology through numerical modeling. The watershed model SWAT and a shoreline evolution model developed by the authors (PELNCON-M) are used, evaluating with the latter the performance of the three longshore sediment transport rate formulae included in the model formulation. Results document the impact of crop abandonment on coastal erosion (agricultural land decrease from 23.3% to 5.1% is accompanied by the retreat of ~ 35 m in the vicinity of the stream mouth) and show the effect of sediment transport formula selection on the evolution of coastal morphology. Analysis denotes the relative importance of the parameters involved in the dynamics of watershed-coast systems, and - through the detailed description of a case study - is deemed to provide useful insights for researchers and policy-makers involved in their study.

  4. [Characteristics of nutrient loss by runoff in sloping arable land of yellow-brown under different rainfall intensities].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ling; Liu, De-Fu; Song, Lin-Xu; Cui, Yu-Jie; Zhang, Gei

    2013-06-01

    In order to investigate the loss characteristics of N and P through surface flow and interflow under different rainfall intensities, a field experiment was conducted on the sloping arable land covered by typical yellow-brown soils inXiangxi River watershed by artificial rainfall. The results showed that the discharge of surface flow, total runoff and sediment increased with the increase of rain intensity, while the interflow was negatively correlated with rain intensity under the same total rainfall. TN, DN and DP were all flushed at the very beginning in surface flow underdifferent rainfall intensities; TP fluctuated and kept consistent in surface flow without obvious downtrend. While TN, DN and DP in interflow kept relatively stable in the whole runoff process, TP was high at the early stage, then rapidly decreased with time and kept steady finally. P was directly influenced by rainfall intensity, its concentration in the runoff increased with the increase of the rainfall intensity, the average concentration of N and P both exceeded the threshold of eutrophication of freshwater. The higher the amount of P loss was, the higher the rain intensity. The change of N loss was the opposite. The contribution rate of TN loss carried by surface flow increased from 36.5% to 57.6% with the increase of rainfall intensity, but surface flow was the primary form of P loss which contributed above 90.0%. Thus, it is crucial to control interflow in order to reduce N loss. In addition, measures should be taken to effectively manage soil erosion to mitigate P loss. The proportion of dissolved nitrogen in surface flow elevated with the decrease of rainfall intensity, but in interflow, dissolved form was predominant. P was exported mainly in the form of particulate under different rainfall intensities and runoff conditions.

  5. Physically-based Assessment of Tropical Cyclone Damage and Economic Losses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, N.

    2012-12-01

    Estimating damage and economic losses caused by tropical cyclones (TC) is a topic of considerable research interest in many scientific fields, including meteorology, structural and coastal engineering, and actuarial sciences. One approach is based on the empirical relationship between TC characteristics and loss data. Another is to model the physical mechanism of TC-induced damage. In this talk we discuss about the physically-based approach to predict TC damage and losses due to extreme wind and storm surge. We first present an integrated vulnerability model, which, for the first time, explicitly models the essential mechanisms causing wind damage to residential areas during storm passage, including windborne-debris impact and the pressure-debris interaction that may lead, in a chain reaction, to structural failures (Lin and Vanmarcke 2010; Lin et al. 2010a). This model can be used to predict the economic losses in a residential neighborhood (with hundreds of buildings) during a specific TC (Yau et al. 2011) or applied jointly with a TC risk model (e.g., Emanuel et al 2008) to estimate the expected losses over long time periods. Then we present a TC storm surge risk model that has been applied to New York City (Lin et al. 2010b; Lin et al. 2012; Aerts et al. 2012), Miami-Dade County, Florida (Klima et al. 2011), Galveston, Texas (Lickley, 2012), and other coastal areas around the world (e.g., Tampa, Florida; Persian Gulf; Darwin, Australia; Shanghai, China). These physically-based models are applicable to various coastal areas and have the capability to account for the change of the climate and coastal exposure over time. We also point out that, although made computationally efficient for risk assessment, these models are not suitable for regional or global analysis, which has been a focus of the empirically-based economic analysis (e.g., Hsiang and Narita 2012). A future research direction is to simplify the physically-based models, possibly through

  6. Land cover change of watersheds in Southern Guam from 1973 to 2001.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Yuming; Khosrowpanah, Shahram; Heitz, Leroy

    2011-08-01

    Land cover change can be caused by human-induced activities and natural forces. Land cover change in watershed level has been a main concern for a long time in the world since watersheds play an important role in our life and environment. This paper is focused on how to apply Landsat Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) satellite image of 1973 and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite image of 2001 to determine the land cover changes of coastal watersheds from 1973 to 2001. GIS and remote sensing are integrated to derive land cover information from Landsat satellite images of 1973 and 2001. The land cover classification is based on supervised classification method in remote sensing software ERDAS IMAGINE. Historical GIS data is used to replace the areas covered by clouds or shadows in the image of 1973 to improve classification accuracy. Then, temporal land cover is utilized to determine land cover change of coastal watersheds in southern Guam. The overall classification accuracies for Landsat MSS image of 1973 and Landsat TM image of 2001 are 82.74% and 90.42%, respectively. The overall classification of Landsat MSS image is particularly satisfactory considering its coarse spatial resolution and relatively bad data quality because of lots of clouds and shadows in the image. Watershed land cover change in southern Guam is affected greatly by anthropogenic activities. However, natural forces also affect land cover in space and time. Land cover information and change in watersheds can be applied for watershed management and planning, and environmental modeling and assessment. Based on spatio-temporal land cover information, the interaction behavior between human and environment may be evaluated. The findings in this research will be useful to similar research in other tropical islands.

  7. Atrazine fate and transport within the coastal zone in southeastern Puerto Rico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbicide transport from crop-land to coastal waters may adversely impact water quality. This work examined potential atrazine impact from use on a farm field adjacent to the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve on Puerto Rico’s southeastern coast. Atrazine application was linked to residu...

  8. Natural and anthropogenic factors affecting freshwater lenses in coastal dunes of the Adriatic coast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cozzolino, Davide; Greggio, Nicolas; Antonellini, Marco; Giambastiani, Beatrice Maria Sole

    2017-08-01

    This study characterizes the near-shore portion of the shallow coastal aquifer included in the Ravenna area (Northern Italy) with special attention to the roles of coastal dunes as freshwater reservoirs and their buffer on groundwater salinity. The paper focuses on the presence and evolution of freshwater lenses below coastal dunes and highlights the existing differences between preserved natural dunes and dunes strongly affected by human intervention. The influence that multiple natural and anthropogenic factors, such as land cover, local drainage network, and beach erosion have on the presence, size and evolution of the freshwater lenses in the aquifer is quantified and discussed. The methodology includes multiple seasonal monitoring and sampling campaigns of physical (water level, salinity, and temperature) and chemical (major cations and anions) groundwater parameters. Results indicate that freshwater lenses, where existing, are limited in thickness (about 1-2 m). Proximity to drainage ditches as well as limited dune elevation and size do not allow the formation and permanent storage of large freshwater lenses in the aquifer below the dunes. The pine forest land cover, that replaced the typical bush or sand cover, intensifies evapotranspiration reducing net infiltration and freshwater storage. The cation species distribution in the water shows that a freshening process is ongoing in preserved natural sites with stable or advancing beaches, whereas a salinization process is ongoing in anthropogenic-impacted areas with strongly-fragmented dune systems. Currently, the thin freshwater lenses in the shallow Ravenna coastal aquifer are limited in space and have no relevance for irrigation or any other human activity. The dune-beach system, however, is the recharge zone of the coastal aquifer and its protection is important to reduce water and soil salinization, which in turn control the health of the whole coastal ecosystem.

  9. Coastal and Inland Aquatic Data Products for the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abelev, Andrei; Babin, Marcel; Bachmann, Charles; Bell, Thomas; Brando, Vittorio; Byrd, Kristin; Dekker , Arnold; Devred, Emmanuel; Forget, Marie-Helene; Goodman, James; hide

    2015-01-01

    The HyspIRI Aquatic Studies Group (HASG) has developed a conceptual list of data products for the HyspIRI mission to support aquatic remote sensing of coastal and inland waters. These data products were based on mission capabilities, characteristics, and expected performance. The topic of coastal and inland water remote sensing is very broad. Thus, this report focuses on aquatic data products to keep the scope of this document manageable. The HyspIRI mission requirements already include the global production of surface reflectance and temperature. Atmospheric correction and surface temperature algorithms, which are critical to aquatic remote sensing, are covered in other mission documents. Hence, these algorithms and their products were not evaluated in this report. In addition, terrestrial products (e.g., land use land cover, dune vegetation, and beach replenishment) were not considered. It is recognized that coastal studies are inherently interdisciplinary across aquatic and terrestrial disciplines. However, products supporting the latter are expected to already be evaluated by other components of the mission. The coastal and inland water data products that were identified by the HASG, covered six major environmental and ecological areas for scientific research and applications: wetlands, shoreline processes, the water surface, the water column, bathymetry and benthic cover types. Accordingly, each candidate product was evaluated for feasibility based on the HyspIRI mission characteristics and whether it was unique and relevant to the HyspIRI science objectives.

  10. Impact of land use change on soil erodibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Taleshian Jeloudar

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Vulnerability of soil separates to detachment by water is described as soil erodibility by Universal Soil Loss Equation which can be affected by land use change. In this study it was attempted to quantify the changes of Universal Soil Loss Equation K-factor and its soil driving factors in three land uses including rangeland, rainfed farming, and orchards in Babolrood watershed, northern Iran. Soil composite samples were obtained from two layers in three land uses, and the related soil physico-chemical properties were measured. The rainfed farming land use showed the highest clay contents, but the highest amounts of soil organic matter and sand particles were found in orchard land use. The high intensity of tillage led to the significant decrease of soil aggregate stability and permeability in the rainfed farming land use. The Universal Soil Loss Equation K-factor was negatively correlated with soil permeability (r=-0.77**. In rangeland, the K-factor (0.045 Mg h/MJ/mm was significantly higher and the particle size distribution had a great impact on the K-factor. The orchard land use, converted from the rangeland, did not show any increase of soils erodibility and can potentially be introduced as a good alternative land use in sloping areas. However, more detailed studies on environmental, social and economic aspects of this land use are needed.

  11. Effects on atmospheric diffusion of meterological processes in coastal zones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raynor, G.S.

    1977-01-01

    Meteorological processes in coastal zones differ from those inland because of the surface discontinuity between land and water. The difference in heating between the two surfaces gives rise to sea or lake breeze circulations which can transport pollutants in nongradient directions and recirculate them over source areas. The step change in surface characteristics at the land-water interface also causes formation of internal boundary layers having different transport velocities and diffusion rates than unmodified air upwind or above the boundary. These features require a more extensive measurement program and more versatile diffusion models than at inland sites

  12. Global multi-scale segmentation of continental and coastal waters from the watersheds to the continental margins

    KAUST Repository

    Laruelle, G. G.; Dü rr, H. H.; Lauerwald, R.; Hartmann, J.; Slomp, C. P.; Goossens, N.; Regnier, P. A. G.

    2013-01-01

    Past characterizations of the land-ocean continuum were constructed either from a continental perspective through an analysis of watershed river basin properties (COSCATs: COastal Segmentation and related CATchments) or from an oceanic perspective, through a regionalization of the proximal and distal continental margins (LMEs: large marine ecosystems). Here, we present a global-scale coastal segmentation, composed of three consistent levels, that includes the whole aquatic continuum with its riverine, estuarine and shelf sea components. Our work delineates comprehensive ensembles by harmonizing previous segmentations and typologies in order to retain the most important physical characteristics of both the land and shelf areas. The proposed multi-scale segmentation results in a distribution of global exorheic watersheds, estuaries and continental shelf seas among 45 major zones (MARCATS: MARgins and CATchments Segmentation) and 149 sub-units (COSCATs). Geographic and hydrologic parameters such as the surface area, volume and freshwater residence time are calculated for each coastal unit as well as different hypsometric profiles. Our analysis provides detailed insights into the distributions of coastal and continental shelf areas and how they connect with incoming riverine fluxes. The segmentation is also used to re-evaluate the global estuarine CO2 flux at the air-water interface combining global and regional average emission rates derived from local studies. © 2013 Author(s).

  13. Global multi-scale segmentation of continental and coastal waters from the watersheds to the continental margins

    KAUST Repository

    Laruelle, G. G.

    2013-05-29

    Past characterizations of the land-ocean continuum were constructed either from a continental perspective through an analysis of watershed river basin properties (COSCATs: COastal Segmentation and related CATchments) or from an oceanic perspective, through a regionalization of the proximal and distal continental margins (LMEs: large marine ecosystems). Here, we present a global-scale coastal segmentation, composed of three consistent levels, that includes the whole aquatic continuum with its riverine, estuarine and shelf sea components. Our work delineates comprehensive ensembles by harmonizing previous segmentations and typologies in order to retain the most important physical characteristics of both the land and shelf areas. The proposed multi-scale segmentation results in a distribution of global exorheic watersheds, estuaries and continental shelf seas among 45 major zones (MARCATS: MARgins and CATchments Segmentation) and 149 sub-units (COSCATs). Geographic and hydrologic parameters such as the surface area, volume and freshwater residence time are calculated for each coastal unit as well as different hypsometric profiles. Our analysis provides detailed insights into the distributions of coastal and continental shelf areas and how they connect with incoming riverine fluxes. The segmentation is also used to re-evaluate the global estuarine CO2 flux at the air-water interface combining global and regional average emission rates derived from local studies. © 2013 Author(s).

  14. Human impacts quantification on the coastal landforms of Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrer-Valero, Nicolás; Hernández-Calvento, Luis; Hernández-Cordero, Antonio I.

    2017-06-01

    The coastal areas of the Canary Islands are particularly sensitive to changes, both from a natural perspective and for their potential socio-economic implications. In this paper, the state of conservation of an insular coast is approached from a geomorphological point of view, considering recent changes induced by urban and tourism development. The analysis is applied to the coast of Gran Canaria, a small Atlantic island of volcanic origin, subject to a high degree of human pressure on its coastal areas, especially in recent decades. Currently, much of the economic activity of Gran Canaria is linked to mass tourism, associated with climatic and geomorphological features of the coast. This work is addressed through detailed mapping of coastal landforms across the island (256 km perimeter), corresponding to the period before the urban and tourism development (late 19th century for the island's capital, mid-20th century for the rest of the island) and today. The comparison between the coastal geomorphology before and after the urban and tourism development was established through four categories of human impacts, related to their conservation state: unaltered, altered, semi-destroyed and extinct. The results indicate that 43% of coastal landforms have been affected by human impacts, while 57% remain unaltered. The most affected are sedimentary landforms, namely coastal dunes, palaeo-dunes, beaches and wetlands. Geodiversity loss was also evaluated by applying two diversity indices. The coastal geodiversity loss by total or partial destruction of landforms is estimated at - 15.2%, according to Shannon index (H‧), while it increases to - 32.1% according to an index proposed in this paper. We conclude that the transformations of the coast of Gran Canaria induced by urban and tourism development have heavily affected the most singular coastal landforms (dunes, palaeo-dunes and wetlands), reducing significantly its geodiversity.

  15. Characteristics of Aedes aegypti adult mosquitoes in rural and urban areas of western and coastal Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ndenga, Bryson Alberto; Mutuku, Francis Maluki; Ngugi, Harun Njenga; Mbakaya, Joel Omari; Aswani, Peter; Musunzaji, Peter Siema; Vulule, John; Mukoko, Dunstan; Kitron, Uriel; LaBeaud, Angelle Desiree

    2017-01-01

    Aedes aegypti is the main vector for yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses. Recent outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya have been reported in Kenya. Presence and abundance of this vector is associated with the risk for the occurrence and transmission of these diseases. This study aimed to characterize the presence and abundance of Ae. aegypti adult mosquitoes from rural and urban sites in western and coastal regions of Kenya. Presence and abundance of Ae. aegypti adult mosquitoes were determined indoors and outdoors in two western (urban Kisumu and rural Chulaimbo) and two coastal (urban Ukunda and rural Msambweni) sites in Kenya. Sampling was performed using quarterly human landing catches, monthly Prokopack automated aspirators and monthly Biogents-sentinel traps. A total of 2,229 adult Ae. aegypti mosquitoes were collected: 785 (35.2%) by human landing catches, 459 (20.6%) by Prokopack aspiration and 985 (44.2%) by Biogents-sentinel traps. About three times as many Ae. aegypti mosquitoes were collected in urban than rural sites (1,650 versus 579). Comparable numbers were collected in western (1,196) and coastal (1,033) sites. Over 80% were collected outdoors through human landing catches and Prokopack aspiration. The probability of collecting Ae. aegypti mosquitoes by human landing catches was significantly higher in the afternoon than morning hours (Paegypti mosquitoes were collected using Prokopack aspiration outdoors than indoors (Paegypti bites was highest in urban areas, outdoors and in the afternoon hours. These characteristics have major implications for the possible transmission of arboviral diseases and for the planning of surveillance and control programs. PMID:29261766

  16. Coastal erosion management in Accra: Combining local knowledge and empirical research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwasi Appeaning Addo

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Coastal erosion along the Accra coast has become a chronic phenomenon that threatens both life and property. The issue has assumed a centre stage of national debate in recent times because of its impact on the coastal communities. Lack of reliable geospatial data hinders effective scientific investigations into the changing trends in the shoreline position. However, knowledge about coastal erosion, by the local people, and how far the shoreline has migrated inland over time is high in the coastal communities in Accra. This opens a new chapter in coastal erosion research to include local knowledge of the local settlers in developing sustainable coastal management. This article adopted a scientific approach to estimate rate of erosion and tested the results against perceived erosion trend by the local settlers. The study used a 1974 digital topographic map and 1996 aerial photographs. The end point rate statistical method in DSAS was used to compute the rates of change. The short-term rate of change for the 22-year period under study was estimated as -0.91 m/annum ± 0.49 m/annum. It was revealed that about 79% of the shoreline is eroding, while the remaining 21% is either stabilised or accreting. It emerged, from semi-structured interviews with inhabitants in the Accra coastal communities, that an average of about 30 m of coastal lands are perceived to have been lost to erosion for a period of about 20 years. This translates to a historic rate of change of about 1.5 m/year, which corroborates the results of the scientific study. Again this study has established that the local knowledge of the inhabitants, about coastal erosion, can serve as reliable information under scarcity of scientific data for coastal erosion analyses in developing countries.

  17. Integrated Coastal Data at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stroker, K. J.; Mesick, S.

    2016-02-01

    The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) provides stewardship for the world's largest collection of data enabling communities to ensure preparedness and resilience to coastal hazards. In this unique collection, NCEI has the responsibility to ensure access to high-resolution coastal tide gauge data, coastal bathymetry and topography data, global geologic hazards data (tsunami, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions) as part of the World Data Center for Geophysics, and are expanding the archive to support other coastal data streams, such as coastal current velocity data important for safety in ports and harbors. These data, collected by partners from academia, federal and state governments, support a wide variety of uses. Ensuring accurate, high quality metadata for these data are essential for their proper use. In addition to providing easy access to partner data to extend the use of these data, NCEI also develops scientifically-validated derived products. One such example is our collection of high-resolution, coastal digital elevation models (DEMs) that integrate ocean bathymetry and land topography to support NOAA's mission to understand and predict changes in Earth's environment, and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation's economic, social, and environmental needs. These DEMs can be used for modeling of coastal processes (tsunami inundation, storm surge, sea-level rise, contaminant dispersal, etc.), ecosystems management and habitat research, coastal and marine spatial planning, and hazard mitigation and community preparedness. Additionally, the US Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) project is determining the outer limits of the US continental shelf though the collection and analysis of data that describe the depth, shape and geophysical characteristics of the seabed and sub-seafloor. These data are all housed and stewarded at NCEI. The paper will discuss the wide variety of coastal data maintained and stewarded at NCEI

  18. Ground-water geology of the coastal zone, Long Beach-Santa Ana area, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poland, J.F.; Piper, A.M.

    1956-01-01

    This paper is the first chapter of a comprehensive report on the ground-water features in the southern part of the coastal plain in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, Calif., with special reference to the effectiveness of the so-called coastal barrier--the Newport-Inglewood structural zone--in restraining landwar,-1 movement of saline water. The coastal plain in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, which covers some 775 square miles, sustains a large urban and rural population, diverse industries, and intensive agricultural developments. The aggregate ground-water withdrawal in 1945 was about 400,000 acre-feet a year, an average of about 360 million gallons a day. The dominant land-form elements are a central lowland plain with tongues extending to the coast, bordering highlands and foothills, and a succession of low hills and mesas aligned northwestward along the coastal edge of the central low- land plain. These low hills and mesas are the land-surface expression of geologic structure in the Newport-Inglewood zone. The highland areas that border the inland edge of the coastal plain are of moderate altitude and relief; most of the ridge crests range from 1,400 to 2,500 feet in altitude, but Santiago Peak in the Santa Ana Mountains attains a height of 5,680 feet above sea level. From these highlands the land surface descends across foothills and aggraded alluvial aprons to the central lowland, Downey Plain, here defined as the surface formed by alluvial aggradation during the post-Pleistocene time of rising base level. The Newport-Inglewood belt of hills and plains (mesas) has a maximum relief of some 500 feet but is widely underlain at a depth of about 30 feet by a surface of marine plantation. As initially formed in late Pleistocene time that surface was largely a featureless plain. Thus the present land-surface forms within the Newport-Inglewood belt measure the earth deformation that has occurred there since late Pleistocene time and so are pertinent with respect to

  19. Quantifying the Influence of Urbanization on a Coastal Floodplain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebastian, A.; Juan, A.; Bedient, P. B.

    2016-12-01

    The U.S. Gulf Coast is the fastest growing region in the United States; between 1960 and 2010, the number of housing units along the Gulf of Mexico increased by 246%, vastly outpacing growth in other parts of the country (NOAA 2013). Numerous studies have shown that increases in impervious surface associated with urbanization reduce infiltration and increase surface runoff. While empirical evidence suggests that changes in land use are leading to increased flood damage in overland areas, earlier studies have largely focused on the impacts of urbanization on surface runoff and watershed hydrology, rather than quantifying its influence on the spatial extent of flooding. In this study, we conduct a longitudinal assessment of the evolution of flood risk since 1970 in an urbanizing coastal watershed. Utilizing the distributed hydrologic model, Vflo®, in combination with the hydraulic model, HEC-RAS, we quantify the impact of localized land use/land cover (LULC) change on the spatial extent of flooding in the watershed and the underlying flood hazard structure. The results demonstrate that increases in impervious cover between 1970 and 2010 (34%) and 2010 and 2040 (18%) increase the size of the floodplain by 26 and 17%, respectively. Furthermore, the results indicate that the depth and frequency of flooding in neighborhoods within the 1% floodplain have increased substantially (see attached figure). Finally, this analysis provides evidence that outdated FEMA floodplain maps could be underestimating the extent of the floodplain by upwards of 25%, depending on the rate of urbanization in the watershed; and, that by incorporating physics-based distributed hydrologic models into floodplain studies, floodplain maps can be easily updated to reflect the most recent LULC information available. The methods presented in this study have important implications for the development of mitigation strategies in coastal areas, such as deterring future development in flood prone areas

  20. Understanding Coastal Carbon Cycling by Linking Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, Jordan G.; Troxler, Tiffany G.; Najjar, Raymond G.

    2014-09-01

    The coastal zone, despite occupying a small fraction of the Earth's surface area, is an important component of the global carbon (C) cycle. Coastal wetlands, including mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows, compose a domain of large reservoirs of biomass and soil C [Fourqurean et al., 2012; Donato et al., 2011; Pendleton et al., 2012; Regnier et al., 2013; Bauer et al., 2013]. These wetlands and their associated C reservoirs (2 to 25 petagrams C; best estimate of 7 petagrams C [Pendleton et al., 2012]) provide numerous ecosystem services and serve as key links between land and ocean.