Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 4, 2025
07:26
Visualizing Methane-Cycling Microbial Dynamics in Coastal Wetlands
Published on: January 31, 2025
435
Implications of Coastal Conditions and Sea-Level Rise on Mangrove Vulnerability: A Bio-Morphodynamic Modeling Study
Danghan Xie1, Christian Schwarz2,3, Maarten G Kleinhans1
1Faculty of Geosciences Utrecht University Utrecht Netherlands.
Journal of Geophysical Research. Earth Surface
|July 21, 2022
Summary
Mangrove ecosystems face risks from sea-level rise (SLR), with micro-tidal conditions increasing vulnerability. Coastal factors like waves and sediment supply significantly influence mangrove resilience and landward habitat development under SLR.
Area of Science:
- Coastal geomorphology
- Ecosystem dynamics
- Climate change adaptation
Background:
- Mangrove forests are vital coastal ecosystems reliant on bio-morphodynamic feedbacks for persistence on intertidal flats.
- The influence of diverse coastal conditions on mangrove responses to sea-level rise (SLR) remains inadequately understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of tidal range, wind waves, sediment supply, and coastal slope on mangrove development under SLR using numerical experiments.
- To assess how these coastal factors mediate mangrove vulnerability and landward habitat formation.
Main Methods:
- Numerical modeling of mangrove bio-morphodynamics under varying coastal conditions and SLR scenarios.
- Systematic exploration of parameters including tidal range (micro- to macro-tidal), wind wave presence, sediment supply rates, and coastal slopes.
Main Results:
- Micro-tidal conditions render mangroves more vulnerable due to gentler slopes and limited sediment capture, causing significant landward displacement.
- Macro-tidal conditions with high sediment supply enhance accretion and platform formation, increasing resilience to slow/medium SLR but not fast SLR.
- Wind waves promote accretion and higher forest elevation, partially offsetting SLR impacts and influencing inundation regimes.
Conclusions:
- Coastal conditions critically determine mangrove resilience to SLR, affecting accretion rates, forest position, and landward migration potential.
- Landward habitats can form even with limited sediment supply, potentially filling with eroded sediment over time.
- Mangrove sediment accretion under SLR is non-linear and highly dependent on specific coastal settings and proximity to the forest edge.
Keywords:
accommodation spacebio‐morphodynamic feedbackscoastal conditionsmangrovesnumerical modelingsea‐level riseMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:41Responses to Drought and Flooding
10.9K
Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.
10.9K
01:17Design Example: Analyzing Capacity Contours for Flood Risk Assessment
95
Flood risk assessment involves careful planning and analysis to ensure the safety of communities near water retention structures. Capacity contours are a vital tool in this process, as they illustrate the potential spread of water at specific levels in a given area. In the context of building a bund across a small valley, these contours play a critical role in evaluating the safety of nearby residential areas.In this example, the bund is intended to store stormwater in the valley. The engineers...
95
01:22Effect of Sea Water on Concrete
404
Concrete exposed to seawater can undergo degradation like the dissolution of ettringite and gypsum, increasing the material's porosity and decreasing its strength. In contrast, the crystallization of salts within the concrete's pores can cause expansion, particularly above the waterline where evaporation occurs. Nonetheless, this expansion only happens when seawater, enabled by the concrete's permeability, manages to infiltrate the structure.
Concrete in areas between tide marks,...
Concrete in areas between tide marks,...
404
01:57Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
26.2K
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
26.2K
01:30Typical Model Studies
435
Fluid mechanics model studies often utilize scaled-down systems to predict fluid behavior in full-scale environments, such as river flows, dam spillways, and structures interacting with open surfaces. Maintaining Froude number similarity in river models is crucial, as it replicates surface flow features like wave patterns and velocities.
435
01:19Design Example: Maintaining Level of an Embankment
119
Constructing a roadway embankment over uneven terrain requires precise leveling to ensure stability and proper drainage. Surveyors use a leveling instrument and staff to calculate ground elevations and determine the required fill material at each point along the embankment alignment.The process begins by positioning a leveling instrument near a benchmark with a known elevation. A backsight reading establishes the instrument height, which serves as a reference for subsequent measurements. A...
119