Accretion of a New England (U.S.A.) Salt Marsh in Response to Inlet Migration, Storms, and Sea-level Rise

1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.T. Roman ◽  
J.A. Peck ◽  
J.R. Allen ◽  
J.W. King ◽  
P.G. Appleby
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
New England ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
And Sea Level

Salt marsh resilience to sea-level rise and increased storm intensity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natascia Pannozzo ◽  
Nicoletta Leonardi ◽  
Iacopo Carnacina ◽  
Rachel Smedley
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Storm Surge ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Sediment Budget ◽  
Geophysical Research ◽  
Storm Intensity ◽  
Combined Impact ◽  
And Sea Level

<p>Salt marshes are widely recognised as ecosystems with high economic and environmental value. However, it is still unclear how salt marshes will respond to the combined impact of future sea-level rise and possible increases in storm intensity (Schuerch et al. 2013). This study investigates marsh resilience under the combined impact of various storm surge and sea-level scenarios by using a sediment budget approach. The current paradigm is that a positive sediment budget supports the accretion of salt marshes and, therefore, its survival, while a negative sediment budget causes marsh degradation (Ganju et al. 2015). The Ribble Estuary, North-West England, was used as test case, and the hydrodynamic model Delft3D was used to simulate the response of the salt marsh system to the above scenarios. We conclude that the resilience of salt marshes and estuarine systems is enhanced under the effect of storm surges, as they promote flood dominance and trigger a net import of sediment.  Conversely, sea-level rise threatens marsh stability, by promoting ebb dominance and triggering a net export of sediment. Ultimately, when storm surge and sea-level scenarios are combined, results show that storms with the highest intensities have the potential to counteract the negative impact of sea-level rise by masking its effects on the sediment budget.</p><p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p><p>We acknowledge the support of the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool.</p><p><strong>References</strong></p><p>Ganju, N.K., Kirwan, M.L., Dickhudt, P.J., Guntenspergen, G.R., Cahoon, D.R. and Kroeger, K.D. 2015. “Sediment transport-based metrics of wetland stability”. Geophysical Research Letters, 42(19), 7992-8000.</p><p>Schuerch, M., Vafeidis, A., Slawig, T. and Temmerman, S. 2013. “Modeling the influence of changing storm patterns on the ability of a salt marsh to keep pace with sea level rise”. Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surface, 118(1),<strong> </strong>84-96.</p>

scholarly journals Top-down and bottom-up controls on southern New England salt marsh crab populations

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth B. Raposa ◽  
Richard A. McKinney ◽  
Cathleen Wigand ◽  
Jeffrey W. Hollister ◽  
Cassie Lovall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
New England ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Fiddler Crab ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Southern New England ◽  
England Salt Marsh ◽  
Crab Abundance

Southern New England salt marsh vegetation and habitats are changing rapidly in response to sea-level rise. At the same time, fiddler crab (Uca spp.) distributions have expanded and purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum) grazing on creekbank vegetation has increased. Sea-level rise and reduced predation pressure drive these changing crab populations but most studies focus on one species; there is a need for community-level assessments of impacts from multiple crab species. There is also a need to identify additional factors that can affect crab populations. We sampled crabs and environmental parameters in four Rhode Island salt marshes in 2014 and compiled existing data to quantify trends in crab abundance and multiple factors that potentially affect crabs. Crab communities were dominated by fiddler and green crabs (Carcinus maenas); S. reticulatum was much less abundant. Burrow sizes suggest that Uca is responsible for most burrows. On the marsh platform, burrows and Carcinus abundance were negatively correlated with elevation, soil moisture, and soil percent organic matter and positively correlated with soil bulk density. Uca abundance was negatively correlated with Spartina patens cover and height and positively correlated with Spartina alterniflora cover and soil shear strength. Creekbank burrow density increased dramatically between 1998 and 2016. During the same time, fishing effort and the abundance of birds that prey on crabs decreased, and water levels increased. Unlike in other southern New England marshes where recreational overfishing is hypothesized to drive increasing marsh crab abundance, we propose that changes in crab abundance were likely unrelated to recreational finfish over-harvest; instead, they better track sea-level rise and changing abundances of alternate predators, such as birds. We predict that marsh crab abundance will continue to expand with ongoing sea-level rise, at least until inundation thresholds for crab survival are exceeded.

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