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    Salt marsh loss affects tides and the sediment budget in shallow bays

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    Article (3.074Mb)
    Supporting Information S1 (3.275Mb)
    Date
    2018-10-27
    Author
    Donatelli, Carmine  Concept link
    Ganju, Neil K.  Concept link
    Zhang, Xiaohe  Concept link
    Fagherazzi, Sergio  Concept link
    Leonardi, Nicoletta  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/10769
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JF004617
    DOI
    10.1029/2018JF004617
    Keyword
     Salt marsh erosion; Tidal propagation; Sediment trapping; COAWST; Vegetation 
    Abstract
    The current paradigm is that salt marshes and their important ecosystem services are threatened by global climate change; indeed, large marsh losses have been documented worldwide. Morphological changes associated with salt marsh erosion are expected to influence the hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics of coastal systems. Here the influence of salt marsh erosion on the tidal hydrodynamics and sediment storage capability of shallow bays is investigated. Hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and vegetation dynamics are simulated using the numerical framework Coupled Ocean‐Atmosphere‐Wave‐Sediment Transport in the Barnegat Bay‐Little Egg Harbor system, USA. We show that salt marsh erosion influences the propagation of tides into back‐barrier basins, reducing the periodic inundation and sediment delivery to marsh platforms. As salt marshes erode, the sediment trapping potential of marsh platforms decreases exponentially. In this test case, up to 50% of the sediment mass trapped by vegetation is lost once a quarter of the marsh area is eroded. Similarly, without salt marshes the sediment budget of the entire bay significantly declines. Therefore, a positive feedback might be triggered such that as the salt marsh retreats the sediment storage capacity of the system declines, which could in turn further exacerbate marsh degradation.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2018. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 123 (2018): 2647–2662, doi:10.1029/2018JF004617.
    Collections
    • Sediment Transport
    Suggested Citation
    Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 123 (2018): 2647–2662
     

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