Global distribution and dynamics of muddy coasts

Global distribution and dynamics of muddy coasts

Hulskamp, R.L. (TU Delft Coastal Engineering; Deltares)
Luijendijk, Arjen (TU Delft Coastal Engineering; Deltares)
van Maren, D.S. (TU Delft Environmental Fluid Mechanics; Deltares; Shanghai Estuarine and Coastal Science Research Center)
Moreno-Rodenas, Antonio (Deltares)
Calkoen, F.R. (TU Delft Coastal Engineering; Deltares)
Kras, Etiënne (Deltares)
Lhermitte, S.L.M. (TU Delft Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Aarninkhof, S.G.J. (TU Delft Civil Engineering & Geosciences)

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

2023

Muddy coasts provide ecological habitats, supply food and form a natural coastal defence. Relative sea level rise, changing wave energy and human interventions will increase the pressure on muddy coastal zones. For sustainable coastal management it is key to obtain information on the geomorphology of and historical changes along muddy areas. So far, little is known about the distribution and behaviour of muddy coasts at a global scale. In this study we present a global scale assessment of the occurrence of muddy coasts and rates of coastline change therein. We combine publicly available satellite imagery and coastal geospatial datasets, to train an automated classification method to identify muddy coasts. We find that 14% of the world’s ice-free coastline is muddy, of which 60% is located in the tropics. Furthermore, the majority of the world’s muddy coasts are eroding at rates exceeding 1 m/yr over the last three decades.

OA-Fund TU Delft

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:b56db12d-5ef7-4727-844a-e7f97776124a

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43819-6

2041-1723

Nature Communications, 14 (1)

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2023 R.L. Hulskamp, Arjen Luijendijk, D.S. van Maren, Antonio Moreno-Rodenas, F.R. Calkoen, Etiënne Kras, S.L.M. Lhermitte, S.G.J. Aarninkhof