Hidden vulnerability of US Atlantic coast to sea-level rise due to vertical land motion

Abstract

The vulnerability of coastal environments to sea-level rise varies spatially, particularly due to local land subsidence. However, high-resolution observations and models of coastal subsidence are scarce, hindering an accurate vulnerability assessment. We use satellite data from 2007 to 2020 to create high-resolution map of subsidence rate at mm-level accuracy for different land covers along the ~3,500 km long US Atlantic coast. Here, we show that subsidence rate exceeding 3 mm per year affects most coastal areas, including wetlands, forests, agricultural areas, and developed regions. Coastal marshes represent the dominant land cover type along the US Atlantic coast and are particularly vulnerable to subsidence. We estimate that 58 to 100% of coastal marshes are losing elevation relative to sea level and show that previous studies substantially underestimate marsh vulnerability by not fully accounting for subsidence.

Establishing flood thresholds for sea level rise impact communication

“…To further investigate the impact of different input features on SLR rates, we conducted an analysis of their relative importance under each scenario, as shown in Supplementary Table S4 . Based on these results, the West Coast is most affected by the latitude; the Gulf and Southeast Coasts are impacted by the ocean circulation the most; and the most important feature in the Northeast Coast is latitude and vertical land motion (as suggested by Ohenhen et al 42 ). To determine the importance of the contribution of each feature, we eliminated the variables with the least importance from the feature dataset and then retrained the model.…”

Slowly but surely: Exposure of communities and infrastructure to subsidence on the US east coast

“…To characterize the land deformation along the US east coast, we leverage the ∼50 m resolution vertical land motion (VLM) datasets from 2007 to 2020 published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) ( 39 , 40 ) and Ohenhen et al ( 41 ) (Fig. S1A ).…”

Uncovering the impacts of depleting aquifers: A remote sensing analysis of land subsidence in Iran

“…The importance of our research extends beyond Iran’s borders. The issue of groundwater depletion ( 41 , 42 ) and land subsidence ( 43 – 46 ) has become a growing global concern. Two-thirds of the world’s population, spanning various nations and regions, grapple with water scarcity for at least 1 month a year ( 47 ).…”