Soil Salinity and Water Level Interact to Generate Tipping Points in Low Salinity Tidal Wetlands Responding to Climate Change

Wang, Hongqing; Krauss, Ken W.; Noe, Gregory B.; Dai, Zhaohua; Mayfield, Albert E.

doi:10.1007/s12237-023-01243-5

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 53 publications

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“…In South Carolina, rising seas and salinity since 2014 were shown to have negatively impacted coastal forest productivity and composition [95], leading the investigators to conclude a transition to marsh habitat was inevitable. Working in the tidal freshwater coastal floodplains of South Carolina and Georgia, Jones et al [96] and Wang et al [97] observed a decline in coastal forest productivity (e.g., die off, tree regeneration, growth) and marsh encroachment, which the authors linked to rising sea level and increasing salinity. Some of their observations were reported from riverine study sites located as much as 30 km upstream of the Atlantic coastline.…”

Section: Evidence Of Recent Changes and Likely Outcomes Of Faster Rat...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphic Response of the Georgia Bight Coastal Zone to Accelerating Sea Level Rise, Southeastern USA

Parkinson,

Wdowinski

2023

Coasts

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Synthesis of geologic and chronologic data generated from Holocene sedimentary sequences recovered along the inner continental shelf, shoreface, and modern coastal zone of the Georgia Bight reveal a synchronous sequence of paleoenvironmental events that occurred in response to rate of sea level rise tipping points. During the early Holocene (11.7–8.2 cal kyr BP), the paleoshoreline was overstepped and submerged by rapidly rising seas that averaged ~5 mm yr−1. Rates of rise during the middle Holocene (8.2–4.2 cal kyr BP) averaged ~2 mm yr−1 and this deceleration resulted in the formation of coastal environments and sedimentary sequences that were subsequently reworked as the shoreface continued its landward and upward migration. The modern coastal zone emerged commensurate with the late Holocene (4.2–0 cal kyr BP), when the rate of sea level rise averaged <1 mm yr−1. Analysis of water level data collected at six NOAA tide gauge stations located along the Georgia Bight coast indicates the rate of relative sea level rise has increased from a historical average of 3.6 ± 0.2 mm yr−1 (<1972 to 2022) to 6.6 ± 0.8 (1993 to 2022) and during the 21st century it has averaged 9.8 ± 0.3 mm yr−1 (2003 to 2022). The current rate of sea level rise is nearly double the early Holocene rate of rise. Based upon a novel application of the principle of uniformitarianism (i.e., the past is the key to the future), the likely geomorphic trajectory of the Georgia Bight coastal zone under conditions of 21st century accelerating sea level rise will be one of increasing instability (e.g., coastal erosion) and flooding (e.g., overwash, breaching). Evidence of an emerging instability within the coastal zone has been previously reported throughout the region and supports the trajectory of geomorphic change proposed herein. This will ultimately result in the submergence of existing landscapes and replacement by estuarine and marine environments, which may hasten in pace and scale given the current rate of sea level rise is expected to continue accelerating throughout this century. These findings have not been previously reported and should be considered by coastal practitioners responsible for conceptualizing risk, as well as the formulation and implementation of adaptation action plans designed to mitigate threats to the built and natural environment induced by climate change.

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Section: Evidence Of Recent Changes and Likely Outcomes Of Faster Rat...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphic Response of the Georgia Bight Coastal Zone to Accelerating Sea Level Rise, Southeastern USA

Parkinson,

Wdowinski

2023

Coasts

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Warming stimulates mangrove carbon sequestration in rising sea level at their northern limit: An in situ simulation

Qiao,

Dong,

et al. 2024

Limnology & Oceanography

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Global warming and sea‐level rise are directly influencing the growth, distribution, and greenhouse gas emissions of mangrove forests. However, mangrove forests growing at their latitudinal limits are relatively susceptible to warming; nevertheless, few studies have focused on GHG emissions of latitudinal limits mangrove forests as related to global climate change. To address this knowledge gap, a multiyear in situ control experiment was established in a restored plantation at the northern distribution limit of Kandelia obovata, the most cold‐tolerant mangrove species in China, to simulate both warming and sea‐level rise. We investigated the growth patterns and sediment greenhouse gas emissions of a K. obovata population and identified the primary factors contributing to these changes. The results showed that warming and moderate sea‐level rise enhanced biomass by more than 18%, indicating that warming stimulated plant growth while excessive sea‐level rise inhibited it. The sediment greenhouse gas emissions ranged from 45.5 to 484.6 mgCO2 m−2 h−1, 5.6 to 590.3 μgCH4 m−2 h−1, and 11.4 to 385 μgN2O m−2 h−1, which increased with warming while decreased with sea‐level rise, acting as the net source of greenhouse gas emission. Our study predicted that sea‐level rise, while directly changing sediment properties, had combined effects with warming on these studied mangrove forests that were predicted to emit more greenhouse gases from sediments in the future. These findings indicated that K. obovata plantations within their latitudinal limits tend to accumulate more CO2 for biomass carbon storage under warming conditions, while stimulating sediment greenhouse gas emissions, which will offset their climate mitigating effect in future climatic scenarios.

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Soil Salinity and Water Level Interact to Generate Tipping Points in Low Salinity Tidal Wetlands Responding to Climate Change

Cited by 2 publications

References 53 publications

Geomorphic Response of the Georgia Bight Coastal Zone to Accelerating Sea Level Rise, Southeastern USA

Geomorphic Response of the Georgia Bight Coastal Zone to Accelerating Sea Level Rise, Southeastern USA

Warming stimulates mangrove carbon sequestration in rising sea level at their northern limit: An in situ simulation

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