Constraints on the adjustment of tidal marshes to accelerating sea level rise

Publication Name

Science

Abstract

Much uncertainty exists about the vulnerability of valuable tidal marsh ecosystems to relative sea level rise. Previous assessments of resilience to sea level rise, to which marshes can adjust by sediment accretion and elevation gain, revealed contrasting results, depending on contemporary or Holocene geological data. By analyzing globally distributed contemporary data, we found that marsh sediment accretion increases in parity with sea level rise, seemingly confirming previously claimed marsh resilience. However, subsidence of the substrate shows a nonlinear increase with accretion. As a result, marsh elevation gain is constrained in relation to sea level rise, and deficits emerge that are consistent with Holocene observations of tidal marsh vulnerability.

Open Access Status

This publication is not available as open access

Volume

377

Issue

6605

First Page

523

Last Page

527

Funding Number

UID 84375

Funding Sponsor

U.S. Geological Survey

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abo7872