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Climate change and adaptational impacts in coastal systems: the case of sea defences

Climate change and adaptational impacts in coastal systems: the case of sea defences
Climate change and adaptational impacts in coastal systems: the case of sea defences
We briefly review how coastal ecosystems are responding to and being impacted by climate change, one of the greatest challenges facing society today. In adapting to rising and stormier seas associated with climate change, coastal defence structures are proliferating and becoming dominant coastal features, particularly in urbanised areas. Whilst the primary function of these structures is to protect coastal property and infrastructure, they inevitably have a significant secondary impact on the local environment and ecosystems. In this review we outline some of the negative and positive effects of these structures on physical processes, impacts on marine species, and the novel engineering approaches that have been employed to improve the ecological value of these structures in recent years. Finally we outline guidelines for an environmentally sensitive approach to design of such structures in the marine environment.
2050-7887
1665-1670
Firth, Louise B.
2e186fef-ae70-4fc8-8f3f-34e0073eff9a
Mieszkowska, Nova
0024e8e8-9da9-49c5-ab13-31cd672cddc5
Thompson, Richard C.
f439ea56-b6dd-48cf-8adb-d9c2ecc6e24d
Hawkins, Stephen J.
758fe1c1-30cd-4ed1-bb65-2471dc7c11fa
Firth, Louise B.
2e186fef-ae70-4fc8-8f3f-34e0073eff9a
Mieszkowska, Nova
0024e8e8-9da9-49c5-ab13-31cd672cddc5
Thompson, Richard C.
f439ea56-b6dd-48cf-8adb-d9c2ecc6e24d
Hawkins, Stephen J.
758fe1c1-30cd-4ed1-bb65-2471dc7c11fa

Firth, Louise B., Mieszkowska, Nova, Thompson, Richard C. and Hawkins, Stephen J. (2013) Climate change and adaptational impacts in coastal systems: the case of sea defences. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 15 (9), 1665-1670. (doi:10.1039/C3EM00313B).

Record type: Article

Abstract

We briefly review how coastal ecosystems are responding to and being impacted by climate change, one of the greatest challenges facing society today. In adapting to rising and stormier seas associated with climate change, coastal defence structures are proliferating and becoming dominant coastal features, particularly in urbanised areas. Whilst the primary function of these structures is to protect coastal property and infrastructure, they inevitably have a significant secondary impact on the local environment and ecosystems. In this review we outline some of the negative and positive effects of these structures on physical processes, impacts on marine species, and the novel engineering approaches that have been employed to improve the ecological value of these structures in recent years. Finally we outline guidelines for an environmentally sensitive approach to design of such structures in the marine environment.

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More information

Published date: July 2013
Organisations: Ocean Biochemistry & Ecosystems

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 358563
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/358563
ISSN: 2050-7887
PURE UUID: 4d208842-7cd4-4d45-89d8-a9cd7e5354a5

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 08 Oct 2013 12:48
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 15:05

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Contributors

Author: Louise B. Firth
Author: Nova Mieszkowska
Author: Richard C. Thompson

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