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It's generally known that ocean stores abundant energy resources for the development and growth of human beings. Nowadays, the sustainable development of marine economy calls for precisely speculation of marine energy prices and efficiency. However, the traditional methods of measuring energy price and efficiency, for instance, the EROI (energy return on investment) model unable to define system boundaries and to calculate labor and physical costs, be it tidal energy or marine biomass energy. Thus, these methods may ignore as much as 50% of input energy consumption. Energy efficiency could be calculated by the ratio of average energy input cost to the average useable energy output cost while energy price could be measured by the ratio of the monetary input to the output. The principle above could be viewed as a check for energy return on investment as well as an elimination for a redundant process analysis. The results give us a chance to innovate traditional energy efficiency model by social and environmental factors which could be depicted through monetary terms. The precise estimation of marine energy efficiency could also help us make appropriate policies to combat global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rate of global eustatic sea-level rise during the Holocene Epoch has been identified as the principle cause of observed changes or inferred evolution of nontectonic coastal systems in mid- to low-latitude areas. The rate of rise is now three times faster than it was for the past several thousand years and similar to values associated with the middle Holocene marine transgression. This acceleration can be attributed to human-caused global warming. In this investigation, the effects of accelerating sea-level rise on coastal sedimentary environments of the SE Saline Everglades were quantified. The results reveal historic changes to coastal habitat, sedimentation, and stratigraphy that are transgressive. These changes initiated during the early 20th century and are attributed to accelerating sea-level rise. As this acceleration and the resulting geologic record is a suspected consequence of human-induced global warming, the paper concludes with a discussion of the relevance of these observations, in tandem with others, to the current debate over the utility and use of the proposed Anthropocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li, Y.L., 2020. The influence of manufacturing export trade on marine ecological environment in China. In: Bai, X. and Zhou, H. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Environmental Protection, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 115, pp. 631-635. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. With global warming, extreme climate and other environmental issues becoming increasingly prominent, the impact of import and export trade on Marine ecological environment has attracted more and more attention. Based on the current situation of China's manufacturing export, this paper discusses the deficiencies of China's current trade environment and its impact on the Marine ecological environment from the perspectives of policy norms, export structure, technology and concepts. The results show that China is at the low end of the global value chain, the role of processing and manufacturing makes China bear more pollution while becoming a manufacturing power, and taking labor-intensive and resource-intensive industries as China's comparative advantages to participate in the international division of labor will have a negative impact on China's Marine ecological environment. The low-end structure of exports, mainly manufactured goods, has further polluted China's Marine environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li, Z. and Liu, Y., 2019. An improved model for marine energy price and efficiency assessment. In: Gong, D.; Zhu, H., and Liu, R. (eds.), Selected Topics in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 94, pp. 640–647. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. It's generally known that ocean stores abundant energy resources for the development and growth of human beings. Nowadays, the sustainable development of marine economy calls for precisely speculation of marine energy prices and efficiency. However, the traditional methods of measuring energy price and efficiency, for instance, the EROI (energy return on investment) model unable to define system boundaries and to calculate labor and physical costs, be it tidal energy or marine biomass energy. Thus, these methods may ignore as much as 50% of input energy consumption. Energy efficiency could be calculated by the ratio of average energy input cost to the average useable energy output cost while energy price could be measured by the ratio of the monetary input to the output. The principle above could be viewed as a check for energy return on investment as well as an elimination for a redundant process analysis. The results give us a chance to innovate traditional energy efficiency model by social and environmental factors which could be depicted through monetary terms. The precise estimation of marine energy efficiency could also help us make appropriate policies to combat global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buzard, R.M.; Kinsman, N.E.M.; Maio, C.V.; Erikson, L.H.; Jones, B.M.; Anderson, S.; Glenn, R.J.T., and Overbeck, J.R., 2023. Barrier island reconfiguration leads to rapid erosion and relocation of a rural Alaska community. Journal of Coastal Research, 39(4), 625–642. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. Coastal erosion is one of the foremost hazards that circumpolar communities face. Climate change and warming temperatures are anticipated to accelerate coastal change, increasing risk to coastal communities. Most erosion hazard studies for Alaska communities only consider linear erosion and do not anticipate coastal morphologic changes. This study showcases the possibility and consequence of accelerated erosion by examining a shift from stability to rapid erosion that forced the rural Alaska Native village of Meshik (now Port Heiden) to abandon the original town site and relocate inland. A combination of remote sensing, coastal surveys, and community-based monitoring are used to map coastal morphologic changes and identify erosion drivers. The community's shoreline was stable until a protective barrier island eroded away. The exposure to open ocean waves, coupled with unconsolidated, low-density sediments, led to rapid erosion rates averaging 5.8 ± 0.6 m/y from the 1970s to 2020s. The sudden and rapid erosion put great stress on Meshik residents and resulted in the loss of homes, erosion of a safe boat harbor, and pollution of the beach and bay. Erosion of the barrier island coincided with a period of greater storm activity and sea ice decline, but the exact cause could not be determined. Many polar communities are built on or behind barriers and are on erodible soils such as sands and thawing permafrost. This study highlights the need to study, monitor, and predict morphologic change and regime shifts that can bring catastrophic impacts to coastal communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranchimeg, S.; Kim, J-G.; Kim, J.-G.; Kwon, H.-H., and Lee, S.-O., 2018. A Bayesian Quantile Regression Approach for Nonstationary Frequency Analysis of Annual Maximum Sea Level in a Changing Climate. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 536–540. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Sea level rise is primarily caused by global warming and has been a key consideration in design practices in coastal engineering. The design of coastal structures is currently based on a frequency analysis of the local sea level under the stationary assumption, meaning that the maximum sea level will not vary significantly over time. However, the stationary assumption for sea levels might not be valid in a changing climate. In such a context, this study proposes a systematic approach to investigate nonstationarity in annual maximum sea levels (AMSLs) and offers estimates of design water levels for coastal structures using a non-crossing quantile regression-based nonstationary frequency analysis model within a fully Bayesian framework. The AMSLs for 20 tide gauge stations, each with more than 28 years of hourly records, are considered and compiled in this study. The nonstationarity in the AMSLs are explored by focusing on the change in the scale and location parameter of the probability distributions. The majority of the stations (three-fourths) are found to have an upward-convergent/divergent pattern in the distribution, and the distribution changes are confirmed by significance tests. This study determines an overly simple nonstationary frequency analysis (NSFA) approach with a time-dependent mean value might lead to underestimation of the AMSLs, which results in an increase the failure risk in coastal structures. A more detailed discussion of the characteristics of the distribution changes for the design water level is provided in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lim, H.S.; Lee, H.J.; Kim, D., and Hong, S., 2023. Beach erosion along the eastern coast of Korea: A brief review. Journal of Coastal Research, 39(1), 181–190. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. Most of the beaches on the eastern coast of Korea are eroding at an alarming rate, triggered by combined natural and artificial causes. In this review, each of the major causes of beach erosion is addressed briefly. A few protection measures such as breakwaters and nourishments are also discussed, with the emphasis on the unexpected or undesirable outcomes. Finally, some of the essential requirements for the field measurements in a beach are mentioned. Global warming has induced the chief natural causes of the beach erosion in Korea, including a gradual increase in wave energies and sea level. An estimation in this review suggests the rates of shoreline of 1 m/10 yrs on the eastern coast by sea-level rise alone. By comparison, artificial beach erosion is most likely to occur upon emplacing structures nearby. A variety of the artificially erosional cases by beach developments are described in the review. Storms and typhoons play a critical role in eroding beaches and changing local morphologies in a short period of time and thus should be observed hydrodynamically. However, the diminishing run-off of rivers and streams should be regarded as the primary reason for the nationwide artificial erosion of beaches. The scanty supply of stream sands to the beaches, together with the influence of global warming, would have the beaches eroded continuously without any coastal developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jia, M.; Wang, Z.; Liu, D.; Ren, C.; Tang, X., and Dong, Z., 2015. Monitoring loss and recovery of salt marsh in the Liao River Delta, China. Coastal salt marsh plays an important role in the aquatic food web and the export of nutrients to coastal waters. The salt marshes in the Liao River Delta of China, dominated by Suaeda heteroptera, experienced a dramatic loss in the 1990s and then recovered in the 2000s. This study investigates these changes of salt marsh using a time series of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images acquired in 1988, 1995, 2000, 2004, 2007, and 2009. The classification tree method was used on these TM images to extract S. heteroptera, and an interactive self-organizing data analysis algorithm was used to determine other land cover types. The conversions between salt marsh and other land cover types were described with conversion matrices. The classification results show that, during 1998-2004, salt marsh decreased dramatically at an average rate of 662.68 ha/y. However, during the period 2004-2009, salt marsh recovered gradually at a rate of 115.51 ha/y. The conversion matrix indicates that, from 1988 to 2004, a large area of former salt marsh was directly replaced by man-made landscape types, such as reed field (5111 ha), aquaculture pond (2655 ha), reservoir (1720 ha), and paddy field (729 ha). In contrast, the result for the period from 2004 to 2009 shows that salt marshes were recovered by the conversion of some areas of former barren beaches and river back to salt marsh. Driving forces analysis suggests that salt marsh dynamics were mainly caused by human activities, with the secondary drivers being climatic warming and dry conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floristic studies of introduced and native seaweed populations from 14 open coastal and estuarine sites within southern Maine and New Hampshire were documented between 1965 and 2017. A total of 186 seaweed taxa were recorded, including 15 introduced (8.1%) and 171 native (91.9%) species. The highest species diversity (123 taxa) occurred at the open coastal Seapoint Beach site in Kittery, Maine, and an estuarine tidal rapid site at Dover Point, New Hampshire, with 106 taxa. The numbers of introduced species per site ranged from 2–11. The percent occurrence patterns for the 15 introduced seaweeds were highly variable, with Codium fragile subsp. fragile and Ulonema rhizophorum being restricted to single sites (7%), Melanothamnus harveyi occurring at 12 sites (86%), and Agarophyton vermiculophyllum and Dasysiphonia japonica at 13 sites (93%). The geographical origins and initial collection dates for the 15 introduced taxa were highly variable, with their initial collections ranging from 1848 (M. harveyi) to 2007 (D. japonica). Codium fragile subsp. fragile had the most protracted period between its initial occurrence at Orient Point, New York, in 1957 and in northern New England 40 years later (i.e., 1997). By contrast, several other introduced taxa had rapid geographic expansions within five years. The numbers and abundance of introduced species in the Gulf of Maine have increased dramatically between 1986 and 2017, with nine recorded in 1986 and 15 in 2017. Two native warm-water red algae (Agardhiella subulata and Gelidium crinale) showed sudden northward expansions during 2016 and 2017, respectively. Their presence may be associated with global warming, which is presently occurring at an alarming rate within the Gulf of Maine and exceeds many areas within the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amphibian response to climate change has been generally described as phenological shifts toward earlier breeding periods, with animals exhibiting smaller body sizes and male frogs producing breeding calls higher in pitch and shorter in duration. However, with >8000 species of amphibians now described, and the effects of climate change intensifying, the amphibian response to variable climates is likely to be broader and more nuanced than scientists have so far observed. For example, our previous work described a dramatic acceleration in the breeding season from spring to the previous fall, associated with warming, in Southern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus); a correlation between precipitation levels and body mass indices in Crawfish Frogs (Lithobates areolatus); and the expression of a variety of daily activity patterns dependent on seasonal variations in temperature and humidity in Crawfish Frogs. Here, we add to this literature by documenting a shift in wetland breeding habitats from seasonal/semipermanent wetlands to permanent wetlands in response to decadal-long hydrologic cycles by Northern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates pipiens) and Eastern Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum). Three implications follow from this result. First, when challenged by climate variability, conserving amphibian diversity requires preserving wetland diversity. Second, amphibian occupancy of any particular wetland basin shifts over time, complicating conclusions drawn from short-term survey data. Third, the wetland shifts we report in response to natural climate variability might provide amphibians the flexibility to successfully respond to future climate challenges. Our insights herein derive from field studies, and we worry that the well-documented trend toward de-emphasizing fieldwork will limit scientists' ability to accurately assess threats to species from climate challenges. As the legendary writer Jim Harrison retorted when asked why he had never accepted any of the comfortable academic jobs he had been offered, "Somebody's got to stay outside." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suh, S. and Kim, H., 2020. Extreme surge heights incorporating long-term tidal variation and sea-level rise. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 1542–1546. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Global warming is a primary factor for acceleration of sea-level rise (SLR). Most previous studies have dealt only with mean SLR; however, in terms of storm surge inundation, not only the mean SLR, but also the summer seasonal SLR, which is locally almost 20 cm higher on the west coast of Korea because of thermal expansion and riverine runoff, must be considered. In addition, the nodal effects of the 18.6-year tidal variation should be considered for long-term (through 2100) surge hazard analyses. Tidal analyses were conducted at the Incheon station, which is located in the middle of the west coast of Korea, using records from 1960 to 2018. Peak M2 amplitudes varying from 2.96 to 3.02 m were obtained in 1979, 1997, and 2015, while the lowest value of 2.76 m was obtained in 1968, 1985 and 2006. The analysis predicted that the resulting tidal range, would show peak values this century in 2025, 2043, 2062, and 2099. To determine the extreme surge height (SH), this study generated synthetic storms. These storms were generated with a Perl script by adjusting typhoon parameters based data reported in the literature. Upon considering the nodal factor, the resulting SH in 100 years would vary from 1.18 to the 1.31 m mark on the west coast, while it would vary from 0.68 m to 0.71 m on the south coast of Korea. These extreme SHs are potentially hazardous to existing coastal infrastructure such as levees and dikes. This study is relevant to the mitigation of coastal hazards, incorporating not only extreme SH but also wave-induced overtopping hazards on artificial coasts where anthropogenic impacts were made without considering future sea-level changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peterson, C.D.; Kingen, K.E.P.; Erlandson, J.M.; Kaijankoski, P.; Meyer, J., and Ryan, C., 2019. Widespread evidence of terminated marine transgressive sand supply and failing longshore sand transport to eroding coastal eolian sand ramps during the latest Holocene time in Oregon and California (Pacific Coast, USA). Journal of Coastal Research, 35(6), 1145–1163. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Holocene perched dunes and wave-truncated sand ramps were used to project paleoramp geometries and to estimate sand ramp erosion during the late Holocene in the U.S. Pacific Coast study area (1500 km in length). Both recently accreted sand ramp slopes (n = 24) and wave-truncated sand ramps (n = 59) in 11 sand ramp complexes (0.3–11.4 km in alongshore length) were profiled from areas of previously abundant dune sand supply. Modern sand ramp slopes (shore normal) ranged from 2 to 26°, with slope steepening resulting from upslope eolian deflation (10–20°) and downslope mass wasting by landslide (>20°). Paleoramp surface slopes at 10, 15, and 20° were projected seaward from truncated sand ramp tops (11–97 m in elevation) to intersect with projected basal ramp horizons (4-m elevation). Differences between the 10° slope paleoramps and the corresponding modern sea cliffs yield eroded ramp cross-sectional areas (78–16,770 m2). The eroded cross-sectional areas were multiplied by corresponding alongshore lengths to estimate truncated ramp complex erosion (1.29 × 105–6.41 × 107 m3, mean 12.62 × 106 m3). Modern beach sand volumes in shorelines fronting the 11 truncated ramp complexes are estimated to range from 1.05 × 105 to 1.47 × 106 m3. The average modern beach sand volume of 4.25 × 105 m3 represents only 3.4% of the average eroded ramp complex volume, as estimated from differencing the 10° projected slopes and the modern sea cliff profiles. Near-surface 14C ages of buried archaeological materials in the 11 truncated ramp complexes (932 ± 672 cal BP 1σ, n = 20) demonstrate terminal ramp accretion and associated ramp truncation by beach retreat during the latest Holocene time. The widespread sand ramp erosion, following 3.0 m of sea-level rise during the last 3.0 ka, serves as a warning for the U.S. Pacific Coast and other high–wave energy cliff-backed shorelines for potential beach response to near-future sea-level rise (1–3 m) predicted to occur from ongoing global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yang, Z.; Chen, D.; Huang, D., and Yang, Y., 2019. Prediction of coastal evolution in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. In: Guido-Aldana, P.A. and Mulahasan, S. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources and Exploration. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 93, pp. 16–21. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Coasts vary in their composition and the physical processes that affect them. However, their nature and behavior have similarities. Presently, the majority of coasts worldwide are eroding. The rapidly increasing threat of global warming and the resulting rise in sea level can accelerate coastal erosion. The nearly 2 km coastline in the port city of Puerto Cabello in Venezuela, to the west of the island Goaigoaza, was taken as a case study. The long-term state of the beach was assessed by considering the credits and debits of sand that pass through the coastal system. In the study, the net longshore sediment transport rate in the west of the salient was westward and Qin < Qout, denoting that beach erosion will occur in this particular area. Through field investigations and theoretical analysis, it can be preliminarily concluded that the beaches in the study area are slightly eroded. However, a long-term study on the current profile is essential to arrive at a decisive conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coasts vary in their composition and the physical processes that affect them. However, their nature and behavior have similarities. Presently, the majority of coasts worldwide are eroding. The rapidly increasing threat of global warming and the resulting rise in sea level can accelerate coastal erosion. The nearly 2 km coastline in the port city of Puerto Cabello in Venezuela, to the west of the island Goaigoaza, was taken as a case study. The long-term state of the beach was assessed by considering the credits and debits of sand that pass through the coastal system. In the study, the net longshore sediment transport rate in the west of the salient was westward and Qin < Qout, denoting that beach erosion will occur in this particular area. Through field investigations and theoretical analysis, it can be preliminarily concluded that the beaches in the study area are slightly eroded. However, a long-term study on the current profile is essential to arrive at a decisive conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests the effectiveness of physical barriers in blocking or reducing washover sedimentation in coastal marshes. It is widely assumed that natural and artificial physical barriers, such as foredunes and roads, block or reduce storm overwash. However, there appears to be little documented assessment of this effect. This topic has gained significance recently because of concerns over sea-level rise induced by global warming creating a larger potential threat from storm overwash. Nearshore physical barriers act to protect populations and infrastructure farther inland from storm surge, but they may also reduce sediment delivery to coastal marshlands, slowing their vertical accretion and contributing to their submergence by rising sea level. Consequently, there is a critical need for more information on the effect of physical barriers on marsh sedimentation. Washover sediment beds were examined along two transects across marshes in McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Texas, one in the lee of a higher and wider foredune barrier and one where foredunes are lower and narrower. Washover sediment beds deposited by Hurricanes Rita (2005) and Ike (2008) were found on both transects. Comparison of washover sedimentation along the two transects showed an average 40% reduction in sediment volume and an average reduction in inland extent of deposits of 505 m in the lee of the higher and wider barrier. These results show that even relatively subtle increases in barrier dimensions can cause substantial reductions in the magnitude of washover sedimentation in marshes. These findings have implications for paleotempestology studies that use the magnitude of washover sedimentation in the lee of dynamic coastal barriers as geologic proxies of storm intensity. Coastal management agencies contemplating the use of physical barriers to block storm surge should take into consideration the impact of such barriers on the sustainability of coastal marshes faced with rising sea level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oh, S.M.; Moon, I.-J., and Kwon, S.J., 2016. Increasing the highest storm surge in Busan harbor, In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 760-764. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. One of the most pronounced effects of climate change in coastal regions is sea level rise and storm surges. Busan in particular, the fifth largest container handling port in the world, has suffered from serious storm surges and experienced a remarkable mean sea level (MSL) rise. This study investigates a long-term variation of annual maximum surge height (AMSH) using sea level data observed in Busan over 53 years (1962∼2014). The decomposition of astronomical tides and surge components shows that the AMSH has increased 18 cm over 53 years ( i.e., 3.5 mm/year), which is much larger than the MSL trend (2.5 mm/year) in Busan. This significant increase in AMSH is mostly explained by the increased intensity of landfall typhoons over the Korean peninsula (KP), which is associated with the increase of sea surface temperature and the decrease of vertical wind shear at mid-latitudes of the western North Pacific. In a projected future warming environment, the combination of an increasing MSL and AMSH will accelerate the occurrence of record-breaking extreme sea levels, which will be a potential threat in Busan harbor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yang, Z.; Chen, D.; Huang, D., and Yang, Y., 2019. Prediction of coastal evolution in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. In: Guido-Aldana, P.A. and Mulahasan, S. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources and Exploration. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 93, pp. 16–21. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Coasts vary in their composition and the physical processes that affect them. However, their nature and behavior have similarities. Presently, the majority of coasts worldwide are eroding. The rapidly increasing threat of global warming and the resulting rise in sea level can accelerate coastal erosion. The nearly 2 km coastline in the port city of Puerto Cabello in Venezuela, to the west of the island Goaigoaza, was taken as a case study. The long-term state of the beach was assessed by considering the credits and debits of sand that pass through the coastal system. In the study, the net longshore sediment transport rate in the west of the salient was westward and Qin < Qout, denoting that beach erosion will occur in this particular area. Through field investigations and theoretical analysis, it can be preliminarily concluded that the beaches in the study area are slightly eroded. However, a long-term study on the current profile is essential to arrive at a decisive conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]