Title: Climate Change and Coastal Wetlands
1Climate Change and Coastal Wetlands
- Presented by
- Sidrotun Naim
- Susanna Pearlstein
- Valerie Herman
- Matt Carter
2Global Natural Disaster
3US Coastal and Marine Facts
- 95,000 miles of coastlines
- 3.4 million square miles of ocean
- 53 of US population live on the 17 of land in
the coastal zones - Global sea level rise 4-8 inches in century
- Estimation additional 19 inches by 2100
4How coastal and marine environments are linked to
our climate
5Shoreline erosion and Human communities
6Threats to Estuarine Health
- Estuaries are extremely productive ecosystems
- Increased run-off would deliver increased amounts
of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus - Decreased run-off would reduce flushing, decrease
the size of nursery zones, allowing predators to
penetrate
7Coastal Wetland Survival
8Coral Reef Die Offs
9Stresses on Marine Fisheries
10Annual Shoreline Change
11WetlandsChapter 11
- Methane, CH4, emitters
- 20-25 global emissions
- 50 of world wetlands LOST, methane emissions are
increasing, anthropomorphic causes - 21 times more effective greenhouse gas than CO2
- Carbon sequestration
- 20-30 stored in wetlands
- Peat deposits
- Permafrost
- Restored created wetlands
12(No Transcript)
13Mid Atlantic Coastal (MAC) Region
- Poor water quality
- Coastal Squeeze
14Heavily Populated!
15http//www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/coastal/i
ndex.html
16Delaware Bay
1.6 of DE lost 21 of marsh land flooded
But lt1 of affected area Is developed
17Chesapeake Bay
Salt water marshes today lack Sediment
Oxygen Organic matter accumulation Due
to Poor water quality Dams Farmland
abandonment Now add climate change.
18- Most hypoxic estuary in MAC
- Fresh water marshes have high river sediment
influxes - Steep topography, sea level rise will increase
erosion
19Management Warnings
- Wetlands will be protected if they fall under
socially significant areas - Repeating the inland floodplain experience
- Federal subsides for dynamic hazardous zones
- Structures to control hazards sea level rise
- Increasing vulnerability
20Chemical and Biological Changes
- Extreme weather events and rising sea level
alters - Salinity
- Ionic Exchanges
- pH
- Microbial Communities
- Organic and Inorganic Content
21Nutrient Exchanges
- Earlier litterfall
- 3 - 5 times as much N, Mg, P, K
- Transported during runoff /flooding
- Nutrient uptake is hindered by
- Uprooting
- Swaying
- Water logging
22Damages to Plants/Animals
- Woody vegetation is damaged more than
herbaceous vegetation - Breakage increases infestation
- Microbial community differs in aerobic and
anaerobic conditions - Water quality directly affects food chain
- Hypoxia Image from www.montgomerybotanical.org
- Osmotic stress
- Turbidity
- Seed distribution
- Biodiversity
-
23Mitigation
- Allow sediment to distribute naturally
- Plan communities that allow coastal wetland
migration - Project future outcomes using models
- Space-For-Time Substitution paired with long-term
monitoring - Image from soundbook.soundkeeper.org
24- Hurricanes lose their force dramatically as the
system moves toward land, therefore wetlands
around coast regions provide delicate buffer
zones to slow the storm system down before it
reaches more populated regions. The levees in
New Orleans are causing dramatic wetland loss.
25- The levees built to prevent flooding in the
cities also prevent recharge of coast wetlands of
the Mississippi River Delta. The Delta is cut
off from its life force and is being destroyed at
a rate of 24 sq. miles a year. Over 1900 sq.
miles have disappeared since the 1930s. As the
wetlands decrease, the city becomes more and more
vulnerable to hurricane without the precious
buffer zone.
26- Fixing the problem is costly and time consuming.
Old Christmas trees are strategically place
around the delta to collect sediment, and 14
billion dollars is being used for manual sediment
recharge and diversion of the Mississippi around
the levees to recharge other areas of the delta.
27- Hurricanes are actually vital for wetland
survival in that the storm surge washes and
spreads all of the sediment, silt, and nutrients
the wetlands of the delta could ever need. A
hurricane of smaller proportions could easily do
the work of all of the wetland projects.