The SCOR (Scientific Committee on Ocean Research of ICSU) Working Group 106 was tasked with reviewing the geomorphic, sedimentary and oceanographic dynamics of muddy costs, assessing the impact of sea level rise on muddy coasts, especially in estuaries, and to recommend future research pathways relating to muddy coasts. This book addresses these questions and includes chapters on the research issues of muddy coasts, the definition of muddy coasts, sea level rise effects on muddy coasts, fundamental dynamic processes effecting muddy coast formation, the role of mangrove and salt marsh vegetation, bio-geochemistry of muddy coast deposits, storm surge effects on muddy coasts, human impacts on muddy coasts, and a detailed geographical review of muddy coasts of the world. The volume presents examples of muddy coasts sedimentation from many different environments of the world including the broad expanse muddy coast of China, muddy coasts of continental trailing edges (the Americas), muddy coasts in seasonally ice covered environments, muddy coasts in areas of tropical coral reefs, muddy coasts from the tropics, muddy coasts resulting from large river discharges, and muddy coasts of mid-latitude oceanic islands.

The integration of classic field-gathered data with new computer models has allowed many new advances in geomorphology, which the 31st Binghamton Millennium Symposium 2000 presents in this latest of the well-known Binghamton book series, the Integration of Computer Modeling and Field Observations in Geomorphology. Conceptual models have been most commonly inferred from analyses of topography and investigator perspectives derived from fieldwork. The main stumbling blocks to understanding surface processes, their interactions, temporal changes, and resulting landforms are the difficulty of observation, geological timescales involved, spatial-scale dependencies, and the inability to attribute differences to either process or age. Physically based computer models have thus become essential tools, primarily because of their ability to explore spatial and temporal trends and to determine the sensitivity of physical inputs to change without the difficulties of identification and generalization associated with the complexity of field studies. Thus, the combination of both methods, or the integration of field methods with computer modeling become a very powerful mechanism for robust understanding. This new book presents topics on fluvial processes of overland and channelized flow in arid, humid, and periglacial areas of high and low relief, as well as work on interlinked biogeographic and geomorphic fluctuations in alpine terrain, and ground penetrating radar of coastal geomorphology. Issues of long-term evolution of drainage networks are addressed in natural systems, as well as stream-table environments, and terrain analyses characterize surficial and subsurface geomorphic features by using GIS and remote sensing. Botanical and biogeomorphologic controls of landforms are assessed, along with issues of scientific visualization, cartographic representation, DEMs, spatial analyses, and scale dependencies.

Muddy coasts are land-sea transitional environments commonly found along low-energy shorelines which either receive large annual supplies of muddy sediments, or where unconsolidated muddy deposits are being eroded by wave action.In providing 21 case studies in different parts of the world this book provides an up-to-date review of the state of the art in muddy coast research. Issues dealing with hydrodynamics and suspended matter transport, erosion, deposition, and sediment budgets on tidal flats, primary production, nutrient fluxes and mineralization in lagoons are treated in a multi disciplinary manner. Most articles deal with issues which are of relevance with respect to global warming and future sea level rise.

Intertidal mudflats are distinct, highly-productive marine habitats which provide important ecosystem services to the land-sea interface. In contrast to other marine habitats, and despite a large body of primary scientific literature, no comprehensive synthesis exists, such that the scattered knowledge base lacks an integrated conceptual framework. We attempt to provide this synthesis by pulling together and contextualizing the different disciplines, tools, and approaches used in the study of intertidal mudflats. The editor pays particular attention to relationships between the various components of the synthesis, both at the conceptual and the operational levels, validating these relationships through close interaction with the various authors.

Clear writing and analysis of the broad spectrum of processes that produce shale are coupled with well-captioned 150 illustrations, 40 tables, boxed technical details, glossary and appendices. Recounts the step-by-step evolution and stages of shal, enabling readers to master the basics and to dig yet deeper into their origin, practical implications and relationship to earth history. Background information appears in appendices (Clay Mineralogy, Isotopes, Petrology, etc.); technicial details in high-lighted boxes, and definitions of 300+ terms in the Glossary.

The last five years have been marked by rapid technological and analytical developments in the study of shore processes and in the comprehension of shore deposits and forms, and shoreline change over time. These developments have generated a considerable body of literature in a wide range of professional journals, thus illustrating the cross-disciplinary nature of shore processes and the palaeo-environmental dimension of shore change. The justification of the book lies in bringing together these developments using an objective approach that synthesises current advances, technical progress in the analysis of shores and shore processes, contradictory interpretations, and potential advances using future-generation developments in techniques. The book provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art presentation of shore processes and deposits across ranges of wave energy and tide-range environments, sediment supply and textural conditions, sea-level change, exceptional events and longer-term climate change, based on the most recently published literature in the marine sciences. The book insists on the nested time and spatial scales through which are inter-linked shore processes and deposits, thus providing a better understanding of the way shores change over time. The approach is thus cross-disciplinary, and gap-bridging between processes and deposits, between analytical techniques, and between timescales. The audience is from graduate level upwards, and the book is intended as a comprehensive reference source for professionals in a wide range of coastal science fields (geologists, sedimentologists, geomorphologists, oceanographers, engineers, managers, archaeologists...).* Aimed at graduates and specialists interested in coastal science* Presents background research, recent developments and future trends* Written by a leading scholar and industry expert