We live in a world where the loss of sea ice and thawing of coastal grounds in the north, and renewed marine transgression and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events globally, are becoming commonplace. This volume presents a timely examination of coasts, the geological environment at particular risk, as global warming brings on this new reality. In 23 papers, low lying, mainly siliciclastic coasts are reviewed, described and analysed, under a variety of climates in quasi-stable tectonic settings along passive, trailing-continental edges from Polar Regions to the Tropics. Examples include coast of the Arctic seas, temperate to tropical eastern shores of the Americas, western Portugal, Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, South Africa and Australia. The entire coastal zone (landscape) is considered ranging from geophysical processes and products to biological entities including the adaption of Native People in various climatic zones. Knowledge of the state of the coasts now, and how the coastal plain has evolved since Late Pleistocene, is crucial for any realistic planning for the future.

This book presents a detailed analysis and synthesis of the processes affecting sediments fluxes from watershed to worldwide coastal systems. The volume provides a comprehensive overview and constitutes a systematic description of the response of coastal systems to global and local changes, like climate change, sea level, land use and land cover change. The case studies cover a sequence of coastal environments such as lagoons, bays, estuaries, deltas and beaches. Sediment Fluxes in Coastal Areas is designed for researchers, professionals and for course-use in hydrology, oceanography, geography, geology, geomorphology and environmental science.

For a long time, the dynamics of urban and coastal areas have been the focus of administrators and decision makers in charge of public policy in order to better take into account anthropogenic pressure and the impact of climate change. This volume presents applications of remote sensing in urban environments and coastal zones, including the use of remote sensing in city planning (urban expansion, light pollution, air quality, etc.), observation of the properties of ocean color, the study of coastal dynamics (identifying coastlines and estimating sediment balances, etc.) and analysis of the dynamics of mangroves. This book, part of a set of six volumes, has been produced by scientists who are internationally renowned in their fields. It is addressed to students (engineers, Masters, PhD), engineers and scientists, specialists in remote sensing applied to the coastal environment and urban areas.Through this pedagogical work, the authors contribute to breaking down the barriers that hinder the use of Earth observation data. Clear-and-concise descriptions of modern methods of remote sensing for a variety of applications Explores the most current remote sensing techniques, with physical aspects of their measurement (theory) Presents physical principles, measurement, and data processing chapters that are provided for each technique described

This book should be of interest to geologists; biologists; environmentalists; ecologists; engineers; lecturers and students in related subjects; libraries.

No realm on Earth elicits thoughts of paradise more than the tropics. The tropical marine realm is special in myriad ways and for many reasons from seas of higher latitude, in housing iconic habitats such as coral reefs, snow white beaches, crystal clear waters, mangrove forests, extensive and rich seagrass meadows and expansive river deltas, such as the exemplar, the Amazon. But the tropics also has an even more complex side: tropical waters give rise to cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons, and unique oceanographic phenomena including the El Niño- Southern Oscillation which affects global climate patterns. Tropical Marine Ecology documents the structure and function of tropical marine populations, communities, and ecosystems in relation to environmental factors including climate patterns and climate change, and patterns of oceanographic phenomena such as tides and currents and major oceanographic features, as well as chemical and geological drivers. The book focuses on estuarine, coastal, continental shelf and open ocean ecosystems. The first part of the book deals with the climate, physics, geology, and chemistry of the tropical marine environment. The second section focuses on the origins, diversity, biogeography, and the structure and distribution of tropical biota. The third part explores the rates and patterns of primary and secondary production, and their drivers, and the characteristics of pelagic and benthic food webs. The fourth part examines how humans are altering tropical ecosystems via unsustainable fisheries, the decline and loss of habitat and fragmentation, Further, pollution is altering an earth already in the throes of climate change. Tropical Marine Ecology is an authoritative and comprehensive introduction to tropical marine ecology for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students. It is also a rich resource and reference work for researchers and professional managers in marine science.

Coastal Wetlands, Second Edition: An Integrated and Ecosystem Approach provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide. As coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea levels and the intervention of human populations, both along the estuary and in the river catchment, this book covers important issues, such as the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures, impacts from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations. Covers climate change and its influence on coastal wetland form and function Provides a fully updated and expanded resource, including new chapters on modeling, management and the impact of climate change Contains full-color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world