%0 journal article
%@ 0272-7714
%A Swaney, D.P., Humborg, C., Emeis, K., Kannen, A., Silvert, W., Tett, P., Pastres, R., Solidoro, C., Yamamuro, M., Henocque, Y., Nicholls, R.

%D 2012
%J Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

%P 9-21 
%R doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2011.04.010
%T Five critical questions of scale for the coastal zone
%U https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2011.04.010
 
%X These questions do not have straightforward answers. There is no single “scale” for coastal ecosystems; their multiscale nature complicates our understanding and management of them. Coastal ecosystems depend on their watersheds as well as spatially-diffuse “footprints” associated with modern trade and material flows. Change occurs both rapidly and slowly on human time scales, and observing and responding to changes in coastal environments is a fundamental challenge. Apparently small human decisions collectively have potentially enormous consequences for coastal environmental quality, and our success in managing the effects of these decisions will determine the quality of life in the coastal zone in the 21st century and beyond. Vigilant monitoring, creative synthesis of information, and continued research will be necessary to properly understand and govern our coastal environments into the future.