%0 online contribution
%@ 
%A Zhang, W., Arlinghaus, P.

%D 2022
%J Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science

 
%R doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.814
%T Climate, Coast, and Morphology
%U https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.814
 
%X Coastal zones are cradles for life. About 40% of the global human population and 50% of marine life are living in low-lying coastal zones with elevation less than 10 m above the mean sea level. Coasts contain the highest biodiversity in the surface earth system yet are highly vulnerable to environmental stressors associated with human activities and climate change. Climate impacts coastal morphology in multiple ways, including ice cover/melting, precipitation, temperature, and wind. In response to a changing climate, adaptation of coastal morphology can be categorized into three basic states: erosional, stable, and accretionary. Each state may persist or iterate at any given part of a coast, even in the context of a persistently warming or cooling climate. Anthropogenic protection has been globally implemented to ease erosion and protect human property. However, it remains largely unknown whether the existing measures would be able to counteract the effects of climate change in the upcoming decades.