Gardner, John
(2021)
Coastal rivers: the missing link in source to sink understanding of sediment flux in a changing world.
In: Pitt Momentum Fund 2021.
Abstract
Rivers connect continents to coasts moving sediment needed to sustain coastal ecosystems. Slow moving, coastal rivers are known to be “bottlenecks” that control how much sediment actually reaches coasts. Yet, coastal rivers are typically ignored in estimates of riverine sediment delivery to coasts and few approaches are able to measure the influence of coastal rivers. We developed a satellite remote sensing method to measure suspended sediment concentration spatially along rivers. We will use this method to measure concentrations along hundreds of coastal rivers across the U.S. to test if we can use spatial data to infer the amount of sediment deposition, sediment source, and/or sediment transport process (e.g. tide, waves, or river). If our approach is successful, we will be able to apply it to coastal rivers globally and over time from 1984 to now to explore how sea-level rise and human activities are shifting coastal sediment dynamics over time. Outcomes of this project and its future work will provide the first sediment database for coastal rivers and information for sediment management practices that protect coastal ecosystems.
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