Lateral shoreline erosion and shore-proximal sediment deposition on a coastal marsh from seasonal, storm and decadal measurements

The persistence of coastal marsh is dependent on its ability to maintain elevation relative to sea level, particularly for marshes experiencing high rates of shoreline erosion due to wave-attack, storms, and sea level rise. Sediments eroded at the marsh edge are either delivered onto the marsh platform or into the estuary, the latter resulting in a net loss of marsh sediments and soil carbon. Knowledge on the timing, pattern, and quantity of sediment deposition versus shoreline erosion along the marsh-estuary interface is critical for evaluating the overall health and vulnerability of coastal marshes to future scenarios of sea level rise and for estimating sediment budgets. Here we examined marsh shoreline erosion and sediment deposition for marsh sites experiencing a range of shoreline erosion rates and different levels of wind-wave exposure within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi. We developed a method for calculating an erosion-deposition sediment budget using marsh elevation profiles, shoreline erosion rate, and sediment deposition measurements. Sediment budgets were calculated at four sites with varying shoreline erosion rates. Much of the sediment eroded at the marsh edge can be accounted for as marsh platform deposition, except at the most erosive site, suggesting a possible erosion threshold where eroded sediment mass is greater than platform deposition. Consistent with other studies of marsh creeks, sediment delivery to the marsh platform appears to be largely driven by wave climate. These data suggest that for erosive bay-estuarine shorelines, sediment delivered into the marsh is largely concentrated near the marsh shoreline, although shoreline erosion does not always result in a net loss of sediments from the marsh system in either decadal or annual assessments. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

The persistence of coastal marshes depends on the maintenance of their elevation relative to sea level and the balance between sediment deposition and shoreline erosion. Wave climate plays a crucial role in driving sediment delivery to marsh platforms.