Anthropic Impacts in Marine Coastal Waters: Assessment, Case Studies and Solutions

Abstract submission deadline

30 September 2024

Manuscript submission deadline

30 December 2024

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Image courtesy of ©Dr. Jessica Alessi, MeRiS - Mediterraneo Ricerca e Sviluppo APS

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chemical pollutants, heavy metals, and macro- and microplastics are continuously discharged from the mainland into the sea and are bio-accumulated and bio-magnified by marine organisms, with negative consequences on the whole trophic web, at all ecosystem levels. Manmade underwater noises create disturbance to intraspecific communications, from fish to cetaceans, even producing malformations in invertebrate larvae, while both commercial and recreational maritime traffic represent a danger for collisions with cetaceans. Fishing activities interact at multiple levels, modifying the trophic chain and the flows of biomass (and energy) across the ecosystem, altering habitats and benthic communities. Finally, poorly managed large-scale mariculture can damage coastal wetlands and nearshore ecosystems.

In recent years, the evaluation and monitoring of all these anthropogenic impacts on the coastal environment have been the subject of in-depth studies. Now the most pressing needs concern the development of conservation measures, proposed and carried out at a regional level, as expression of broader plans involving not only researchers but also government and non-government organizations, industry, and local communities. In short words, effective marine conservation requires collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach.

This Topic aims to highlight the recent knowledge on the impact of human activities on marine fauna and coastal environments as well as on habitat management and environmental conservation plans. The Topic Editors kindly invite you to submit a manuscript focused on any of the above topics. Assessment of pollution levels and impact on marine organisms and their habitats, possible solutions, and management measures, are welcome as case studies (original papers) or reviews.

Prof. Dr. Alberta Mandich
Dr. Jessica Alessi
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Animals animals	3.0	4.2	2011	18.1 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Coasts coasts	-	-	2021	33.8 Days	CHF 1000	Submit
Diversity diversity	2.4	3.1	2009	17.8 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering jmse	2.9	3.7	2013	15.4 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Sustainability sustainability	3.9	5.8	2009	18.8 Days	CHF 2400	Submit

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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All Animals Coasts Diversity JMSE Sustainability

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Open AccessArticle

Horizontal Rates of Wetland Migration Appear Unlikely to Keep Pace with Shoreline Transgression under Conditions of 21st Century Accelerating Sea Level Rise along the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern USA

by Randall W. Parkinson

Coasts 2024, 4(1), 213-225; https://doi.org/10.3390/coasts4010012 - 14 Mar 2024

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Abstract

This investigation evaluated two fundamental assumptions of wetland inundation models designed to emulate landscape evolution and resiliency under conditions of sea level rise: that they can (1) migrate landward at the same rate as the transgressing shoreline and (2) immediately replace the plant [...] Read more.

This investigation evaluated two fundamental assumptions of wetland inundation models designed to emulate landscape evolution and resiliency under conditions of sea level rise: that they can (1) migrate landward at the same rate as the transgressing shoreline and (2) immediately replace the plant community into which they are onlapping. Rates of wetland (e.g., marsh, mangrove) migration were culled from 11 study areas located in five regions of focus: Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, Pamlico Sound, South Florida, and Northwest Florida. The average rate of marsh migration (n = 14) was 3.7 m yr⁻¹. The average rate of South Florida mangrove migration (n = 4) was 38.0 m yr⁻¹. The average rate of upland forest retreat (n = 4) was 3.4 m yr⁻¹. Theoretical rates of shoreline transgression were calculated using site-specific landscape slope and scenario-based NOAA sea level rise elevations in 2050. Rates of shoreline transgression over the marsh landscape averaged 94 m yr⁻¹. The average rate of shoreline transgression in the mangrove-dominated areas of South Florida was 153.2 m yr⁻¹. The calculated rates of shoreline transgression were much faster than the observed horizontal marsh migration, and by 2050, the offset or gap between them averaged 2700 m and ranged between 292 and 5531 m. In South Florida, the gap average was 3516 m and ranged between 2766 m and 4563 m. At sites where both horizontal marsh migration and forest retreat rates were available, the distance or gap between them in 2050 averaged 47 m. Therefore, the results of this study are inconsistent with the two fundamental assumptions of many wetland inundation models and suggest that they may overestimate their resilience under conditions of 21st century accelerating sea level rise. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Anthropic Impacts in Marine Coastal Waters: Assessment, Case Studies and Solutions)

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Open AccessArticle

Using Machine Learning Methodology to Model Nutrient Discharges from Ports: A Case Study of a Fertilizer Terminal

by Suvi-Tuuli Lappalainen, Jonne Kotta, Mari-Liis Tombak and Ulla Tapaninen

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12(1), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12010143 - 11 Jan 2024

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Abstract

Marine eutrophication is a pervasive and growing threat to global sustainability. Thereby, nutrient discharges to the marine environment should be reduced to a minimum. When fertilizers are loaded to the vessels in ports, a significant amount of nutrients are released into the sea, [...] Read more.

Marine eutrophication is a pervasive and growing threat to global sustainability. Thereby, nutrient discharges to the marine environment should be reduced to a minimum. When fertilizers are loaded to the vessels in ports, a significant amount of nutrients are released into the sea, but so far these actions have received little attention. Here, we employed the Boosted Regression Trees modeling (BRT) to define the relationships between fertilizer loading, the loading area, rain intensity, nutrient discharge, and the marine environment, and then used the established relationships to predict the daily nutrient discharge due to fertilizer loading. The studied subject was a port in the Gulf of Finland, where significant amounts of both nitrogen and phosphorus are loaded to vessels. BRT models accounted for a significant proportion of the variability of nutrient discharge. As expected, the nutrient discharge increased with the number of fertilizers loaded and the intensity of rain. On the other hand, with the increasing loading area, the total nitrogen discharge increased, but the total phosphorus discharge decreased. The latter result may be due to the different characteristics of the loading areas of different terminals. The model predicted that at the studied port, the total nitrogen and phosphorus discharge to the marine environment due to fertilizer loading was 272,906 and 196 kg per year, respectively. Importantly, the developed model can be used to predict the nutrient loads for different future scenarios in order to propose the best mitigation methods for nutrient discharges to the sea. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Anthropic Impacts in Marine Coastal Waters: Assessment, Case Studies and Solutions)

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