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Sustaining coastal urban ecosystems

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A Corrigendum to this article was published on 30 November 2008

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season once again highlighted the challenges awaiting low-lying population centres close to the ocean. In the face of global sea-level rise, unconventional thinking is required to make urban coasts more resilient.

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Figure 1: The impact of hurricanes Ike (west) and Katrina (east).
Figure 2: Rebuilding New Orleans.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support from the United States Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by means of the Long-term Estuary Assessment Group (LEAG) program. T.E.T. is appreciative of the hospitality provided by the Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, during the writing of this commentary. We are also grateful to Rich Campanella and Mélicie Desflots for help and advice regarding the illustrations.

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Correspondence to Torbjörn E. Törnqvist.

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Törnqvist, T., Meffert, D. Sustaining coastal urban ecosystems. Nature Geosci 1, 805–807 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo365

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