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Rates and Forcing of Marsh Edge Erosion in a Shallow Coastal Bay

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Abstract

Salt marshes can experience a significant land loss through erosion and retreat of their perimeter edges. Rates of shoreline change between 1957 and 2007 were determined for four salt marshes in a Virginia coastal bay using aerial photographs and the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS). High average rates of lateral erosion of 1.0–1.6 m year−1 were found at three marshes, while the edge of the fourth marsh, along the mainland edge of the bay, remained stable. Erosion rates were temporally consistent during the 50-year period at the three eroding sites, although there was a significant spatial variation in rates of change along the length of the edges at these sites. A simple parametric wave model and the SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) spectral wave model were used to calculate incident wave energy flux along the marsh boundaries at each of the sites. Values of wave energy flux agreed fairly well between the two models but are sensitive to the manner in which wave energy flux is calculated. A stronger relationship was found between wave energy flux and volumetric erosion rates along the marsh edges than with lateral erosion rates. This is an important consideration when examining the effects of future sea level rise on marsh loss.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank John Porter for his assistance in collecting aerial photographs, the staff at the ABCRC for logistical support, Dave Richardson for help refining the DEM of Hog Island Bay, and Jenny Shultis and Gavin Bruno for their field assistance. We would also like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. This research was supported by the Department of Energy NICCR program and by the National Science Foundation through the VCR-LTER (awards #DEB-0621014 and #DEB-1237733).

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  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA

    Sean M. McLoughlin, Patricia L. Wiberg, Ilgar Safak & Karen J. McGlathery

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  1. Sean M. McLoughlin
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  2. Patricia L. Wiberg
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Correspondence to Sean M. McLoughlin.

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Communicated by Nancy L. Jackson

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McLoughlin, S.M., Wiberg, P.L., Safak, I. et al. Rates and Forcing of Marsh Edge Erosion in a Shallow Coastal Bay. Estuaries and Coasts 38, 620–638 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-014-9841-2

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