Coastal Risk: Shores and Deltas in Peril

Coastal systems are the result of a natural equilibrium between hydrodynamic, atmospheric, and terrestrial parameters and sediment dynamics. In the Anthropocene, this equilibrium in many coastal regions can be altered by human activities. These activities may globally magnify the effects of extreme meteorological events and sea level rise and directly influence coastal processes down to a local scale within and between river catchments, the sea, and the coast. While most interventions, such as urban development, seawalls, and jetties are placed for specific human benefits, their indirect effects on coastal economies, societies and ecosystems can be significant.
This Research Topic brings together research from across the world to illustrate the dramatic and diverse nature of the peril that coasts and deltas face. Scientific understanding of the dynamics of these systems is essential to their current management and for the development of adaptation strategies to reduce future risk in the face of climate change.