Recent Evolution of Coastal Tidal Flats and the Impacts of Intensified Human Activities in the Modern Radial Sand Ridges, East China

Yifei Zhao, Qing Liu, Runqiu Huang, Haichen Pan and Min Xu
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Yifei Zhao: School of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Qing Liu: School of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Runqiu Huang: School of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Haichen Pan: School of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Min Xu: School of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-20

Abstract: The coastal tidal flats of the modern Radial Sand Ridges (RSRs) are typical silt-muddy tidal flats in Central Jiangsu Province. These tidal flats play a critical role in coastline protection and biodiversity conservation, and against storm surges, but have recently been displaying drastic changes in geomorphic dynamics because of human activities. However, a comprehensive understanding of spatiotemporal changes in tidal flats in RSRs remains lacking. Hence, we employed a novel remote sensing method by obtaining the instantaneous high/low tide line positions from over 112 scenes of Landsat satellite images of the study area from 1975 to 2017, which were used to track the recent evolution of the coastal tidal flats in the modern RSRs over the past four decades. We found that the shoreline of the tidal flats showed an advanced seaward trend, and the waterline of the tidal flat presented a gradual process during different periods. The total tidal flat area in the study area showed an obviously decreasing trend overall, and approximately 992 km 2 of the tidal flat was lost. We also found that the coastal tidal flats in the modern RSRs were generally undergoing erosion in the low tidal flats, especially in the Northern Swing and Southern Swing areas, while the high tidal flats showed a slowed accretionary change. Land reclamation was the main factor affecting the reduction in the tidal flat area, as the reclamation area has increased by 1300 km 2 , with an average of 35.14 km 2 /year. In addition, the erosion of the tidal flats was associated with a reduced sediment supply. Our findings will provide useful information for local managers and researchers to support future environmental management because increasing demand for land and rising sea levels are expected in the future.

Keywords: tidal flats; coastal revolution; human activities; modern radial sand ridges (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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