Impact of human interventions on coastal and marine geological hazards: a review

Abstract

Coastal and offshore regions, regarded as key zones for earth science, are vulnerable to the effects of natural and anthropogenic factors because of the complicated interactions between the land, ocean, and atmosphere. Rapid social-economic growth has changed the geological environment of the earth, and a series of geological hazards have been seriously intensified, especially in coastal and offshore areas. Previous researches have indicated that coastal and marine engineering construction or resource exploitation tends to exacerbate geo-environmental hazards to varying degrees. These geo-hazards may include coastal erosion, coastal subsidence, seawater intrusion, and seabed instability. In this paper, we review the characteristics of and advances in typical coastal and marine geo-environmental hazards that are intensified by human activities, as well as the associated impacts. The main anthropogenic factors that exacerbate coastal and marine geo-hazards are summarized, and the influencing mechanisms of those factors are analyzed and discussed in detail. In addition, to achieve a sustainable development of the marine economy, prevention and control measures related to such geo-environmental hazards are briefly proposed and discussed.