Testing of Shoreline Erosion Monitoring Methodologies for Heritage at Risk Sites: Pockoy Island, South Carolina, USA

Abstract. The spatial and temporal distribution of sea-level rise has the potential to cause regional flooding in certain areas, and low-lying island countries are severely at risk. Tuvalu, an atoll country located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, has been inundated by this regional flooding for decades. Tuvaluans call this regional flooding phenomenon King Tide, a term not clearly defined, blaming it for loss of life and property in announcing their intention to migrate. In this study, we clarified and interpreted King Tide, and analyzed the factors of King Tide in Tuvalu. Using tide gauge and topographical data, we estimated that 3.2 m could be considered the threshold of King Tide, which implied half of the island of Tuvalu was flooded with seawater. This threshold is consistent with the finding of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that King Tide events occur once or twice a year. We surveyed 28 King Tide events to analyze the factors of regional flooding. Tide gauge and satellite altimeter data from 1993 to 2012 were cross-validated and indicated that the King Tide phenomenon is significantly related to the warm-water effect. Warm water contributed to the King Tide phenomenon by an average of 5.1% and a maximum of 7.8%. The height of King Tide is affected by the combined factors of spring tide, storm surge, climate variability, and, significantly, by the warm-water effect.

The tide turns: Episodic and localized cross-contamination of a California coastline with cyanotoxins

Determining the drivers and rates of soil erosion on the Loess Plateau since 1901

soil-conservation movement in New Zealand, in which a number of scientists played prominent roles. This movement culminated in soil-conservation legislation in 1941. A strong reaction from the agricultural community followed, and farmers sought to discount the problem of soil erosion. Gradually, opposition gave way to acceptance of soil conservation measures. As acceptance spread amongst farmers, government scientists began to question the beliefs on which soil-conservation policy was based. SINCE THE DAYS of Homer and Plato, soil erosion has been one of the most widely recognized symptoms of disharmony between man and his environment. The literature is replete with accounts of soil erosion accelerated by the hand of man in almost every part of the world where agriculture and pastoralism have been practised. Perhaps in no other field are well established differences between scientific or technical personnel and land managers in the perception of the hazard more evident. In many lands, the former have viewed with alarm the results of what they perceive to be accelerated soil erosion, while the latter frequently discount the significance of the process even if they accept that there may be a relationship between their land occupation and management and the rate of soil erosion. Changing perception of a natural hazard or process of resource degradation is less commonly documented, especially if it represents change on the part of scientific or technical experts. The case of soil erosion in New Zealand seems to constitute such an instance, and is interesting from several viewpoints. Its perception by scientific personnel has clearly changed over time, less in accordance, it seems, with real variations in objectively measured rates of erosion than with the changing publicity afforded to soil erosion in other countries. The effectiveness with which the scientific view has been propounded and accepted has varied similarly. After soil erosion had been suggested to be a threat to the national economy, the unanimity of the scientific view led to the enactment of soil-conservation legislation, yet only a few years later a bitter backlash sought to deny both the significance of the process and the credibility of the threat. The purpose of this paper is threefold: to outline the changing scientific perception of soil erosion in New Zealand during the last hundred years; to consider the setting in which scientific concern led to the enactment of legislation; and to review the significance of this changing perception.

The Arctic and boreal regions have been experiencing a rapid warming in the 21st century. It is important to understand the dynamics of boreal forest at the continental scale under the climate and environmental changes. While the role of understory vegetation in boreal forest ecosystems on carbon and nutrient cycling cannot be ignored, they are still one of least understood components in boreal ecosystems. Spectroscopic measurements of vegetation are useful to identify species and their biochemical characteristics and to estimate the biophysical parameters such as understory leaf area index, above ground biomass. In this data paper, we present spectral reflectances of 44 typical understory formations and five 30-m long transects. The spectral reflectance covers the spectral region of visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared (350-2500 nm). For the transect measurements, we decided the length of transect at 30 m, similar to the scale of one pixel of a Landsat type satellite imagery. The photographs at all positions, where spectral reflectances were obtained, are included to understand the structure and status of each sample. The data set contains six dwarf shrubs (Bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idea), feltleaf willow (Salix alaxensis), young birch (Betula neoalaskana), young aspen (Pupulus tremuloides), and young black spruce (Picea mariana)), two herbaceous (cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum) and marsh Labrador tea (Ledum decumbens)), three mosses (Sphagnum moss, splendid feather moss (Hylocomium splendens), and polytrichum moss (Polytrichum commune)), and reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina). Spectral reflectances from several non-vegetative such as snow, litter, and soil are also included. This spectral and photographic data set can be used for understanding the spectral characteristics of understory formations, designing newly planned spectral observations, and developing and validating the remote sensing methodology of large scale understory monitoring.

Future climate change is expected to impact the extent, frequency, and magnitude of soil erosion in a variety of ways. The most direct of these impacts is the projected increase in the erosive power of rainfall owing to an increase in the moisture-holding capacity of the atmosphere, but other more indirect impacts include changes in plant biomass and shifts in land use to accommodate the new climatic regime. Given the potential for climate change to increase soil erosion and its associated adverse impacts, modelling future rates of erosion is a crucial step in its assessment as a potential future environmental problem, and as a basis to help advise future conservation strategies. In this study, the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model is used to simulate the impacts of climate change on future rates of soil erosion for a case study hillslope in Northern Ireland for three future time periods centered on the 2020s, 2050s and 2080s. Despite the wide range of previous modelling studies, in the majority of cases a number of limitations are apparent with respect to their treatment of the direct impacts (changed climate data), and their failure to factor in the indirect impacts (changing land use and management). In addressing the need for site-specific climate change impacts, for example, many previous studies have attempted to downscale future climate change output from general circulation models (GCMs). The most popular downscaling approach in future soil erosion studies is the change factor method, yet this approach possesses severe limitations with respect to modelling future erosion rates since it incorporates only changes in the mean climate and fails to account for climate variability. In order to address this limitation, statistical downscaling methods are used in this study to downscale future climate change projections using three GCMs and two emissions scenarios, providing daily site-specific climate inputs to WEPP in a manner that incorporates both changes in the mean climate and its variability. The temporal scale of climate change projections is also a key limitation with respect to modelling future erosion rates. The most severe soil losses often occur in high intensity rainfall events that occur over very short time intervals, yet input to soil erosion models tends to be at a daily resolution. Given the decreasing confidence of future climate change projections at a sub-daily temporal resolution, a sensitivity analysis approach is used in this study to perturb the sub-daily rainfall intensity parameter in WEPP. In addition, most previous studies fail to account for the indirect impacts of climate change on soil erosion, with no change in land use and management often assumed. Here, a scenarios-based approach is employed to examine the impacts of changing crop cover and management on future rates of soil erosion. Results indicate a mix of soil erosion increases and decreases, depending on which scenarios are considered. Downscaled climate change projections in isolation generally result in erosion decreases, whereas large increases are projected when land use is changed from the current cover of grass to a row crop which requires annual tillage, and/or where large changes in sub-daily rainfall intensity are applied. The overall findings illustrate the potential for increased soil erosion under future climate change, and illuminate the need to address key limitations in previous studies with respect to the treatment of future climate change projections, and crucially, the factoring in of future land use and management.

Western U.S. land managers have been investigating the use of in‐stream structures such as beaver dam analogues (BDAs) to help restore natural stream processes. There is a presumption that BDAs may modify groundwater hydrology, but there have been few studies that have documented such changes. In this study we combine well transect measurements, streamflow measurements and hydrologic modelling to evaluate changes in riparian water storage and groundwater flow paths brought about by the installation of 45 BDAs across a 1.5‐km stretch of Red Canyon Creek in Lander, WY. Based on 3 years of observations, we found that when the majority of BDAs were retaining water, there was an increase in the riparian water table, even in wells 50 m from the stream. Much of the stream reach with BDAs was a losing stream prior to BDA installation. As measured using well transects, the installation of the BDAs led to enhanced hydraulic gradients away from the stream. Additionally, BDA installation induced a measurable but very small increase in the subsurface down valley flow. Watershed‐scale modelling validated against weekly‐averaged streamflow observations indicated that a disproportionate fraction of streamflow in summer is contributed from higher elevation areas with sufficient storage to detain late spring snowmelt. Increases in the valley bottom water table elevation due to the BDAs added less than 0.5% of the subsurface storage already present in the high elevation portion of the watershed.

The article is devoted to the study of changes that have occurred during the development of the land management project for the allocation of land when changing regulations in the field of land management and cadastre. Land management projects for the allocation of land plots are developed in the case of the formation of new land plots from state and communal lands and in the event of a change in the purpose of land plots. They can also provide for the division, consolidation of land owned by one person. The main documents regulating the technological process of land management project development for land allotment are the Land Code and the Law of Ukraine "On Land Management", which consists of 6 stages: obtaining a project development permit, concluding an agreement with the developer of land management documentation, project development, project approval, entering data into the State Land Cadastre and project approval. Identified changes in the technological process of development of land management project for the allocation of land, which include: 1. The powers of local governments and executive authorities to transfer land ownership have been changed. At the same time, powers were tied to the boundaries of territorial communities instead of the boundaries of settlements. 2. Simplified the procedure for cadastral survey of land. The procedure of agreeing on the boundaries of the land plot and restrictions, transferring the boundaries in kind (on the ground) and establishing boundary markers becomes optional. 3. The state examination of land management documentation was canceled. 4. Simplified the procedure for approving the land management project for the allocation of land. The agreement with the territorial body of the State Geocadastre on the location of the land plot and the bodies implementing the state policy in the field of cultural heritage protection, forestry, water management, environmental protection, urban planning and architecture has been canceled. The following is added to the cadastral plan of the land plot: information on the transfer in kind (on the ground) of the boundaries of protection zones, coastal protection strips and beach zones, sanitary protection zones, sanitary protection zones and zones of special land use regime and land boundaries; information on the established boundary markers.

Green Economy and Infrastructure Contributions of USDA Urban and Nonfarm Soil Projects in the U.S.

Impacts of set-aside policy on the risk of soil erosion in central Spain

Effects of Livestock Grazing on Infiltration and Erosion Rates Measured on Chained and Unchained Pinyon-Juniper Sites in Southeastern Utah

Long-term erosion rates in Tasmania, at the southern end of Australia’s Great Dividing Range, are poorly known, yet such knowledge is critical for making informed land-use decisions and improving ecological health of coastal ecosystems. Here, we present the first quantitative, geologically-relevant estimates of erosion rates for the George River basin, in northeast Tasmania, based on in-situ produced 10Be (10Bei) measured from stream sand at two trunk channel sites and seven tributaries (average 10.5 mm kyr−1). These new 10Bei-based erosion rates are strongly related to mean annual precipitation rates and elevation, and we suggest that the current East-West precipitation gradient across George River greatly influences erosion in northeast Tasmania. This stands in contrast to erosion rates along the mainland portions of Australia’s Great Dividing Range, which are more strongly related to basin slope. We also extract and measure meteoric 10Be (10Bem) from sediment grain coatings of the stream sand at each site, which we use to estimate 10Bem-based erosion and denudation rates for George River. 10Bem based erosion and denudation metrics, particularly those from the central and eastern tributaries, are also closely related to elevation and precipitation in the same manner as 10Bei erosion rates. Although 10Bem-based denudation rates replicate 10Bei erosion rates within a factor of two, 10Bem-based erosion rates are systematically 5–6x higher than 10Bei erosion rates. 10Bem erosion and denudation metrics for the westernmost headwater catchments are significantly lower than expected and have likely been affected by intensive and widespread topsoil erosion related to forestry, which delivers large volumes of sediment rich in 10Bem to tributary streams. The 10Bei erosion rates presented in this study may be useful for land managers seeking to restore ecological health of Tasmania’s estuaries by reducing sediment input to levels prior to landscape disturbance.

<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> Long-term erosion rates in Tasmania, at the southern end of Australia's Great Dividing Range, are poorly known; yet, this knowledge is critical for making informed land-use decisions and improving the ecological health of coastal ecosystems. Here, we present quantitative, geologically relevant estimates of erosion rates for the George River basin, in northeast Tasmania, based on in situ-produced <span class="inline-formula">¹⁰Be</span> (<span class="inline-formula">¹⁰Be_i</span>) measured from stream sand at two trunk channel sites and seven tributaries (mean: <span class="inline-formula">24.1±1.4</span> <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow class="unit"><mi mathvariant="normal">Mg</mi><mspace linebreak="nobreak" width="0.125em"/><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">km</mi><mrow><mo>-</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">2</mn></mrow></msup><mspace width="0.125em" linebreak="nobreak"/><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">yr</mi><mrow><mo>-</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">1</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="64pt" height="15pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="e6bd9f1982fb337ba4d0bf6e2cf823c1"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="gchron-4-153-2022-ie00001.svg" width="64pt" height="15pt" src="gchron-4-153-2022-ie00001.png"/></svg:svg></span></span>; 1<span class="inline-formula"><i>σ</i></span>). These new <span class="inline-formula">¹⁰Be_i</span>-based erosion rates are strongly related to elevation, which appears to control mean annual precipitation and temperature, suggesting that elevation-dependent surface processes influence rates of erosion in northeast Tasmania. Erosion rates are not correlated with slope in contrast to erosion rates along the mainland portions of Australia's Great Dividing Range. We also extracted and measured meteoric <span class="inline-formula">¹⁰Be</span> (<span class="inline-formula">¹⁰Be_m</span>) from grain coatings of sand-sized stream sediment at each site, which we normalize to measured concentrations of reactive <span class="inline-formula">⁹Be</span> and use to estimate <span class="inline-formula">¹⁰Be_m</span>-based denudation rates for the George River. <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M12" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mrow class="chem"><msup><mi/><mn mathvariant="normal">10</mn></msup><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Be</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></msub></mrow><mo>/</mo><mrow class="chem"><msup><mi/><mn mathvariant="normal">9</mn></msup><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Be</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">reac</mi></msub></mrow></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="72pt" height="16pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="387ba0141a914539abecece6249ac28e"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="gchron-4-153-2022-ie00002.svg" width="72pt" height="16pt" src="gchron-4-153-2022-ie00002.png"/></svg:svg></span></span> denudation rates replicate <span class="inline-formula">¹⁰Be_i</span> erosion rates within a factor of 3 but are highly sensitive to the value of <span class="inline-formula">⁹Be</span> that is found in bedrock (<span class="inline-formula">⁹Be_parent</span>), which was unmeasured in this study. <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M16" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mrow class="chem"><msup><mi/><mn mathvariant="normal">10</mn></msup><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Be</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></msub></mrow><mo>/</mo><mrow class="chem"><msup><mi/><mn mathvariant="normal">9</mn></msup><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Be</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">reac</mi></msub></mrow></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="72pt" height="16pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="d5b04f3154bc4bfebedc21679e942ad7"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="gchron-4-153-2022-ie00003.svg" width="72pt" height="16pt" src="gchron-4-153-2022-ie00003.png"/></svg:svg></span></span> denudation rates seem sensitive to recent mining, forestry, and agricultural land use, all of which resulted in widespread topsoil disturbance. Our findings suggest that <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M17" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mrow class="chem"><msup><mi/><mn mathvariant="normal">10</mn></msup><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Be</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></msub></mrow><mo>/</mo><mrow class="chem"><msup><mi/><mn mathvariant="normal">9</mn></msup><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Be</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">reac</mi></msub></mrow></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="72pt" height="16pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="36f88919efe6ce2fa1edb5949cc0d3c5"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="gchron-4-153-2022-ie00004.svg" width="72pt" height="16pt" src="gchron-4-153-2022-ie00004.png"/></svg:svg></span></span> denudation metrics will be most useful in drainage basins that are geologically homogeneous, where recent disturbances to topsoil profiles are minimal, and where <span class="inline-formula">⁹Be_parent</span> is well constrained.

Long-term erosion rates in Tasmania, at the southern end of Australia’s Great Dividing Range, are poorly known, yet such knowledge is critical for making informed land-use decisions and improving ecological health of coastal ecosystems. Here, we present the first quantitative, geologically-relevant estimates of erosion rates for the George River basin, in northeast Tasmania, based on in-situ produced 10Be (10Bei) measured from stream sand at two trunk channel sites and seven tributaries (average 10.5 mm kyr−1). These new 10Bei-based erosion rates are strongly related to mean annual precipitation rates and elevation, and we suggest that the current East-West precipitation gradient across George River greatly influences erosion in northeast Tasmania. This stands in contrast to erosion rates along the mainland portions of Australia’s Great Dividing Range, which are more strongly related to basin slope. We also extract and measure meteoric 10Be (10Bem) from sediment grain coatings of the stream sand at each site, which we use to estimate 10Bem-based erosion and denudation rates for George River. 10Bem based erosion and denudation metrics, particularly those from the central and eastern tributaries, are also closely related to elevation and precipitation in the same manner as 10Bei erosion rates. Although 10Bem-based denudation rates replicate 10Bei erosion rates within a factor of two, 10Bem-based erosion rates are systematically 5–6x higher than 10Bei erosion rates. 10Bem erosion and denudation metrics for the westernmost headwater catchments are significantly lower than expected and have likely been affected by intensive and widespread topsoil erosion related to forestry, which delivers large volumes of sediment rich in 10Bem to tributary streams. The 10Bei erosion rates presented in this study may be useful for land managers seeking to restore ecological health of Tasmania’s estuaries by reducing sediment input to levels prior to landscape disturbance.

Rising population and decreasing cultivable land pose a great challenge to modern agriculture. The agricultural production has to be balanced with the ever-increasing population to meet the demands of food supply. These changes have led to intensification of agriculture resulting into conversion of natural vegetation areas to agricultural land. This continued overexploitation of land resources in combination with climatic factors results in removal of the top fertile layer of soil. On the global scale, the period of the earliest significant change in land use corresponds to a first wave of the soil erosion. The areas with human intervention have high rate of soil erosion of 2.92 tha−1 year−1. In order to strike a balance between agricultural output and conservation, soil erosion control becomes very essential component. The control and prevention of soil erosion necessitate the development of an integral soil erosion control system with the incorporating methods based on the engineering, agricultural cultivation technology, law enforcement, biological methods, land planning, and management. Soil conservation structures along with advanced soil loss models would be prerequisite toward land management. This chapter addresses the dynamics of erosion and agricultural sustainability through different soil management strategies, which poses challenges similar to those of quantification of future changes in climate or agricultural systems. The chapter is focused on the analyzing and quantifying the effects of changes in land use and management of the eroded soils in the agriculture.