PNNL

Abstract

The security, environmental quality, and economy of the world’s coastal regions depend on our ability to understand, monitor, and adapt to changes. Along coastal interfaces, parts of the Earth system interact to regulate ecosystem functions and Earth’s climate in ways that remain poorly understood. Existing research networks and local-to-regional scale predictive models focus on understanding Earth system sub-elements (e.g., terrestrial ecosystems, wetlands, estuaries, and the ocean), but coastal interfaces have not yet been thoroughly integrated into global scale Earth system models. This is difficult because press and pulse disturbances can substantially influence the structure, biogeochemical dynamics, and land-water-atmosphere-cryosphere interactions of coastal ecosystems in diverse ways. Addressing these multi-scale gaps in predictive capabilities will require a coordinated effort aimed at understanding Earth as an integrated system of interdependent ecosystems where multi-directional interactions between the coastal interface, land, inland waters, and oceans are represented. Here we discuss recent progress and future needs to improve the conceptual, quantitative, and predictive framework for understanding the role of coastal interfaces in Earth system cycles and implications for the environment and human society.