Healthy wetlands could protect coast
|
|
|
DURHAM, N.C., March 28 U.S. researchers say coastal wetlands should be able to adjust to rising ocean levels as long as plants and sediment remain intact.The Duke University study, published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, says the tidal marshes that "nurture marine life and reduce storm damage along coastlines" will survive climate change if "their vegetation isn't damaged and their supplies of upstream sediment aren't reduced," the university said in a release. Using a 3-D computer model, researchers found that vegetation and sediments can meld into living "platforms" that adjust to changing water levels. "With a steady, moderate rise in sea level, the model builds a marsh platform and channel network (that rises) with the rate of sea-level rise, meaning water depths and biological productivity remain temporarily constant," said A. Brad Murray, associate professor of geomorphology and coastal processes at Duke. "If the vegetation is intact, it holds the system in place and enhances the trapping of sediments and tends to minimize the erosion." Copyright 2007 by UPI
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
Deep ocean census finds jumbo Dumbo and oil-drilling worms
Washington - Marine scientists have identified 17,650 species in ocean depths so far down that light no longer penetrates, according to the newest update in the years-long census of marine life released Sunday. The oddest...
New 'transition' dinosaur species discovered in South Africa
Johannesburg - South African palaeontologists on Wednesday announced the discovery of a new species of transition dinosaur that straddles the divide between the four-legged giant plant-eating sauropods and their bipedal carnivorous predecessors. Th...
Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss dies at age 100
Paris - Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, widely considered one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century, has died at age 100, the Academie Francaise said Tuesday. Levi-Strauss, who would have turned 101 on November 28, died early Sun...
British scientists thrilled at 'sea monster' discovery on coast
London - British scientists said Tuesday they were excited at the discovery of the fossilised skull of a giant sea monster in a scenic region of south-west Britain known as the Jurassic Coast. Dorset county council said the fossil comes from a plio...
Disgraced South Korean clone scientist gets 2-year term - Summary
Seoul- A South Korean scientist initially hailed as a cloning pioneer and national hero was handed a two-year suspended sentence Monday for embezzling research money after an investigation uncovered faked research into cloning human embryonic stem ce...
Disgraced South Korean cloning researcher found guilty
Seoul - The South Korean scientist initially hailed as a cloning pioneer and national hero until an investigation found some faked research into cloning human embryonic stem cells was convicted Monday of embezzling research grants. Hwang Woo Suk, 56,...
Bokova elected first woman UNESCO director-general - Summary
Paris - Bulgarian diplomat Irina Bokova was Thursday officially elected the first woman director-general of UNESCO, the Paris-based scientific and cultural organization said late Thursday. The 57-year-old Bokova was overwhelmingly confirmed by a vote...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
