Representing the function and sensitivity of coastal interfaces in Earth system models
Nicholas Ward, J. Patrick Megonigal, Ben Bond‐Lamberty, Vanessa Bailey, David Butman, Elizabeth A. Canuel, Heida L. Diefenderfer, Neil K. Ganju, Miguel A. Goñi, Emily Graham, C. Hopkinson, Tarang Khangaonkar, J. Adam Langley, Nate G. McDowell, Allison Myers‐Pigg, Rebecca B. Neumann, Christopher L. Osburn, René M. Price, J. C. Rowland, Aditi Sengupta, Marc Simard, Peter Thornton, Maria Tzortziou, Rodrigo Vargas, Pamela Weisenhorn, Lisamarie Windham‐Myers
Abstract
Between the land and ocean, diverse coastal ecosystems transform, store, and transport material. Across these interfaces, the dynamic exchange of energy and matter is driven by hydrological and hydrodynamic processes such as river and groundwater discharge, tides, waves, and storms. These dynamics regulate ecosystem functions and Earth's climate, yet global models lack representation of coastal processes and related feedbacks, impeding their predictions of coastal and global responses to change. Here, we assess existing coastal monitoring networks and regional models, existing challenges in these efforts, and recommend a path towards development of global models that more robustly reflect the coastal interface.