Saltwater Intrusion
Saltwater intrusion and sea level rise - Landscapes and communities on the leading edge of climate change
Weather and water monitoring station near the Pamlico Sound, NC.
In low-lying coastal areas worldwide, sea level rise and saltwater intrusion are transforming freshwater-dependent landscapes through periodic exposure to salt water. Salt exposure and associated ecological transformations - including the spread of “ghost forests” are complex processes that are impacted by climate change as well as human alteration of coastal landscapes. We have been part of collaborative efforts to study these landscapes and the complex social and ecological processes at play on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula (APP), a low-lying region near the North Carolina coast.
Early work confirmed that “bathtub models” of sea level rise, often used to study the vulnerability of low-lying areas, do not capture the vulnerability of coastal ecosystems and communities to salt exposure from coastal storms, high tides, and drought. We studied the movement of water and salt through artificial drainage networks, and we learned about some of the ways that artificial drainage can alter vulnerability of coastal landscapes to saltwater intrusion by changing local and regional flows of fresh water and salty water. Our group developed a saltwater intrusion vulnerability index to better explain salt exposure as a function of elevation, hydrologic connectivity, and freshwater flows.
Our work was featured in a 2019 Science Friday documentary on ghost forests as well as a segment on the weekly NPR broadcast. More recently, we teamed up with other researchers and community members through a research coordination network focused on saltwater intrusion and sea level rise (SWISLR) in eastern North America. Some of our upcoming work will focus on developing tools and techniques to evaluate the historic spread of ghost forests in low-lying coastal areas.
Luke Groskin (Science Friday) records an interview with Ryan in 2019.
Key personnel from Ryan’s group have included Abinash Bhattachan, Justine Neville, and Theo Jass. Collaborators include Marcelo Ardón (NC State University), Todd BenDor (University of North Carolina), Emily Bernhardt (Duke), Chris Moorman (NC State University), Erin Seekamp (NC State University), and Justin Wright (Duke). Several undergraduate students participated in this work through NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) opportunities.
Select Outcomes
-
Research Article: Neville JA, Emanuel RE, Nelson NG, Bernhardt ES, Ardón M (2024) "Standard metrics for characterizing episodic salinization in freshwater systems" Limnology and Oceanography Methods
Research Article: Neville JA, Emanuel RE, Nelson N, Pavelsky TM, Ardón M (2023) “Location and design of flow control structures differentially influence salinity patterns in small artificial drainages”Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Research Article: Bhattachan A, Jurjonas MD, Morris PR, Taillie PJ, Smart LS, Emanuel RE, Seekamp EL (2019) “Linking residential saltwater intrusion risk perceptions to physical exposure of climate change impacts in rural coastal communities of North Carolina” Natural Hazards
Research Article: Bhattachan A, Emanuel RE, Ardón M, BenDor TK, Bernhardt ES, Wright JP (2018) “Evaluating the effects of land-use change and future climate change on vulnerability of coastal landscapes to saltwater intrusion”Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene
-
Documentary Video: “The Seeds of Ghost Forests” NPR Science Friday
Print Journalism: “Climate Change is Killing East Coast Forests” The Scientist
-
NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates