Quantifying threshold conditions for landward erosion and seaward expansion of tidal marsh shorelines.

Tidal marshes, which are vegetated wetlands within larger-scale tidal basins, play a critical role in the physical and biological functioning of that tidal basin. The processes that control the landward erosion and seaward expansion of marsh area are, however, hardly understood.Here we aim at quantifying the hydrodynamic and geomorphic threshold conditions that cause:(1) the start of marsh expansion, by vegetation establishment on an initially bare mudflat.(2) the start of marsh erosion, by cliff formation at an initially gently sloping boundary between a marsh and mudflat.

Keywords:GEOMORPHOLOGY, EROSION

Disciplines:Physical geography and environmental geoscience, Plant biology