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Managed realignment is a relatively new soft engineering alternative aiming to provide sustainable flood risk management with added environmental and socio-economic benefits by creating space for coastal habitats to develop more dynamically. The natural adaptive capacity of coastal habitats and the ecosystem services they provide underpin the sustainability of managed realignment. However, many definitions of managed realignment exist and the understanding of what the term actually represents in practice has evolved through time and varies regionally. This book clarifies the definitions and terminology used in the literature and proposes that managed realignment is used as a general term that encompasses the many different methods of implementation worldwide, including: removal, breach and realignment of defences; controlled tidal restoration (which includes regulated tidal exchange and controlled reduced tide); and managed retreat. These methods of implementation are explained and illustrated with examples from around the world.--Provided by publisher.

Coastal ecosystems including coral reefs, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes are being lost at alarming rates, and increased scientific understanding of causes has failed to stem these losses. Coastal habitats receive contrasting research effort, with 60% of all of the published research carried out on coral reefs, compared to 11-14% of the records for each of salt marshes, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows. In addition, these highly connected and interdependent coastal ecosystems receive widely contrasting media attention that is disproportional to their scientific attention. Seagrass ecosystems receive the least attention in the media (1.3% of the media reports) with greater attention on salt marshes (6.5%), considerably more attention on mangroves (20%), and a dominant focus on coral reefs, which are the subject of three in every four media reports on coastal ecosystems (72.5%). There are approximately tenfold lower reports on seagrass meadows in the media for every scientific paper published (ten), than the 130-150 media reports per scientific paper for mangroves and coral reefs. The lack of public awareness of losses of less charismatic ecosystems results in the continuation of detrimental practices and therefore contributes to continued declines of coastal ecosystems. More effective communication of scientific knowledge about these uncharismatic but ecologically important coastal habitats is required. Effective use of formal (e.g., school curricula, media) and informal (e.g., web) education avenues and an effective partnership between scientists and media communicators are essential to raise public awareness of issues, concerns, and solutions within coastal ecosystems. Only increased public understanding can ultimately inform and motivate effective management of these ecologically important coastal ecosystems.

\"At the convergence of the land and sea, coastal environments are some of the most dynamic and populated places on Earth. This book explains how the many varied forms of spatial analysis, including mapping, monitoring and modelling, can be applied to a range of coastal environments such as estuaries, mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Presenting empirical geographical approaches to modelling, which draw on recent developments in remote sensing technology, geographical information science and spatial statistics, it provides the analytical tools to map, monitor and explain or predict coastal features. With detailed case studies and accompanying online practical exercises, it is an ideal resource for undergraduate courses in spatial science. Taking a broad view of spatial analysis and covering basic and advanced analytical areas such as spatial data and geostatistics, it is also a useful reference for ecologists, geomorphologists, geographers and modellers interested in understanding coastal environments\"-- Provided by publisher.

Over recent years, many coastal engineering projects have employed the use of soft solutions as these are generally less environmentally damaging than hard solutions. However, in some cases, local conditions hinder the use of soft solutions, meaning that hard solutions have to be adopted or, sometimes, a combination of hard and soft measures is seen as optimal. This research reviews the use of hard coastal structures on the foreshore (groynes, breakwaters and jetties) and onshore (seawalls and dikes). The purpose, functioning and local conditions for which these structures are most suitable are outlined. A description is provided on the negative effects that these structures may have on morphological, hydrodynamic and ecological conditions. To reduce or mitigate these negative impacts, or to create new ecosystem services, the following nature-based adaptations are proposed and discussed: (1) applying soft solutions complementary to hard solutions, (2) mitigating morphological and hydrodynamic changes and (3) ecologically enhancing hard coastal structures. The selection and also the success of these potential adaptations are highly dependent on local conditions, such as hydrodynamic forcing, spatial requirements and socioeconomic factors. The overview provided in this paper aims to offer an interdisciplinary understanding, by giving general guidance on which type of solution is suitable for given characteristics, taking into consideration all aspects that are key for environmentally sensitive coastal designs. Overall, this study aims to provide guidance at the interdisciplinary design stage of nature-based coastal defence structures.

\"The book will present case studies, based on thorough literature reviews and original research, about socio-economic issues that affect the management of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean and Black Seas\"-- Provided by publisher.

The West African coast is vulnerable to natural hazards and human interventions. Although various measures have been taken at different scales, mostly at the local level, there is a need to improve management at the regional level. We examine these actions and possible solutions from different perspectives and provide conclusions and recommendations on the integration of solutions to improve coastal management. From North West Mauritania to across the Gulf of Guinea a system of coastal zoning that can be managed holistically is encouraged. The development of holistic planning is seen as a sustainable approach to management that seeks to link users/processes together rather than focus on a single particular issue and solution. Strengthening, monitoring, promoting the observation network and generalising open data centralisation and exchange for a better understanding of coastal dynamics and pressures is encouraged. There is a need for capacity building, expertise and federative actions. Furthermore, the need to identify and involve not only stakeholders, but also communities and scientists with multilevel inputs. All must agree on coordinated plans to achieve stakeholder objectives, using an approach adapted to the multi-spatial scale (e. g at the scale of sediment cells, integrating from the sources of sediment in river basins to their redistribution along the coast, perturbed by climate changes and anthropic stresses), so that only regional solutions are appropriate and will be effective. These must follow sustainable strategies with a multi-temporal sequenced solution and anticipate changes, or adaptive solutions using solutions in synergy with different time frames as well as managing natural and human systems responsibly. A plan that considers changes in coastal systems and anticipates impacts and adapts plans accordingly will be key.

\"In this thrilling memoir of a life spent exploring the most incredible places on Earth--from the Great African Seaforest to the crocodile lairs of the Okavango Delta--Craig Foster reveals how we can attend to the earthly beauty around us and deepen our love for all living things, whether we make our homes in the country, the city, or anywhere in between. Foster explores his struggles to remain present to life when a disconnection from nature and the demands of his professional life begin to deaden his senses. And his own reliance on nature's rejuvenating spiritual power is put to the test when catastrophe strikes close to home. Foster's lyrical, riveting Amphibious Soul draws on his decades of daily ocean dives, wisdom from Indigenous teachers, and leading-edge science\"-- Provided by publisher.

Beach nourishments are a widely used method to mitigate erosion along sandy shorelines. In contrast to hard coastal protection structures, nourishments are considered as soft engineering, although little is known about the cumulative, long-term environmental effects of both marine sediment extraction and nourishment activities. Recent endeavours to sustain the marine ecosystem and research results on the environmental impact of sediment extraction and nourishment activities are driving the need for a comprehensive up-to-date review of beach nourishment practice, and to evaluate the physical and ecological sustainability of these activities. While existing reviews of nourishment practice have focused on the general design (motivation, techniques and methods, international overview of sites and volumes) as well as legal and financial aspects, this study reviews and compares not only nourishment practice but also the accompanying assessment and monitoring of environmental impacts in a number of developed countries around the world. For the study, we reviewed 205 openly-accessible coastal management strategies, legal texts, guidelines, EIA documents, websites, project reports, press releases and research publications about beach nourishments in several developed countries around the world (Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, UK, USA and Australia). Where information was not openly available, the responsible authorities were contacted directly. The study elaborates on the differences in coastal management strategies and legislation as well as the large dissimilarities in the EIA procedure (where applicable) for both marine sediment extraction and nourishment activities. The spatial disturbance of the marine environment that is considered a significant impact, a factor which determines the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment, varies substantially between the countries covered in this study. Combined with the large uncertainties of the long-term ecological and geomorphological impacts, these results underline the need to reconsider the sustainability of nourishments as “soft” coastal protection measures.

The resilience of socio-ecological systems to sea level rise, storms and flooding can be enhanced when coastal habitats are used as natural infrastructure. Grey infrastructure has long been used for coastal flood protection but can lead to unintended negative impacts. Natural infrastructure often provides similar services as well as added benefits that support short- and long-term biological, cultural, social, and economic goals. While natural infrastructure is becoming more widespread in practice, it often represents a relatively small fraction within portfolios of coastal risk-reducing strategies compared to more traditional grey infrastructure. This study provides a comprehensive review of how natural infrastructure is being used along the United States Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts related to four habitats - tidal marshes, beaches and barrier islands, mangroves, and biogenic reefs. We compare information on the benefits, opportunities and challenges of implementing natural, grey and hybrid infrastructure in the coastal zone. In addition, we present a suite of actions to increase information and reduce uncertainty so that coastal mangers and planners are aware of the full suite of options for restoration, conservation and planning that maximize ecosystem services over short- and long-term planning horizons.

Accurate wind speed prediction plays an important role in developing effective coastal management strategies and risk assessments, especially in coastal region managements to reduce erosion damage. In offshore wind energy, precise forecasts optimize wind farm layout and operations, maximizing energy yield and minimizing downtime. Additionally, accurate wind speed forecasts significantly improve maritime transportation safety by predicting hazardous conditions. Understanding wind patterns is also important for coastal ecosystem management and safer navigation activities. However, accurate wind speed prediction in dynamic coastal environments remains challenging due to (1) limited applications of robust machine learning (ML) models tailored to coastal meteorological complexity, (2) insufficient integration of interpretable feature analysis with predictive modeling for actionable insights, and (3) gaps in understanding how seasonal and diurnal wind patterns influence model performance in understudied regions like tropical Queensland. This study focuses on Abbot Point, Queensland, Australia, using meteorological data collected hourly from January 1 to December 31, 2023 (Latitude: -19.9496; Longitude: 148.0482). It evaluates three machine ML models—Linear Regression (LR), Decision Tree Regressor (DT), and Random Forest (RF)—to identify the most reliable approach for wind speed forecasting. The dataset includes wind direction, air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, and barometric pressure as feature variables, with wind speed as the target variable. Novel integration of SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis and seasonal decomposition addresses interpretability gaps, while rigorous validation across training (70%), testing (15%), and validation (15%) datasets ensures model robustness. The RF model consistently outperformed others across training, validation, and test datasets, achieving the lowest mean square error (MSE: Train 0.183, Validation 0.875, Test 0.803), highest R 2 (Train 0.966, Validation 0.831, Test 0.844), and superior Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE: Train 0.96, Validation 0.83, Test 0.84). These results reflect the model's robust ability to capture complex relationships in the data. In contrast, LR and DT exhibited moderate accuracy, with higher MSE and lower NSE values, struggling particularly with consistency and extreme values. Complementary analyses, including wind rose plots and time series of wind speed, relative humidity, and barometric pressure, revealed high-risk periods characterized by strong winds (> 10 m/s), high humidity (> 90%), and low barometric pressure (< 1000 hPa). Seasonal analysis revealed spring/summer peaks in hazardous winds (> 10 m/s), with diurnal cycles (24-h periodicity) significantly influencing prediction accuracy—a pattern underemphasized in prior coastal ML studies. This study bridges critical gaps by demonstrating how interpretable ML enhances coastal wind prediction through: a) quantitative validation of RFR's superiority over traditional models in handling coastal meteorological variability, b) SHAP-driven identification of dominant predictors (wind direction, pressure) for targeted monitoring, c) Seasonal-temporal analysis framework for site-specific risk mitigation strategies. These findings confirm the interactions between meteorological variables that intensify storm risks and coastal hazards. Key insights include the dominant influence of southeast and south-southwest winds (100°–200°) and the critical role of barometric pressure in driving extreme wind events. Also, findings enable improved storm surge modeling and early warning systems by providing 6-h wind forecasts with 84% accuracy, directly informing coastal defense alignment with dominant wind-driven erosion patterns. This approach addresses the critical need for ML applications that combine predictive power with operational interpretability in coastal management contexts. The integration of ML models with detailed meteorological patterns supports the identification of high-risk periods, enabling targeted interventions such as strengthening coastal defenses and issuing early warnings. This study underscores the value of ML techniques, particularly RF, in enhancing predictive frameworks for coastal risk management and promoting sustainable, resilient coastal environments.