Study finds 84% of U.S. coastal wetlands sinking as seas rise

A new nationwide study suggests that most coastal wetlands in the contiguous United States are struggling to keep up with rising sea levels. Researchers tracking nearly 450 wetlands for up to 20 years found that 84% are gradually being inundated, putting many on a path to become open water if current trends continue. The study is published in Earth's Future. The finding is a big deal because coastal wetlands are not just patches of marshland. They help buffer storm surge, protect roads and buildings, and provide habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife. In other words, when wetlands disappear, the loss is ecological, economic and social all at once."Our study provides wetland managers with new information to help them make better-informed decisions and identify meaningful solutions to issues they may be encountering, including facilitating wetland migration upslope," Glenn Guntenspergen, U.S. Geological Survey's coastal wetland ecologist and senior author on the study, said, according to Phys.org.How the study workedTo get a national picture, researchers used elevation data from nearly 450 monitoring stations along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts. They compared those measur...