Global variability in estuaries and coastal settings

PERILLO, G.M.E.; PICCOLO M. C.

Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science

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Año: 2024; p. 12 - 48

The concepts of variability and change are analysed for the natural estuarine and coastal systems within restricted temporal and spatial scales. Change only occurs in those settings where hydrological and erosional processes result in definitive and unrecoverable modifications in state after crossing certain thresholds. All other situations occurring at coastal settings have a temporal and spatial ‘periodicity’ which allow, at least partly, the return to the initial condition. The paths followed can differ, but coastal settings tend to recuperate based on their resilience. A set of factors controls the variability of the coastal settings. The dominance of a group (seldom only one is determinant) defines the particular environment observed. As a result of the natural variability of each of the factors and the non-linear interaction among them, there is no actual possibility that any coastal setting will be equal to another, and they can be similar but not. Given the predictions of the effects of future climate change on coastal areas, the most appropriate strategy to increase community strength is to implement climate change adaptation and mitigation into an integrated coastal management that promotes community and multi-stakeholder participation. The implications of climate change for each coastal area vary significantly, so each environment requires an independent assessment.