The coastal ocean and especially in marginal seas are of great importance to human society as places of natural resources that need to be preserved for long term sustainability. They are dynamic environments that are subject to rapid change whether that is caused by natural climatic and related sea level processes or more recently as result of anthropogenic impact on the coastal zone. Understanding how sediment and carbon move through the coastal zone in river mouths, as well as along the coast and across the continental shelf is important if we are to manage these areas efficiently in the future. Can sediment be captured in the coastal zone and help to defend against future sea level rise? Carbon may be potentially sequestered or lost in these areas in coastal lagoons, deltas or in shelf clinoforms.
In addition to sediment transport, habitat mapping plays a crucial role in coastal management. Mapping benthic habitats, marine biodiversity, and geomorphological features is essential for developing strategies to mitigate environmental stressors, such as pollution or habitat degradation, and for understanding how these areas contribute to carbon storage. This information supports sustainable management practices and informs restoration efforts aimed at protecting biodiversity hotspots.
We encourage submissions from all working in shallow water environments and especially in marginal seas. Studies of modern systems as well as Quaternary examples can help us understand what controls the transport and recycling of sediments and carbon. These studies need to integrate both modern and recent observations as well as reconciling these with numerical models to improve our predictions of coastal evolution in the future. Combining vast datasets from remote sensing, habitat mapping, geophysical surveys, and in situ monitoring, with advanced analytics and numerical models, provides a holistic view of coastal evolution.