Preserving coasts as places to live and do business.

Oceans and waterways are vital to our society, as they provide us with food, raw materials, and energy, and serve as critical transport routes. Since waterways are highly interconnected, however, whatever happens in the upper part of a river or in the estuary always has an effect on seas and coasts, meaning that along with water, sediments, and nutrients, man-made substances such as harmful pollutants, are frequently transported from one system to another. This problem is only likely to worsen as economic activity near coasts expands and the impacts of climate change become more pronounced, together driving the world’s coastal systems ever-faster into an ecologically critical state.

This growing issue must be addressed in a sustainable manner with careful consideration of socio-economic impacts. In order to protect and use our global coasts as best we can, we also need meaningful simulations that allow us to predict various future scenarios. With our holistic research of the river-sea system, we want to support decision makers in the development of sustainable management for our coasts.

(Header: Hereon/ESA/MERIS)