June - sea level rise
Mean sea levels are rising around most of Scotland's coastline and in the next few decades sea-level rise is expected to accelerate beyond rates seen in the last few thousand years.
Rising sea levels may threaten salt marsh distribution along with other coastal landforms and habitats. Much of Scotland’s outer coastline is undeveloped and salt marshes are not ‘hemmed in’ by infrastructure or flood defences. In these locations salt marshes are able to adapt to rising sea levels by shifting landwards. As the effects of climate change continue and accelerate these outer areas are likely to see salt marsh continue to expand on to low-lying coastal floodplains.
On Scotland's inner firths, much of our salt marsh has historically been claimed for agriculture, industry and infrastructure. Although these areas have previously benefited from falling sea levels, in recent decades most of the inner firths have started to experience rising sea levels. This combination has resulted in habitats experiencing ‘coastal squeeze’, trapped between rising sea levels and developed coast. Given recent estimates of accelerating rates of sea-level rise, the prospects for these coastal habitats are not good.
Work is ongoing to forecast the likely impacts of climate change on our coastline to assess where the pressures and opportunities for future changes may come from. As climate change continues to be felt on the coast, sustainable management is ever more important for our coastal landforms, habitats and the people and wildlife that depend on them.
