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In addition to their being vital components of mid- to high-latitude coastal ecosystems, salt marshes contain 0.1% of global sequestered terrestrial carbon. Their sustainability is now threatened by accelerating sea-level rise (SLR) that has reached a rate that is many times greater than the rate at which they formed and evolved. Modeling studies have been instrumental in predicting how marsh systems will respond to greater frequencies and durations of tidal inundation and in quantifying thresholds when marshes will succumb and begin to disintegrate due to accelerating SLR. Over the short term, some researchers believe that biogeomorphic feedbacks will improve marsh survival through greater biomass productivity enhanced by warmer temperatures and higher carbon dioxide concentrations. Increased sedimentation rates are less likely due to lower-than-expected suspended sediment concentrations. The majority of marsh loss today is through wave-induced edge erosion that beneficially adds sediment to the system. Edge erosion is partly offset by upland marsh migration during SLR.
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Download all Supplemental Materials as a single PDF. Includes Supplemental Figures 1-14 and Supplemental Table 1.