This study aims to review thirteen coastal restoration projects considering the various ecosystem services provided by restoration and estimates the economic value of one of the ecosystem services of restoration. These ecosystem services include water quality improvement, fish and benthic species productivity, shoreline stabilization, oyster abundance, and marsh growth. The projects represent a set of large-scale projects within Alabama and Mississippi, with construction and monitoring costs ranging from $2.3 million to $50 million per project. To determine the economic value of one of the ecosystem services of coastal restoration projects, I used the meta-analysis method to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for coastal water quality improvements. The estimated function from the meta-analysis is applied to parameters specific to the study area. The WTP for improved coastal water quality, from a baseline of fishable but likely to degrade, to an improved fishing catch rate, is $203 per household annually among residents of Alabama and Mississippi.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are promising strategies for protecting vulnerable coasts in the context of climate change, utilizing the coastal protection capabilities of natural ecosystems for engineering applications. The ability of coastal marsh vegetation to attenuate wave energy and prevent coastal erosion has been acknowledged for decades, however, consideration for their use in coastal protection strategies is presently limited, particularly in Canada due to a lack of engineering guidelines and limited available research considering region-specific variables. Physical modelling presents a useful tool for investigating the coastal protection function provided by marsh vegetation in a controlled, repeatable environment, which can ultimately inform the design of nature-based coastal protection strategies. To date, such studies have investigated the influence of plant biophysical parameters (stem flexibility, width, and height) and hydrodynamic conditions (wave height, wave period, and plant submergence) on wave attenuation. These studies have used either live vegetation, requiring full-scale wave testing, or surrogate vegetation, which allows simplified testing at either full- or reduced-scale. Overall, live vegetation studies have been limited in the variety of saltmarsh plants considered, with few studies considering plant species native to the Canadian coastline. Several physical modelling studies have been performed using surrogate plants, however, methods of surrogate development for flexible vegetation or reduced-scale testing are not yet well developed. This thesis aims to address knowledge gaps pertaining to the use of marsh vegetation in coastal protection strategies, particularly through the development of experimental methods with both live and surrogate plants. A full-scale flume study with live vegetation was performed to develop fundamental knowledge of wave-vegetation interactions for Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens, two salt marsh species native to Canada’s Atlantic coast. S. alterniflora was observed to demonstrate a resistance strategy in response to hydrodynamic forcing, versus the avoidance strategy of S. patens, supporting complementary functioning of the two species if utilized together in coastal protection schemes. Observations of plant properties and stem bending from live plant tests were subsequently applied in the development of a small-scale flume study, which examined wave attenuation associated with a downscaled S. alterniflora meadow in the configuration of a “living dyke” structure. Wave damping induced by surrogate vegetation was observed to be minimal for the tested wave conditions (0.073 m < Hm0 < 0.225 m, 2.0 < Tp < 3.2 s, 1:4 scale) and beach slope (1V:20H), with wave height evolution dominated by wave shoaling and breaking. Several methods were considered for modelling the S. alterniflora meadow at reduced scale, and results demonstrated a sensitivity to surrogate diameter but not flexibility. The development of robust experimental methods for investigating the performance of nature-based coastal infrastructure is essential for the establishment of appropriate design conditions. The scale series approach of this thesis supports such methodological advancements and is expected to make preliminary contributions to design guidance on coastal marsh-based NBS and provide critical direction for future studies.

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Det finns två huvudområden för hällristningar i Västmanlands län med nära relation till de forntida strandlinjerna. I båda dessa områden finns det fornborgar som hittills inte har daterats. Syftet är att datera Näsborgen och Kastena Skans i östra och västra Västmanland genom att använda geografiska informationssystemet QGIS och forntida strandlinjedata hämtad från Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning (SGU). Dessutom betraktas fornborgarna ur ett landskapsperspektiv och deras relation till hällristningar och skärvstenshögar som styrker en bronsåldersdatering för dessa fornborgar. Analysen använder tidigare bekräftade bronsåldersdateringar av tre fornborgar i Uppland som referens för Västmanlands fornborgar och överblickar andra närliggande fornborgar. Både Näsborgen och Kastena Skans konstateras vara konstruerade under bronsåldern. / There are two main areas of rock art in Västmanland county with a close relation to the ancient shorelines. In both areas, there are hillforts that have not yet been dated. The aim is to date Näsborgen and Kastena Skans in eastern and western Västmanland by using the geographic information system QGIS and ancient shoreline data obtained from Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU). Additionally, the hillforts are considered from a landscape perspective and their relation to rock art sites and heaps of fire-cracked stones, which support Bronze Age datings for these hillforts. The analysis uses previously confirmed Bronze Age datings of three hillforts in Uppland as a reference for the hillforts in Västmanland and provides an overview of other nearby hillforts. Both Näsborgen and Kastena Skans are determined to have been constructed during the Bronze Age.

Syftet med undersökningen är att göra en “modell” över hur bronsålderns strandlinje på Gotlands östra kust kan ha sett ut samt att undersöka var rösen finns placerade i landskapet. Undersökningen har haft två teoretiska utgångspunkter, seascape och platsval. Materialet som undersökts i uppsatsen är 508 rösen och 14 gravfält där rösen förekommer, samt de kartor med strandlinjerekonstruktionen som gjorts inom ramen för undersökningen. För att kunna rekonstruera strandlinjen och analysera rösenas placering har en rumslig analys genomförts i QGIS.  Den sydligaste delen av ön rekonstruerades till 7,5 m.ö.h. och den nordligaste delen, det vill säga Fårö, rekonstruerades till 12 m.ö.h. vilket gjorde att det var en skillnad på 4,5 meter mellan nord och syd. Studien visade att en majoritet av rösena placerades invid någon form av vatten, att i de norra delarna av ön var frekvensen av mindre rösen större samtidig som östkusten hade flest rösen med en diameter över 20 meter. / The purpose of the thesis is to make a "model" of what the Bronze Age shoreline on Gotland's eastern coast might have looked like and to investigate where the cairns are located in the landscape. The survey had two theoretical starting points, seascape, and site selection. The material examined in the essay is 508 cairns and 14 burial fields where the cairns occur, as well as the maps with the shoreline reconstruction made within the framework of the survey. To reconstruct the shoreline and analyse the location of the cairns, a spatial analysis has been carried out in QGIS. The southernmost part of the island was reconstructed to 7.5 m.a.s.l. and the northernmost part, i.e. Fårö, was reconstructed to 12 m.a.s.l. which meant that there was a difference of 4.5 meters between north and south. The study showed that most of the cairns were placed next to some form of water. It was also seen, that in the northern parts of the island, there were generally smaller cairns, while the east coast had the most cairns with a diameter of over 20 meters.

In thirty years, the number of second homes for recreation fishers in coastal Terrebonne Parish has grown from 244 in the late 1970s to an estimated 2,500 in 2005. This thesis considers the ramifications of the tourism boom along the parish's historically isolated and undeveloped coastline. Four coastal communities are examined: (1) Montegut, Pointe-aux-Chenes and Isle de Jean Charles; (2) Cocodrie and Chauvin; (3) Dulac; and (4) Dularge and Theriot. The research question is twofold: Why has coastal tourism been allowed to develop in the fragile wetlands that protect residents from dangerous storms?; and What does tourism development mean for the indigenous American Indian and Cajun people who live along the coast? The author argues the proliferation of recreation fishing camps has had a serious dislocating effect on coastal Terrebonne's population, and the ongoing development of the tourism industry will devastate culturally rich bayou regions.

Process domains categorizes sections of streams according to its local dominant processes. These processes often reflect on the local ecology and the streams appearance. But the underlying reason why these different process domains are formed are still not completely certain. In this study the distribution of the process domains: lakes, rapids and slow-flowing reaches in the Bjur River catchment were compared to the geological factors of slope, surficial geology and landforms to see if any connections could be found. The possibility of using GIS (geographic information systems) and remote data to distinguish these stream types and to connect them to the different studied geological factors were also examined. The hypothesis for this study is that the geological factors of slope, surficial geology and landforms all should have an influence over the distribution of the process domains in Bjur River. The analysis was executed through map-studies in ArcGIS and statistical analysis in Excel. All process domains showed statistical significance towards the studied geological factors. The slope was generally steeper in the rapids than in slow-flowing reaches and lakes. The surficial geology displayed more fine-grained sediment (peat) in proximity to lakes and slow-flowing reaches whilst till was more abundant close to rapids. Hilly moraine landscapes were most common around lakes, while rapids displayed a high percentage of glacio-fluvially eroded area. Slow-flowing reaches also showed to have around 44% of its studied points around glacio-fluvially eroded area, and 43% at areas without any major landforms. Even if the statistical analysis and figures display a difference between the different process domains, it is still difficult to say which of these geological factors that plays the most crucial role for their development. However, by using remote data and through studies over slope, adjacent surficial geology and landforms the different process domains can be differentiated from one another.

Nesta dissertação apresenta-se a evolução morfológica e sedimentológica no Arco Praial de Massaguaçú, Litoral Norte do Estado de São Paulo, em uma escala espaço-temporal histórica e de eventos. O Arco Praial de Massaguaçú localiza-se ao norte da Baia de Caraguatatuba e tem uma extensão de aproximadamente 7,5km. A metodologia consistiu na determinação da variação da linha de costa através da análise de fotografias aéreas de 1962, 1977, 1994 e 2001 e GPS para 2006. Foram obtidos 174 perfis bidimensionais e 16 perfis tridimensionais coletados em cinco levantamentos de campos entre os meses de novembro de 2006 e março de 2008 utilizando o método de DGPS. Foram coletadas ainda 176 amostras sedimentares na zona de espraiamento do Arco Praial, junto ao último ponto de cada perfil bidimensional, sendo uma coleta por perfil. Os resultados demonstraram que a maior parte da praia sofreu progradação entre os anos de 1962 e 1994, sendo observada mudança nesta tendência entre 1994 e 2006. Os dados de morfologia e sedimentologia mostraram grande variabilidade espaço temporal, sendo que estas parecem estar relacionadas a variações anuais de energia de onda. Foi identificada uma Zona de Erosão Acentuada (ZEA) na Parte Central do Arco Praial e dividiu-se a praia em cinco áreas de risco, onde este é menor nas extremidades do Arco Praial e aumenta em direção a região central. / This dissertation characterize the morphological and sedimentological evolution of Massaguaçú Bay Beach, São Paulo State, Northeast Brazil, in a Historical and events spatial-temporal scale. Massaguaçú Bay Beach is localized northward of Caraguatatuba Bay and has approximately 7.5Km length. The methodology consisted on the determination of the shoreline changes with Aerophotographic analyses of 1962, 1977, 1994 and 2001, 2006 shoreline was taken with GPS. The DGPS Method was used to obtain 174 two-dimensional profiles and 16 tri-dimensional profiles in 5 field campaigns conducted between November, 2006 and March, 2008. 176 sand samples were collect in the swash zone, next to the last position of each two-dimensional profile. Data showed that almost all beach demonstrated shoreline progradation between 1962 and 1994, this tendency change between 1994 and 2006 with the possibility of increase of the retraction processes. It was observed a great variability in morphological and sedimentological data, this appear to be related with variations on the wave height pattern during the year. It has identified an Erosional Hotspot in the central area of the beach and the beach has divided in five risck areas where the risck increase from the extremities to the center of the beach.

O presente estudo modificou o modelo parabólico da forma em planta de equilíbrio de Medellín et al., 2009, proposto para praias de enseada com desembocaduras, incorporando um parâmetro relacionado à dinâmica costeira, que seria o volume de areia necessário para formar a praia emersa próxima à desembocadura. Foram escolhidas 27 desembocaduras na costa brasileira e obtidos parâmetros da dinâmica costeira e estuarina, através de imagens do Googleearth e dados de ondas e marés astronômicas dos programas SMC-TOOLS e WXTide32, respectivamente. O modelo parabólico foi aplicado e não se ajustou adequadamente, com diferenças com relação à linha de costa de 20-40m até 80m. Logo, foi realizada sua adaptação à costa brasileira, apresentando uma moderada a baixa dispersão dos coeficientes A e B de 77 % e 64%, respectivamente. Sua validação apresentou ajuste bom a satisfatório, com diferenças médias de 5m até máximas de 15m com relação à linha de costa. Posteriormente, foi realizada a modificação do modelo parabólico que minimizou a dispersão dos coeficientes A e B com um ajuste de 98 % e 81%, respectivamente. Sua validação apresentou um ajuste excelente a bom, com diferenças médias de 3-5m até máximas de 10m com relação à linha de costa. / This study modified the equilibrium plan form formulations proposed by Medellín et al., (2009) to embayments beachs with inlets, by incorporating a parameter related to coastal dynamics, that would be the volume of sand required to build the aerial beach close to the inlet. For this study 27 embayments beaches with inlets were chosen on the Brazilian coast and obtained parameters of dynamics coastal and estuarine, through GoogleEarth images and waves and astronomical tide datas series by the SMC-TOOLS and WXTide32 programs, respectively. The Medellín parabolic model was applied and did not fit properly, with differences regarding the shoreline of 20-40m up to maximum of 80m. Therefore, their adaptation to the Brazilian coast was carried out, which showed a moderate to low dispersion of the coefficients A and B of 77% and 64%, respectively. Their validation showed good to satisfactory fit, with mean differences regarding the shoreline of 5m up to maximum of 15m. Subsequently, the modification of the parabolic model was carried out which minimized the dispersion of the coefficients A and B with a fit of 98% and 81%, respectively. Their validation showed an excellent to good fit, with mean differences regarding the shoreline of 3-5m up to maximum of 10m.

A habilidade de prever mudanças morfológicas nas regiões costeiras é restringida pela falta de dados observacionais com suficiente resolução espacial e temporal. Com o desenvolvimento do sensoriamento remoto, esse problema pode ser minimizado, especialmente com o uso de câmeras de vídeo para o estudo de regiões costeiras. Os objetivos dessa tese são, através do uso de imagens de vídeo, (1) desenvolver um método robusto para extrair a localização da linha de costa; (2) analisar um conjunto de dados inéditos de 26 anos de imagens diárias; (3) caracterizar as escalas espaciais e temporais da variação da linha de costa em um local representativo, a praia de Duck, NC; (4) testar esse método em uma praia reflectiva e com cúspides, a praia de Massaguaçu localizada no litoral brasileiro; (5) descrever recentes observações de feições morfológicas de meso-escalas associadas a um canal de marés usando uma técnica óptica inovadora e documentar as taxas e padrões de migração dessas feições morfológicas em New River Inlet, NC. Um modelo foi desenvolvido, chamado ASLIM (Augmented ShoreLine Intensity Maxima) para extrair as posições da linha de costa baseado na intensidade máxima observada nas imagens de exposição (timex) através de um ajuste Gaussiano com um subsequente filtro Kalman filtro, este para reduzir incertezas e ruídos. O ASLIM quando comparado com dados do levantamentos batimétricos mostrou um boa correlação com coeficiente de 0.85, estatisticamente significativo). As ondas foram caracterizadas em termos da altura significativa e os componentes longitudinal e transversal do fluxo de energia da onda (Px e Py, respectivamente). Menos de 2\\% da altura da onda é explicada por escalas maiores do que um ano. 66\\% da variância foi explicada por períodos maiores do que o ciclo anual, apesar do fato das forçantes (ondas) serem dominadas por períodos curtos (menores que 20 dias). O primeiro modo da EOF para a variação da linha de costa contém 49\\% da variância e representou o movimento transversal da linha de costa. O segundo modo (26\\% da variância) está associado com a alternância de sinais de acresção em cada lado píer, enquanto que os modos mais altos (7\\% e 5.6\\%) descrevem os efeitos locais do píer. O píer apresentou uma influência significativa no comportamento da linha de costa, à qual estende-se a 500 metros ao norte e sul do píer, duas vezes mais do que os valores assumidos por estudos anteriores. O píer restringe o transporte longitudinal sazonal entre a parte sul (verão) e a parte norte (inverno), resultando em uma acumulação de sedimentos sazonalmente reversa no lado up-drift da deriva. Sinais de erosão foram encontrados ao lado down-drift do píer e que propagam-se 1200 m/ano para longe do píer. A linha de costa apresentou uma tendência à erosão apenas no lado norte do píer, esta erosão pode estar relacionada com a tendência de aumento do transporte longitudinal para o norte, que é bloqueado devido ao píer, gerando uma acumulação na parte sul do píer e erosão na parte norte. O método ASLIM também foi testado na Praia de Massaguaçu e mostrou ser uma valiosa ferramenta para investigar variabilidade da linha de costa. Nossas observações em New River Inlet (NC), revelaram um complexo de bancos de espraiamento e feições arenosas de meso-escalas que migraram em um padrão coerente horário onde nas regiões offshore migraram em direção contrária a desembocadura do rio enquanto que as feições na região próxima a costa, migraram em direção ao canal. Para quantificar de forma objetiva as taxas e padrões de migração um algoritmo foi desenvolvido (LLSA - Lagged Least Square Algorithm) usando sequências de imagens de exposição (timex). Esse método compara diferentes imagens que possuem diferentes intervalos de tempo, e encontra o intervalo (lag) onde essas imagens são similares. A taxa média de migração encontrada foi de 1.53 m/dia (com desvio padrão de 0.76 m/dia). 72\\% das taxas estimadas foram maiores que 1.0 m/dia, 31\\% foram maiores que 2 m/dia, e as taxas máximas encontradas foram 3.5 m/day, em 23 dias. As taxas de migração média longitudinais mostraram um nó em 110 metros da linha de costa que separa as feições que migram para longe do canal (offshore) e para a linha de costa. O padrão circular pareceu ser consistente com o fluxo residual esperado em um delta de maré vazante. Em conclusão, nossos resultados mostraram que o uso de câmeras de vídeo são uma ótima ferramenta para fornecer informações sobre a dinâmica de morfologias costeiras com alta resolução temporal e espacial, de curto à longo-prazo. / The ability to predict changes of the coastal morphology has been restricted by the lack of observational data in a sufficient spatial and temporal coverage. With the advent of remote sensing, the low spatial and temporal resolution could be overcome, especially with the development of video cameras to study nearshore environments. The goals of this thesis are, using remote sensing techniques, to (1) develop a robust method for extracting shoreline locations; (2) analyze a unique 16 and 26-year record of daily to hourly video images; (3) characterize the space-time scales of shoreline variability at a representative site at Duck, NC; (4) test this method at a reflective and cuspy beach at Massaguaçu Beach located at Brazilian coast; (5) describe recent observations of meso-scales morphology associated with tidal inlets using an innovative optical method and document rates and patterns of migration of these features at New River Inlet, NC. A model was developed, called ASLIM (Augmented ShoreLine Intensity Maxima) to extract the shoreline positions based on fitting the band of high light intensity in time exposure images to a local Gaussian fit with a subsequent Kalman filter to reduce noise and uncertainty. The ASLIM model showed good agreement with survey data (correlation coefficient of 0.85, significant at 95\\% confidence level). Wave forcing was characterized in terms of the significant wave height and the cross-shore and longshore components of wave energy flux. 66\\% of the shoreline variability was explained by periods longer than the annual cycle, despite the fact that wave forcing is dominated by shorter periods. The first EOF mode of shoreline variability contained 49\\% of the variance and represented the cross-shore movement (landward- seaward) of the shoreline. The second mode (26\\% of the variance) is associated with alternating accretion signals on either side of the pier, while the next two higher EOFs (7\\% and 5.6\\%) describe the local pier effects. The pier was found to have a significant influence on shoreline behavior that extends out to 500 meters, nearly twice the length scales assumed by previous studies. The pier restricts seasonal longshore transport from the south (summer) and north (winter) sides, resulting in a seasonally-reversing sediment accumulation on the up-drift side. Erosion signals on the down-drift side of the pier were found propagate away from the pier at 1200 m/year. A shoreline erosion trend that was found only on the north side of the pier may be related to the trend found in the alongshore transport, that it is increasing toward the north and is being blocked by the pier. The ASLIM method was also tested at Massaguaçu Beach and showed to be a valuable tool to investigate shoreline variability processes. Our observations, at New Rivet Inlet (NC), revealed a complex set of swash bars and meso-scale sand banks that migrated in a coherent clockwise pattern with movement in offshore regions being away from the inlet mouth while nearshore migration was back toward the inlet. To quantify migration rates and patterns objectively based on sequences of time exposure images, a Lagged Least Squares Algorithm (LLSA) was developed that found the vector migration rate for which the suite of lagged images were most similar, computed on a tile-by-tile basis. The mean migration rate was found to be 1.53 m/day (standard deviation of 0.76 m/day). 72\\% percent of estimated rates were greater than 1.0 m/day, 31\\% percent were larger than 2.0 m/day, and the maximum rate round was 3.5 m/day, averaged over 23 days. Alongshore averages of cross-shore migration rates showed a node at 110 m from the shoreline that separates migration away from the inlet (offshore) from migration toward the inlet near the shore. The circular pattern of migration appeared to be consistent with expected residual flow on an ebb delta. In conclusion, our results showed that the use of video cameras are a useful tool for providing information about the dynamics of coastal morphologies with a high temporal and spatial resolution, from short to long-term.