Advanced Monitoring, Modelling, and Analysis of Coastal Environments and Ecosystems

Coastal ecosystem, influenced by human activities and natural processes, is known as one of the most productive ecosystems on the Earth, plays a vital role in maintaining environmental health, sustaining economic development, and preserving biodiversity. The coastal regions are extremely loaded with intensive human activities and natural processes, because they have been receiving very large amount of pollution such as nutrients, organic pollutants, microplastic pollution and heavy metals over the past decades. On one hand, the influence of human activities and natural processes may have caused changes in ecosystems, such as habitat degradation, resulting in highly undesirable conditions in structure and function of coastal ecosystems. On the other hand, coastal ecosystems are influenced by natural processes including global climatic change, such as typhoon, floods and tide. Therefore, reconciling human-induced and natural changes affecting environmental change and ecosystems is a significant challenge for research and management. To sum up, coastal ecosystems are confronted with unprecedented challenges in the context of global change and increasing anthropogenic activities. In consequence, coastal ecosystems are becoming one of the most vulnerable ecosystems worldwide.

Due to its significance in addressing environmental change and ecosystems influenced by human activities and natural changes, coastal ecology has been receiving increasing attention in recent years. Firstly, big data in the coastal projects, including in-situ monitoring and remote sensing, would give a better understanding of the impacts of anthropogenic activities and natural changes on coastal ecosystem. Secondly, special ecosystems including mangroves, seagrass and coral reefs are subjected to stressful situations such as anthropogenic pollution and climate changes. It is essential to know the status of coastal ecosystems under the combined pressures of human activities and natural processes. Thirdly, these ecosystems have been changed by natural processes including upwelling, floods and typhoons.

This Research Topic mainly build from the section of urban coastal zone and land-sea coordination, the 9th Youth Geoscience Forum 2024 (Xiamen, China). We welcome submissions with marine science, from work within and about coastal ecosystems in any stage of ecological studies, including but not limited to:

1. Dataset monitoring and usage in coastal environments
2. Modeling coastal ecosystem
3. Coastal environmental and biogeochemical changes discussed under a large chemical and biological-based data set
4. Hydro-ecosystem identified by remote sensing
5. Statistical analysis of coastal environments