How an oyster reef changes moving water
An oyster reef is a rough, living ridge. Waves, tides and sediment meet it differently at the crest, in its gaps and behind it, with effects that change as water rises and oysters grow.
A place for slower thoughts
Sea Edges
Coastal habitats where water, sediment and living things meet.
Words by Nico Serrin
The archive
5 storiesFrom the notebook
The sediment budget of a living shoreline
A planted shore survives by more than holding its edge. Its marsh needs a continuing balance of incoming, trapped and lost sediment, measured across the whole coastal margin.
What a tide pool keeps when the sea retreats
A tide pool holds seawater when the shore empties, then becomes a changing habitat shaped by light, weather, rock and the lives inside it.
Why a seagrass meadow needs clear water
Seagrass leaves must collect enough light beneath the surface to support the whole plant. Cloudy water, algae, and fine sediment on the leaves change that light budget, while a healthy meadow can help steady the sediment around it.
The mud beneath a salt marsh
A marsh gathers sediment from the tide and builds soil with roots. Measuring the new layer alone can miss whether the ground itself is gaining height.