Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Climate

Barriers designed to prevent saltwater intrusion may worsen inland flooding

July 31, 2024
in Climate
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Xin Su and Kevin Befus
65
SHARES
594
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

As Earth continues to warm, sea levels have risen at an accelerating rate – from 1.4 millimeters a year to 3.6 millimeters a year between 2000 and 2015. Flooding will inevitably worsen, particularly in low-lying coastal regions, where more than a billion people are estimated to live. Solutions are needed to protect homes, property and groundwater from flooding and the intrusion of saltwater.

Xin Su and Kevin Befus

Credit: University Relations

As Earth continues to warm, sea levels have risen at an accelerating rate – from 1.4 millimeters a year to 3.6 millimeters a year between 2000 and 2015. Flooding will inevitably worsen, particularly in low-lying coastal regions, where more than a billion people are estimated to live. Solutions are needed to protect homes, property and groundwater from flooding and the intrusion of saltwater.

Seawalls and similar infrastructure are obvious options to protect against flooding. In fact, cities such as New York and San Franciso have already thrashed out potential plans with the Army Corps of Engineers that will heavily rely on seawalls. But these plans come with a hefty price tag, estimated at tens of billions of dollars. 

Further complicating planning, a new paper has found that seawalls and other shoreline barriers, which extend below the surface, might actually lead to more groundwater flooding, result in less protection against saltwater intrusion into groundwater, and end up with a lot of water to deal with inside of the area that seawalls were supposed to protect.

The paper, “Shoreline barriers may amplify coast groundwater hazards with sea-level rise,” was published in Scientific Reports, which is part of the Nature portfolio. The paper was written by Xin Su, a research assistant professor at the University of Memphis; Kevin Befus, an assistant professor at the U of A; and Michelle Hummel, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. Su was previously a post-doctoral researcher working with Befus in the U of A’s Geosciences Department before assuming her current position.

The paper provides an overview of how sea-level rise causes salty groundwater to move inland and replace the fresh groundwater that was there, a process known as saltwater intrusion. At the same time, the fresh and salty groundwater both rise toward the ground surface because of the higher sea level. This can cause flooding from below, also known as groundwater emergence.

Walls can be built underground to reduce saltwater intrusion, but this can lead to groundwater getting stuck behind the walls, which act like an underground dam. This can cause even more groundwater to move up to the ground surface, which can in turn infiltrate sewer systems and water mains. 

“These barriers can backfire if they don’t take into account the potential for inland flooding caused by rising groundwater levels,” Su explained. “Excessive groundwater could potentially reduce sewer capacity, increase the risk of corrosion and contaminate the drinking water supply by weakening the pipes.”

The researchers noted that studies prior to this one did not include the groundwater flooding effects, which led those studies to anticipate more benefits from underground walls than this latest paper now suggests.

“The standard plan for protecting against flooding is to build seawalls,” Befus added. “Our simulations show that just building seawalls will lead to water seeping in under the wall from the ocean as well as filling up from the landward side. Ultimately, this means if we want to build seawalls, we need to be ready to pump a lot of water for as long as we want to keep that area dry – this is what the Dutch have had to do for centuries with first windmills and now large pumps.”

Su concluded: “We found that building these protection barriers without accounting for potential inland flooding risks from groundwater can eventually worsen the very issues they aim to solve.”

She added that “these risks highlight the need for careful planning when building barriers, especially in densely populated coastal communities. By addressing these potential issues, coastal communities can be better protected from rising sea levels.”

When building flood-related or underground walls, there appears to be no perfect solution that prevents saltwater intrusion or groundwater flooding. As such, the researchers recommend that any underground barriers have additional plans to deal with the extra water that would pond up inland of the barrier, such as using pumps or French drains, which utilize perforated pipes embedded in gravel or loose rock that direct water away from foundations.

City planners in New York, San Francisco and coastal cities globally would do well to take heed of this as they develop plans to combat rising sea levels.



Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-024-66273-w

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Shoreline barriers may amplify coastal groundwater hazards with sea-level rise

Article Publication Date

6-Jul-2024

COI Statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Share26Tweet16
Previous Post

When the last pit is closed

Next Post

Humans are born to run

Related Posts

blank
Climate

Warming Speeds Up Arctic Ocean Deoxygenation

August 3, 2025
blank
Climate

Marine Heatwaves Favor Heat-Tolerant Reef Corals

August 3, 2025
blank
Climate

Satellite-Era Sea Surface Temperature Trends Vary Widely

August 3, 2025
blank
Climate

Thermal Adaptation in Ecosystems Reduces Carbon Loss

August 3, 2025
blank
Climate

Antarctic Phytoplankton Shift with Changing Sea Ice

August 3, 2025
blank
Climate

Cutting Methane Emissions via Smarter Landfill Management

August 3, 2025
Next Post
Humans are born to run

Humans are born to run

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27530 shares
    Share 11009 Tweet 6881
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    941 shares
    Share 376 Tweet 235
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    641 shares
    Share 256 Tweet 160
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    506 shares
    Share 202 Tweet 127
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    310 shares
    Share 124 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Testosterone Levels Predict Future PTSD in Older Adults
  • Mental Toughness, Imagery, Anxiety Shape Athletic Performance
  • Astronomical Cycles Trigger Sediment Weak-Layer Failures
  • Prenatal Antibiotics Impact Breast Milk, Neonatal Immunity

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,184 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading