Science Nation – Marshes and Sea Level Rise

With support from the National Science Foundation, Villanova University marine scientist Nathaniel Weston studies how both land use and climate change can impact habitat in tidal marshes, including how rising sea levels may affect microbes and other plants and animals. Rising sea levels can actually cause marshes to grow in very different ways. His experiments are already simulating different amounts of sea level rise in several tidal creeks in the Delaware River estuary. He studies how salt-water intrusion impacts freshwater marsh stability, which is something a lot of regions around the world will be dealing with during climate change events.