Potential impact of sea level rise on the tidal wetlands of the Yangtze River Estuary, China

The coastal tidal wetlands of the Yangtze River Estuary are important nature resource for Shanghai. Climate change accelerates the sea level rise, causing an increase in coastal retreat and the loss of coastal wetlands. In this study, we focus on siltation/erosion and subsidence to simulate future changes in underwater topography. This method provided accurate information for predicting the potential impact of sea level rise on the tidal wetlands of the Yangtze River Estuary. We used topographical data of 1982 and 2003 to analyze the long term change of siltation and erosion in the Yangtze River Estuary and combined neotectonic subsidence to simulate changes in underwater topography in 2030, 2050 and 2100. We predicted the area changes of the tidal wetlands in different scenarios.