Mangrove Forest: Coastal Erosion Mitigation

Salt-tolerant mangrove forests can store carbon and create habitats for animals to hunt, hide, and raise their young. These hardy trees also protect coastlines from erosion, reducing wave heights by around 90%.

This Emriver Wavemaker promotional time-lapse shares an effective small-scale demonstration. Watch how those mini-mangrove trees defend the land from storm surges.

“The video also demonstrates how our Wavemaker spontaneously develops beach landforms such as berms, troughs, and bars. During the course of the demonstration, the Wavemaker’s paddle speed and sweep are adjusted to model storm events. The total run time of this demonstration was 1.75 hours.”

The Emriver Wavemaker is a mechanical table that can simulate the physical processes of coastal geomorphology—the study of landforms created by physical, chemical, and biological processes and changes, both natural and human-made.

Here’s a realtime look at how those mangroves hold the shore, an EmRiver demonstration at AGU 2022:

Here is a fantastic model illustrating the protective role of mangroves (from the exhibit hall of #AGU2022). Will keep it in mind for lectures on sea-level rise mitigation. pic.twitter.com/Ar29dur830

— Jehiko (@EvgenyPodolskiy) December 14, 2022

Watch these related erosion videos next:
• Why are mangrove trees so important?
• Mangroves + Oysters + Earthen Dikes = Eco Engineering
• Erosion demonstration: Comparing grass, dead leaves, and soil
• Earth’s Hydrosphere and Geosphere + Weathering and Erosion

Bonus: How can nature be used as a tool to restore ecosystems?