estimates of eustatic sea-level rise and compaction effects in water level 

 measurement. This is followed by considerations on sea- level effects on 

 coastal and estuarine tidal ranges, storm surge and water level response, and 

 interaction with natural and constructed shoreline features. The desirability 

 to reevaluate the well known Bruun Rule for estimating shoreline recession has 

 been noted. The mechanics of ground and surface water intrusion with 

 reference to sea- level rise are then reviewed. This is followed by 

 sedimentary processes in the estuaries including wetland response. Finally 

 comments are included on some probable effects of sea-level rise on coastal 

 ecosystems . 



These interactions are complex and lead to shoreline evolution (under a 

 sea-level rise) which is highly site-specific. Models which determine 

 shoreline change on the basis of inundation of terrestrial topography without 

 considering relevant coastal processes are likely to lead to erroneous 

 shoreline scenarios, particularly where the shoreline is composed of erodible 

 sedimentary material. 



With some exceptions, present day knowledge of shoreline response to 

 hydrodynamic forcing is inadequate for long-term quantitative pre-dictions . A 

 series of inter-related basic and applied research issues must be addressed in 

 the coming decades to determine shoreline response to sea- level change with an 

 acceptable degree of confidence. (Authors). 



212 MEIER, M. F. 1984. "Contribution of Small Glaciers to Global Sea- 

 Level," Science . Vol 226, No. 4681, pp 1418-1421. 



Observed long-term changes in glacier volume and hydro-meteorological 

 mass balance models yield data on the transfer of water from glaciers, 

 excluding those in Greenland and Antarctica, to the oceans. The average 

 observed volume change for the period 1900 to 1961 is scaled to a global 

 average by use of the seasonal amplitude of the mass balance. These data are 

 used to calibrate the models to estimate the changing contribution of glaciers 

 to sea- level for the period 1884 to 1975. Although the error band is large, 

 these glaciers appear to account for a third to half of observed sea- level 

 rise, approximately that fraction not explained by thermal expansion of the 

 ocean. (Author) . ^ 



213 MEISLER, H., LEAHY, P., and KNOBEL, L. L. 1985. "Effect of Eustatic 

 Sea-Level Changes on Saltwater-Freshwater Relations in the Northern Atlantic 

 Coastal Plain," U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply . Paper 2255, pp 28. 



This paper describes the effect of eustatic sea- level changes on the 

 physical and chemical relations between fresh and salty ground water in the 

 northern Atlantic Coastal Plain and adjacent Continental Shelf. A transition 

 zone is known to be 1,000 to 2,000 ft thick and extends 60 miles off the New 

 Jersey Coast. A finite-difference computer model was used to test the effects 

 of eustatic sea- level fluctuations on the development of the transition zone. 

 Geochemical studies of the ground water were also conducted on a regional 

 level to relate the composition of ground water in the transition zone to the 



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