Signatures of life: adapting seascapes
In the field observations often lack sufficient scale when it comes to understanding ecosystems. We use remote sensing, such as satellite images, near-surface camera data and airborne surveys to elucidate estuarine and coastal processes at a multitude of spatial and temporal scales. We investigate how the seascape is shaped by the interaction between organisms, hydrodynamics and human impact, and how seascapes adapt to climate change and human impact.
The influence on the ecosystem
Some organisms have a large influence on the ecosystem. For example, shellfish regulate bottom and water quality and influence sediment dynamics. Saltmarsh plants attenuate waves and trap sediment particles from the water, favouring sedimentation. Using earth observation, we study how such ecosystem engineers affect the landscape and the inhabiting organisms on large spatial scales, and how the organisms mediate effects of, for example, sea level rise and global warming.
Daphne van der Wal
