Theory 83/Coastal & Estuary/Salt marsh
Marsh Keeps Pace or Drowns
The claim
Salt marsh survival requires the ratio of sediment accretion to sea level rise to exceed one, and the margin depends on tidal range.
01Mechanism
Marsh surface must rise with the water; accretion builds it while compaction and subsidence lower it.
02Prediction
Survival should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Survival tracking sediment supply would remove sea level.