A first-of-its-kind national study finds that 84 percent of US coastal wetlands are gradually inundating as sea level rise outpaces sediment accumulation, with Gulf Coast wetlands faring worst. Researchers say targeted land management—including inland migration corridors and sediment addition—could help preserve these critical ecosystems.

“Our study provides wetland managers with new information to help them make better-informed decisions and identify meaningful solutions to issues they may be encountering, including to facilitate wetland migration upslope,” said Glenn Guntenspergen, a coastal wetland ecologist with the US Geological Survey and senior author on the study.

The study is published in Earth’s Future, AGU’s journal for research on the state of the planet and its inhabitants and their future resilience in the Anthropocene.