Sediment starvation destroys New York City marshes’ resistance to sea level rise

Significance Worldwide, coastal marshes are facing extreme impacts, including urban encroachment, pollution, upriver dams, and sea level rise. Our research provides a method of sediment history reconstruction to understand the role of plant/animal (organic) and mineral (inorganic) matter in their growth and maintenance, including the effects of humans on the sediment burial. We find that, due to urbanization, these marshes have experienced a...