Abstract

The Térraba-Sierpe Reserve has the largest mangrove in Costa Rica but has suffered from changes in sea level. I used published data to analyze the area and found that sea level rise, generated by coast subsidence or global warming, created a new platform for waves and changed the beach profile and sediment type. Increased sediment deposition on the north maintains the balance of this system, with a sediment gain on the island in front of the Térraba river mouth. A lower sediment output from the Sierpe river is generating a landward delta migration, especially in the southern part, a symptom of local sea level rise. Future scenarios of greater wave energy and additional sea level rise will not allow a dynamic sediment balance, especially on the southern part of the delta, and will generate a loss mangrove cover. Rev. Biol. Trop. 63 (Suppl. 1): 29-46. Epub 2015 April 01.

Key words: Coastal erosion; sea level rise; Térraba-Sierpe; wave refraction; mangrove