Enhancing coastal resilience through coupled monitoring, modelling, and intelligent management frameworks

Coastal and nearshore systems are dynamic interfaces between land and sea that play crucial roles in ecological balance, socioeconomic development, and climate regulation. However, these systems are increasingly subjected to a combination of human-induced pressures and climate-driven changes, including seawater intrusion, land subsidence, sediment erosion, and habitat degradation. The complex interplay among geological, hydrological, geotechnical, oceanographic, and socio-ecological processes creates non-linear feedbacks that remain insufficiently understood. Although recent progress in remote sensing, in situ observation, and numerical modelling has improved process-level understanding, traditional approaches often remain fragmented and fail to adequately link cross-disciplinary knowledge — and stakeholder needs — to effective management. Significant gaps persist in representing coupled processes across spatial and temporal scales, quantifying measurable resilience and risk-reduction outcomes, and integrating scientific insights with practical decision-making tools used by coastal managers, planners, and local communities. To meet the challenges of sustainable coastal development, more holistic, multi-scale, and solution-oriented research is required to capture both physical and ecological complexities and to translate them into actionable, outcome-driven management frameworks.This Research Topic aims to promote integrated methodologies that advance the monitoring, modelling, and management of coastal and nearshore systems in a changing environment. The main objective is to develop comprehensive frameworks that combine multi-source data, intelligent sensing networks, and advanced modelling approaches to improve process understanding, risk prediction, and measurable management outcomes — including resilience gains, risk reduction, and ecosystem co-benefits. It seeks to answer questions such as: How can real-time observation technologies and digital twins enhance coastal system management and deliver quantifiable improvements in resilience and adaptive capacity? What are the best ways to couple hydrodynamic, sediment, subsurface, and biogeochemical processes into coherent models that directly support decision-making? How can model-driven forecasts and early warning systems inform adaptive coastal planning at the interface of science, policy, and community action? And how can stakeholder co-design and socio-ecological perspectives be embedded into integrated coastal frameworks to ensure real-world uptake? By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among geoscientists, engineers, modellers, social scientists, and policy experts — together with coastal managers and stakeholders — this Research Topic aims to bridge the gap between fundamental research and practical applications for coastal sustainability.The Research Topic focuses on interconnected natural and human processes shaping coastal and nearshore systems, emphasizing integrated monitoring, modelling, and risk-informed management solutions with demonstrable real-world impact. To gather further insights within this scope, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Innovative methods for integrated monitoring of coastal and nearshore systemso Cost-effective sensing and observation technologies for ocean and coastal environmentso Development of early warning systems based on forecasting and data integrationo Multi-scale modelling of coupled water, sediment, subsurface, and carbon processeso Digital twin frameworks for coastal system analysis and decision supporto Marine robotics and autonomous systems for monitoring and explorationo Risk assessment and disaster chain analysis for coastal hazardso Engineering and nature-based solutions for coastal resilience and sustainabilityo Measurable outcomes of integrated coastal management — resilience gains, risk reduction, and ecosystem co-benefitso Pathways for translating integrated modelling and monitoring into operational decision-making and policyo Stakeholder co-design, socio-ecological frameworks, and community-based approaches to coastal sustainabilityArticle types accepted: Brief Research Report, Data Report, Editorial, General Commentary, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Mini Review, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Policy and Practice Review, Policy Brief, Review, Systematic Review, and Technology and Code. Topic editors: Xiao Yang, Jose A. A. Antolínez, Chao Jia, Hao Sun, Sidian Chen Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80718/enhancing-coastal-resilience-through-coupled-monitoring-modelling-and-intelligent-management-frameworks