Source-to-Sea Connectivity and Coastal Resilience: Integrating Hydrological Processes, Urban Design, and Water Management

Coastal zones, particularly in economically vibrant regions like the Greater Bay Area and Bohai Bay in China, as well as the Nile Delta in Africa, serve as critical interfaces between terrestrial and marine environments. These regions are increasingly threatened by intensified human activities, rapid urbanization, and climate change. The hydrological connectivity from inland river basins to coastal estuaries plays a pivotal role in transporting water, sediment, and pollutants. However, traditional research often isolates inland hydrology from coastal oceanography and strategic urban planning. This separation hinders the effective implementation of water resource management and pollution control, especially in high-density coastal cities and vulnerable human settlements facing compound risks from upstream changes and sea-level rise.This Research Topic aims to bridge the gap between watershed hydrology, coastal marine science, and sustainable urban development. We seek to explore how hydrological processes, land use changes, and water management strategies in upstream river basins influence water quality and ecosystem health in downstream estuaries. A key goal is to highlight innovative modeling approaches (e.g., coupling SWAT with hydrodynamic models) and integrated planning strategies to address challenges such as saltwater intrusion, eutrophication, and freshwater security. Furthermore, we emphasize the mitigation of urban flooding through effective coastal urban design and spatial planning. By integrating insights from arid/inland watershed management and coastal urban adaptation measures, this collection will support the development of resilient strategies for global coastal zones and foster a stronger science-policy interface.We welcome original research articles, reviews, and case studies. Specific themes include, but are not limited to:• Coupled Modeling: Applications of hydrological (e.g., SWAT) and hydrodynamic models to simulate land-ocean interactions.• Coastal Urban Resilience: Integrating coastal urban design and planning with Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to adapt to sea-level rise and mitigate urban flooding extremes.• Pollution Transport: Tracking the fate of terrestrial pollutants (N, P, heavy metals) from river basins to coastal seas.• Climate & Human Impacts: Comparative studies on hydrological extremes in arid vs. humid basins, and the impact of urbanization on coastal water cycles.• Management & Policy: Strategic planning and engineering solutions for controlling saltwater intrusion, marine pollution, and upgrading informal coastal settlements. Topic editors: Xinchen Gu, Sahar Abdel Moneim Attia, GUORU HUANG, Zhenliang Yin, Tianqi Lu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79624/source-to-sea-connectivity-and-coastal-resilience-integrating-hydrological-processes-urban-design-and-water-management