Human Footprint on Tides in Estuaries

Human Footprint on Tides in Estuaries | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Human Footprint on Tides in Estuaries Joris Beemster, Stefan Talke, Dirk Sebastiaan van Maren, Nathalie Giloy, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6323103/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Geoscience → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Tides exert strong control over flooding and ecological processes in estuaries, yet their dynamics are often altered by human activities such as dredging and land reclamation. Using archival and modern records from 25 estuaries worldwide, we assess human-driven changes in tidal dynamics over timescales of decades to centuries, from the coast to the landward estuarine boundaries. Over the past two centuries, local interventions have typically amplified tidal ranges (mean maximum increase of 110%), accelerated tidal propagation (mean increase of 42%), and shifted tidal asymmetry. The most pronounced changes occur far inland, often more than 100 km from the coast. Land reclamation and channel deepening are the most widespread and impactful interventions, affecting nearly all systems studied. The magnitude and location of maximum change point to local human activities as the dominant drivers, exceeding the influence of long-term processes such as sea-level rise and subsidence. These findings demonstrate that, historically, anthropogenic modifications have had a far greater impact on estuarine water levels than global sea-level rise in human-influenced estuaries. Recognizing this human footprint opens opportunities for targeted local management strategies to reverse past changes, reduce flood risk, and build resilience to climate change. Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences/Physical oceanography Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Geomorphology Estuarine hydrodynamics Tidal amplification Tidal propagation Human interventions Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Geoscience → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6323103","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":437887414,"identity":"dbf68ada-a7db-49ea-9f4f-4d47a78b9075","order_by":0,"name":"Joris Beemster","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYGhgNgBAE2EOoBkVpA7DSIcAJhy+BaDhPWwtze+/DgD4Y7cvxix58/+LjnfOKG2wfYHuDTwthz3OAwD8MzY8nZOYaNM57dTtxwLoHdAK+WGWkgxxwGGp7D2Mxz4HbuhjMMbBKEtAAddrh+/+30h81/DpwjTssBHobDCQbSCYbNDAcOEKGl5xjDYR6DZ4YzbucYzuw5kFw/8wxjG14thu1tzB9/VNyR55+d/uDDjwN2xnxnmI9JfMCnpQFEGqDa3IBHAwODPF7ZUTAKRsEoGAUgAAAi4FdtfZGAJAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Wageningen University \u0026 Research","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Joris","middleName":"","lastName":"Beemster","suffix":""},{"id":437887415,"identity":"dd5d4f0f-430c-413e-9e8f-b153e6c899f5","order_by":1,"name":"Stefan Talke","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Calpoly","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Stefan","middleName":"","lastName":"Talke","suffix":""},{"id":437887416,"identity":"ee97eaec-531e-4ec6-bc94-079e61c7bfb7","order_by":2,"name":"Dirk Sebastiaan van Maren","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5820-3212","institution":"Delft University of Technology, Deltares, ECNU","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dirk","middleName":"Sebastiaan van","lastName":"Maren","suffix":""},{"id":437887417,"identity":"983956ac-4a74-4ec8-befc-3125837f2aaa","order_by":3,"name":"Nathalie Giloy","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Service hydrographique et océanographique de la Marine (SHOM)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nathalie","middleName":"","lastName":"Giloy","suffix":""},{"id":437887418,"identity":"b4c8ee41-7d17-409e-ab9e-df6485c76814","order_by":4,"name":"Wei Zhang","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6253-9659","institution":"Hohai University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wei","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":437887419,"identity":"19da4f68-60f6-4e31-9794-bd032ebdeb6f","order_by":5,"name":"Anna Wünsche","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9580-6378","institution":"Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anna","middleName":"","lastName":"Wünsche","suffix":""},{"id":437887420,"identity":"05b9d373-8491-4016-9714-a9b41ac384fe","order_by":6,"name":"Florent Grasso","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"IFREMER - DYNECO/DHYSED","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Florent","middleName":"","lastName":"Grasso","suffix":""},{"id":437887421,"identity":"be6cfd2b-facd-4b6b-a33a-80b7ca06db8f","order_by":7,"name":"A.J.F. 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