Prediction in Coastal Geomorphology: Introduction to the Special Collection

Abstract

The search for predictions about the natural world is as old as science itself, but it has never lost its urgency. In 2022, we launched a special collection under the umbrella of three AGU journals—the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Earth's Future, and Earth and Space Science—to reflect on predictions in coastal geomorphology. We invited contributions that made and explored predictions as well as papers that looked into potential limits to predictability. The collection ultimately brought together 27 papers spanning diverse coastal environments, tools, and timescales. The contributions in this collection fall broadly into four approaches: (a) those that look into predictions from physical laws and idealized models. (b) Others draw on large data sets, including satellite records and machine learning, to uncover patterns. (c) A third group combines physical laws with data, and (d) a fourth group includes studies that aim to improve prediction methods.