What’s the ‘coastline paradox’? LiveScience,

2024 Expert, interviewed for article: What’s the ‘coastline paradox’? by A. Sun. LiveScience, 11 Nov.

“You could technically measure a coastline down to the grain of sand or atomic level or smaller, which would mean a coastline’s length could be close to infinity, Sammler said. However, measurements for coastlines’ lengths exist, primarily because maps break landscapes down into simpler lines and shapes. Inches on a map can equal a distance in real life, depending on the map’s resolution…Coastlines are also shifting entities. Tides, coastal erosion and sea level rise all contribute to the fluctuating state of coastlines. So maps from the 1900s, or even satellite imagery from a few years ago, may not resemble what coastlines really are today. “It really doesn’t take a lot of sea level rise to start to change these boundaries,” Sammler said.”