'Ghost Forests' Along US Coast Reveals Clues to Climate Resilience

“Ghost Forests” Expanding Along Northeast U.S. Coast – Rutgers University Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences

‘Ghost forests’ could be key to understanding coastal resilience to climate change

Ghost forests serve as powerful, visible warnings of climate change. Encroaching ocean waters are poisoning salt-intolerant trees, leaving behind eerie skeletal remains. Researchers from the University of Delaware are wading through these surreal landscapes along the mid-Atlantic coastline to determine the environmental impact of this climate-driven phenomenon. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.

Sea-Level Rise and the Formation of Ghost Forests

the growing recognition that sea-level rise will mostly impact rural land–much of it privately owned

‘Ghost forests’ could be key to understanding coastal resilience to climate change - American Chemical Society

Researchers say studying how water cycles through ghost forests may hold the key to understanding how coastal forest ecosystems respond to climate change.

Ghost Forests Signal New Climate Threat as Rising Seas Engulf Coastal Timber

Rising seas are killing coastal forests at scale — new University of Delaware research on stemflow tracers could unlock how timber ecosystems survive saltwater intrusion.