A Zona Costeira e Marinha de Santa Catarina Diante dos Cenários de Mudanças Climáticas: prioridades para a geração de subsídios científicos

The Southwest Atlantic (SW) encompasses an important ocean warming hotspot, driven by global climatic changes. Coastal and oceanic ecosystems in this region are potentially changing at an exceptionally fast rate, exerting detectable pressures on associated socioecological systems. Santa Catarina State, located in the south of Brazil, has an extensive coastline bathed by SW Atlantic waters and critically exposed to such pressures. Throughout nearly three centuries, human activities (e.g., fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, navigation, and harbors) and increasing land use have interacted with coastal and marine ecosystems distributed along the coastal zone and adjacent neritic environments, including (a) coastal streams, bays, estuaries and coastal lagoons bordered by mangrove forests, salt marshes and rain forests, (b) sand beaches interrupted by rocky shores and promontories, (c) coastal islands and (d) an extensive continental shelf influenced by the dynamics of coastal and oceanic water masses of the SW Atlantic. Such a complex landscape with multiple demands for both ecosystem preservation and human development enhances associated risks but also opportunities for action. To address these issues, we assess the potential exposure and sensibility of socioecological systems to global climate change-driven modifications, reviewing the role of environmental sciences in providing a better understanding on the ongoing natural processes and subsidize society for adaptation through regional management action.