Luis Aponte-Bermúdez, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Co-Authors: Miguel Canals, Francisco Villafañe
A benefit-cost analysis of using beach nourishment to protect Rincón Puerto Rico shoreline
A tool for determining oceanfront property cost from updated public records and sand volume using UAV and exiting bathymetry and elevation data was developed for the Rincón shoreline located at the northwest corner of Puerto Rico. Rincón has one of the most rapidly eroding coastlines in Puerto Rico and was severely affected by hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017. In order to protect life and property beach restoration in many areas has been the method of choice. This method remains controversial due to its high cost and requires an adequate cost-benefit analysis. Two major obstacles were identified and addressed in this analysis. The first was the creation of a method for updating oceanfront property values from existing public records. The second was to estimate the volume of sand needed to extend the life of the beach and protect coastal infrastructure. During the study, the value of oceanfront properties was successfully updated to present values, and the sand volume was determined using UAV and existing bathymetry and elevation records. The value of coastal infrastructure was compared with the cost of protecting that property using beach restoration. The findings presented on this poster were funded by the University of Puerto Rico Sea Grant College Program under project No. R/75-1-14.
Bio: Luis D. Aponte-Bermúdez received a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 2000 from the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez (UPRM), MSCE and Ph.D. from the University of Florida in the area of Structural and Wind Engineering in 2004 and 2006, respectively. He is a Professor at UPRM at the Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying Department and PI of Sea Grant College Program project titled Life Cycle Coast Analysis of Beach Restoration: Rincon, PR Testbed. He is an expert in the Wind Engineering Field, Numerical Weather Prediction and has practical experience performing structural assessments of structures affected by Natural Hazards.
Douglas Beach, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Co-Authors: Hannah Baranes, Jonathan Woodruff, Alycia DiTroia
Method evaluation for assessing changes in beach morphology following 2018 Boston flood events of record
During the Winter of 2018 there were two storms of record, in terms of flooding, that hit Boston and the surrounding areas. The first of these severe storms hit the shores on January 3rd and the other on March 6th . Here we present results of rapid response surveys conducted to assess resulting impacts to a barrier beach just south of Boston following these two storm events (Peggotty Beach, Scituate, MA). This study builds upon prior seasonal surveys of the already vulnerable, Peggotty Beach, collected before the Winter of 2018 events. Methods included revisiting established RTK transects of beach elevation, as well as creating new ones, and obtaining UAV images. This data was used to produce structure from motion elevation maps, that then were tied to independent RTK control points. A comparison between RTK beach transects and UAV obtained elevation surveys agree well and support comparisons between UAV elevation maps and previously obtained LIDAR surveys to assess spatial changes at the beach over time. Although water levels were higher during the January storm of 2018, little impact is observed on the beach when compared to changes following the second major storm in March 2018. It’s possible that the impacts on Peggotty Beach during the initial storm increased the vulnerability of the beach to erosion for the second storm. However, changes along the beach face during the initial event are subtle. Moored observations off-shore indicated substantially greater wave heights for the second of the two events and supports that greater wave energy was the primary cause of increased damage following the March event. Newly exposed relic marsh peat on the front beach face following the event supports persistent long-term erosion at the site, which is consistent with aerial obtained shore-line change data. Seasonal, decadal and centennial data therefore all support persistent erosion and shoreline transgression at this site in the last few centuries.
Bio: Doug is a masters student studying geosciences, from the university of massachusetts amherst, who also obtained his undergraduate degree there in the same field. His masters work specializes in UAV surveying and photogrammetry modeling, but he has most of his field experience in surveying post disaster environments. This student has spent over two years mapping the Massachusetts coastline morphology, and is interested in the future of coastline change.
Joseph Becker, Dept. of Geosciences, FAU
Co-Authors: Xavier Comas, Tiffany Roberts Briggs
Analysis of the Saltwater Interface Migration Using Ground Penetrating Radar
As sea level rises, saltwater intrusion becomes a major threat to drinking water supplies in urban coastal cities. Of particular concern are the low-lying areas located within the shallow and porous limestone of the Biscayne Aquifer, which supplies water to much of Southeast Florida. Quantification of the movement of saltwater (seawater) is essential to understanding the distribution and potential mitigation of saltwater intrusion. One method to potentially map the saltwater interface is Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). This study aims to understand how the interface migrates due to tides, and how different geologic substrates cause variability in the movement of water through the subsurface. GPR measurements were obtained along the South Florida coastline at two different sites in Miami, Florida. Crandon Park is located on Key Biscayne adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, and characterized as a wide, flat area on a sandy surface. The Barnacle Historic State Park, which is located directly east on the edge of Biscayne Bay, has significant elevation change increasing from east to west and lacks any surficial sand. Two separate antennas were used in the experiment, a 160 MHz and a 450 MHz. The increased depth of penetration of the 160 MHz antenna was able to capture the saltwater interface at various depths and at both study sites. The 450 MHz antenna improved the resolution and allowed us to interpret the subsurface architecture/structure of the first few meters below ground. Measurements were collected at both low and high tide and considering the phase lag of the tidal flux through different substrates. Understanding how the saltwater interface moves due to tidal cycles allows for improved accuracy in projecting how far saltwater might intrude inland due to rising seas and climate change.
Bio: My name is Joseph (Joe) Becker and I graduated from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fl, last December (2017) with a Bachelor’s of Science in Geology. I am currently pursuing a Master’s in Geosciences (Thesis option) from FAU. I have two advisers: Dr. Tiffany Roberts Briggs, who specializes in coastal morphology, and Dr. Xavier Comas, who researches peat land geophysics. Having two advisers has been the most beneficial to my education because I am gaining an abundance of experience while learning a wide range of skills in both scientific fields.
Nick Brilli, Virginia Tech
Co-Authors: Nina Stark, Peter Nielsen, David Callaghan
Field Observations of Retrogressive Breach Failures at Amity Point, Queensland with Emphasis on Penetrometer Measurements
Beaches along the Rainbow Channel at Amity Point, North Stradbroke Island have been subject to large erosive events, witnessed and reported for over 100 years. Known as Retrogressive Breach Failures (RBF), these events are comprised of a near-vertical retrograding wall of dense sediment that rapidly erodes the channel slope and sub-aerial beach, leaving a characteristic amphitheater shaped scar. The beach recovers quickly, filling the eroded area in a matter of days. The mechanics of RBF events have been well studied, but to this date, the mechanism that triggers these events remains unknown. Field measurements were taken over a 28-day period in June/July 2018, with two RBF events occurring during that time. Measurements included sediment samples, penetrometer deployments, topographic profiles, photographs and videos of the events. Topographic profiles and measurements of the recovering scar revealed that equivalent volumes of sand had eroded from the beach and accreted in the recovering scar in the first 24-48 hours post-event, a possible explanation for the high recovery rate. Additionally, the wind was strong out of the NW/NNW on the days of each event and no other days over the study. The increased fetch would allow for larger waves and increased sediment transport, representing a previously unrecognized condition for triggering RBF events. This poster will present the field data and results collected, with a focus on the penetrometer measurements. The instrument consisted of a sharpened steel rod attached to a fishing reel that was dropped from a kayak. The operator would then record the penetration depth, GPS location, and water depth. Over 200 drops were recorded during the experiment. Due to time constraints, calibration to density was not possible, but the results served a qualitative comparison of in-situ densities in the channel over the course of the study. The measurements of penetration depths suggested that the sediment was much looser than expected, mismatching the condition of dense sands for the occurrence of RBF events.
Bio: I am a first-year Master’s Student at Virginia Tech, researching sediment mobilization processes in coastal areas.
Kelly Burks-Copes, US Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District
Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Study – An Overview
The Texas coast serves as a powerful economic engine for the nation by supporting several densely populated areas built around trillions of dollars of largely fixed public, private, and commercial investments. Unfortunately, Hurricanes Ike (2008) and Harvey (2017) clearly demonstrated the area’s vulnerability to coastal storm forcings (e.g., winds, waves, and surge). Given the current and projected sea level and climate change trends for the region, much of the built environment in the region could be rendered unsustainable. These communities now face tough choices as they contemplate adapting local land use patterns while striving to preserve community values and economic vitality. Absent improvements to critical infrastructure that adapt with changing future conditions, the next devastating storm event will likely result in similar or worse impacts. Without added protection, this may mean that communities will have to retreat in order to sustain their economic viability and social resilience. Clearly, there is an urgent need to consider preparations, adaptations, and innovations to protect the resilience of the Texas coastal system to ensure the nation’s economic security and assist local communities in their own short- and long-term planning initiatives. In 2014, the US Army Corps of Engineers in cooperation with the Texas General Land Office, kicked off a $19.8 million study to design potential protection and restoration solutions that would promote long-term resilience for the entire coast of Texas. By constructing a series of large-scale coastal storm risk management features in combination with landscape-level coastal ecosystem restoration initiatives, the study team offers a comprehensive recommendation to prepare, resist, protect, and adapt the Coastal Texas system for generations to come. This poster will complement the presentation offered in the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Study dedicated session.
Bio: Dr. Kelly Burks-Copes is the project manager for the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Study.
Miguel Canals, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Co-Authors: Luis Aponte, Patricia Chardón, Jonathan Muñoz
Waves, storm surge, beach erosion and coastal infrastructure damage in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane María
Hurricane María ravaged Puerto Rico on September 20 2018 and wiped out its power grid and communications network. Hurricane María is the deadliest and costliest natural disaster to ever affect Puerto Rico. Massive waves and storm surge caused historic erosion and damage to coastal infrastructure all around the island. This poster presentation summarizes the damage to Puerto Rico’s beaches and coastal communities using numerical simulations, field observations and drone imagery.
Bio: Miguel Canals received a BS in Biology and MS in Oceanography both from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM), and a PhD in Ocean Engineering (Specialty Area: Coastal Engineering) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His research interests include ocean observing, wave and circulation modeling, nearshore and coastal hydrodynamics and renewable ocean energy.
Michelle Spencer, New Jersey Geological and Water Survey
An Evaluation of Optimal Seismic Line Spacing and Placement for Delineating Design Level Offshore Sand Resource Areas
The area of focus for this project was area F1, which is located approximately 6.3 nautical miles offshore of Toms River Township, Ocean County, New Jersey. This project conducted an analysis of both the reconnaissance data collected in 2015 and the design level data collected in 2016 by Chicago Bridge and Iron (CB&I) for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The goal of this study was to characterize the sand resource within area F1 based on new seismic and core data collected by CB&I and detail the efficacy of their design level survey. The design level survey of F1 consisted of 97 CHIRP sub-bottom seismic lines collected in a northwest-southeast orientation at approximately 30-meter spacing. The original volume, 15,286,148 cubic yards of sand, was calculated using all 97 seismic lines and was considered the control for the experiment. To determine the most efficient line spacing for a design level survey a center fix point in the shoal was chosen and line spacing was increased outward from this point. Seismic line NJ_DL_331 was chosen as the center fix point as it was located directly in the center of all the data collected. The distance between the selected seismic lines was increased until a variation of greater than 10% from the original calculated volume was reached. Line spacing over the shoal of 720 meters yielded a calculated sand volume that varied 0.3% from the original calculated volume. The same amount of variation was found at 960 meters but the shortcoming of this line spacing was the lack of detail in the isopach map created in Surfer™12. Line spacing of 1440 meters yielded a 12.8% variation from the original calculated volume, indicating that such spacing was too large to meet our desired accuracy. Line spacing of lesser distances did yield variations of greater than 10% but only when the lines used in the volume calculation did not provide full coverage of the shoal area. Based on the findings of this study, NJGWS recommends design level seismic line spacing of 720 meters contingent on 1) full seismic coverage of the shoal, 2) a grid of perpendicular lines collected throughout the study area, and 3) vibracores located on multiple intersections of the seismic lines and placed on the flanks of the shoal to locate the base of sand. Greater accuracy of sand volume calculations can be achieved with closer line spacing however the tight line spacing of 30 meters collected by CB&I was found to be unnecessary.
Bio:
Deidra Dittmar, Texas A&M University at Galveston
How can an engineered coastal protection structure, such as a mega-nourishment be multifunctional?
Coastal shorelines are significantly more populated than inland areas, with 40% of the worldwide population living within 100 km from the coast (UN, 2007). In the United States, counties located along the shoreline have population densities of around six times larger than the population of an inland county. In similar comparison, the Netherlands is the most densely populated European country, and is about 30% under sea level (Giardino, 2011, Sistermans, 2004). Recently, due to sea-level rise, increasing magnitude and frequency of storms, and rising coastal populations, there has been a profound pressure to not only protect coastal areas, but provide innovative and multi-functional solutions (A.V. de Groot, 2012, de Schipper, 2016). As a result, the Netherlands has implemented a mega-nourishment pilot project known as the Sand Engine. Located along the southern coast of the Netherlands, the project has become a host to many multi-functional components. The goal of this study was to examine the multi-functional aspects of the mega-nourishment and understand its potential if a similar engineered structure was placed along the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Sand Engine is a mega-nourishment originally implemented in the Netherlands as an experimental project to present a large-scale solution to coastal beach replenishment. The Sand Engine was constructed from 21 million cubic meters of dredged sand material, which when placed on the shoreline, increasing the original 150-meter-wide beach to 1,500 meters (de Schipper, 2016). The intent was that by applying an extensive volume of sand to one area, the cost of a single mega-nourishment project would be less than multiple small nourishments. The expected outcomes of the project were to increase dune growth, establish an innovative project that could be studied for future work, and to create new environmental and recreational opportunities (van Slobbe, 2013). However, there were many other unforeseen outcomes from the Sand Engine, inhibiting both positive and negative influences. The multi-functional aspects of the Sand Engine were examined qualitatively through the following categories: recreational, environmental, economical, safety, fresh water management, and flood mitigation. These components were then compared to that along the Texas Coast, specifically along Galveston Island, estimating possible outcomes if a similar project was constructed.
Protecting both local people and infrastructure is a necessity to maintain life and economic desires along coastal regions. While there are many variations of engineered structures built along the coasts, the importance of well-nourished beaches is a technique commonly implemented across the world. The Sand Engine revealed how an engineered coastal protection structure can be both resilient and multi-functional. Many of the multifunctional outcomes have been positive enhancements to the surrounding area, while some other negative byproducts have presented new challenges. Although some of the outcomes are dependent on the location, size, and design chosen for a mega-nourishment, some similar results could be expected if placed along the Texas coastline.
Bio: Deidra Dittmar is currently a senior at Texas A&M University at Galveston, majoring in Offshore and Coastal Systems Engineering. Deidra’s major focuses on aspects of Civil Engineering, with the aim of establishing a solid foundation for the design of ocean systems and structures. While at Texas A&M Galveston Deidra has had the opportunity to work as an engineering research assistant in the wave flume lab. After her sophomore year, she was also selected for an international research trip to the Netherlands, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and focused on coastal flood risk reduction strategies. Through these opportunities and an internship with Atkins Global, Deidra has worked to expand her knowledge on strategies to protect our coastlines.
Patrick Friend, Partrac GeoMarine, Inc.
Co-Authors: Brandon Hill, Jose Manuel Aguilar
Sediment transport processes on the inner continental shelf, South Padre Island, Texas: a grain size trend analysis (GSTA) approach.
Grain size trend analysis (GSTA) has been used extensively to describe sediment transport pathways in the coastal zone (e.g. McCave, 1978; Gao and Collins, 1992; Gao et al., 1994; Friend et al., 2006). GSTA uses spatial variations in the mean, sorting and skewness parameters of surface sediment grain size distributions within a particular sedimentary environment that are observed to occur as a result of sediment transport processes. The parameters change in a number of possible ways according to the net sediment transport direction (McLaren and Bowles, 1985). These changes to produce a series of trend vectors which can be used to examine net sediment transport directions as part of a conceptual sediment transport model.
We used the results of an extensive sediment sampling campaign conducted in 1976 as part of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology’s “Submerged Lands of Texas” project (McGowen and Morton, 1979; White et al., 1986) to produce trend vectors for the inner continental shelf, from 10 – 30 m water depths offshore South Padre Island, Texas. A total of 148 surface (4-10cm depth) sediment samples, collected at 1.6 km spacings in a grid pattern, were analyzed. Grain size parameters were calculated using Gradistat (Blott and Pye, 2001); trend vectors were produced using an updated (CPlus) version of Gao’s grain size trend analysis program (Gao, 1996). Characteristic distance, Dg, was defined using the geostatistical method (Poizot et al., 2006).
GSTA provides a useful method of examining sediment transport pathways as part of an integrated approach to conceptual modeling, however care must be taken to select an appropriate scale at which samples are compared. We discuss recent advances in determining the distance at which samples become ‘uncoupled’.
The trend vectors and conceptual model provide a unique snapshot of the large scale sediment transport processes that were affecting the surface sediments on the inner continental shelf prior to the start of beach nourishment activities in 1988. The conceptual model is compared with present-day observations of sediment transport processes at South Padre Island.
Bio: Dr Patrick L. Friend is a Coastal Oceanographer and Sediment Dynamicist, responsible for Americas Business Development at Partrac GeoMarine, a global Marine Survey and Coastal Consultancy group.
He obtained his PhD from the University of Southampton’s National Oceanography Centre (UK) where he was lead scientist on a number of high impact US-European Union sediment-related projects. He was a consultant to national and international port and harbor authorities, including the MOSE flood protection scheme, Venice, Italy.
He joined the Energy Industry in 2006, engaging in successful high value investment and asset acquisitions in Norway and Latin America, and advising on a large number of global business development opportunities in different basins and plays around the world.
Dr. Friend is a Writer, Reviewer and Editor for International Scientific Journals, and has published on topics ranging from Sediment Transport Pathways in Dredged Estuaries to Bio-Sediment Interaction in the Coastal Zone, and Shallow Gas Accumulation in modern deltas. His present research is on Nearshore Sediment Transport in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Physical Behavior of Nannofossil Ooze.
Stephanie Gonzales, LJA Engineering
Co-Authors: William L. “Bill” Worsham, Victoria Jones, Ryan Burke
Update on Salt Bayou Watershed Restoration Plan
The Salt Bayou Watershed contains the largest contiguous estuarine marsh complex in Texas. Located on the Chenier Plain along the upper Texas coast in Jefferson County, this ecosystem includes freshwater to estuarine marsh, coastal prairie grasslands, tidal flats, creeks, basins, and associated vegetation. The diversity of this ecosystem provides an extremely productive complex for an array of fish and wildlife resources. These marshes are also highly effective at decreasing impacts from storm surges, protecting inland residents, municipalities, and one of the largest petro-chemical industries in the U.S.
Historically, the watershed was predominately freshwater to intermediate system. However, due to anthropogenic influences and natural processes such as ongoing and accelerated erosion, seasonal storm events, and hurricanes the system has transitioned towards estuarine conditions with negative consequences to wetland habitats. These influences have decimated the natural dune system, increased salinity, and increased the frequency of high water events causing continued marsh loss at expedited rates.
Currently underway is a multi-faceted plan to correct anthropogenic influences and protect the watershed from natural processes restoring historic hydrologic patterns and resiliency to the ecosystem. Four major recommendations were put forth to accomplish these goals. The first is to restore the historic beach ridge from High Island to Sabine Pass reducing seawater inundation into the interior marshes during high tide events and low to mid energy storms. The initial solution involved constructing a clay core berm, which proved effective in preventing inundation into the marshes during Tropical Storm Bill in 2015. The longer-term solution includes beach and dune ridge restoration along approximately 20 miles of McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge shoreline. The first phase of beach and dune restoration was constructed in mid-2017 and the second phase is in progress. The second recommendation is to reduce Gulf waters from the Sabine Neches Ship channel feeding into the ecosystem via the Keith Lake Fish Pass (KLFP). This would reduce the tidal flux through the pass resulting in a reduction of frequency and duration of high salinity events in the ecosystem. The third recommendation is to install siphons across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) to increase freshwater influx and mimic historic inflow back into the marsh ecosystem. Currently the siphons are awaiting permitting before construction can begin. The final recommendation is beneficially using dredge material to restore elevation to subsiding marsh in the Salt Water Bayou Unit of the J.D. Murphree WMA.
This has been an ongoing process through the collaboration of several project partners, both public and private. This poster session will provide an update on the status, technical details, and lessons learned of the component projects.
Bio: Stephanie Gonzales studied Coastal Engineering at Texas A&M University. After graduation, she worked for a dredging contractor, implementing numerous navigation and beach nourishment projects. She currently works as a Coastal Engineer for LJA Engineering in Corpus Christi.
Angelos K. Hannides, Coastal Carolina University
Co-Authors: Nicholas A. Legut, Kaitlin L. Dick
Nearshore sand-habitat biogeochemistry in Long Bay, South and North Carolina: From standing conditions to shifting processes and human impacts
The nearshore zone (the area where land and ocean interact) is extremely important to the economic and ecological health of human societies. Our region of interest, the Grand Strand of South Carolina, is an excellent example of this: our dominant coastal ecosystem, high-energy sandy shores, is the main attraction for the vibrant tourism industry that serves millions of people every year.
Evaluating the state of our sandy shores and vulnerability to external impacts requires an understanding of interdisciplinary baseline conditions. Data must be collected with regularity, i.e., over a time series, to capture natural variation due to seasons, tides, weather, etc. Knowledge of baseline conditions allows a more precise investigation of living and non-living processes underlying and dictating those conditions. Ultimately, this knowledge can be used to gauge the impacts of human activities and natural disturbance events on the health and function of this important coastal system.
The sand biogeochemistry research program was established at Coastal Carolina University in fall of 2016 with the above goals in mind. It is the brush with which we have started painting a comprehensive baseline picture of the conditions at sandy beaches and how they vary over natural cycles. We have been applying our continuously enhanced interdisciplinary observational and analytical methodologies on swash-zone sand biogeochemistry at a monthly time-series at the Anne Tilghman Boyce Coastal Reserve (Waties Island) since November 2016, and a quarterly Long Bay-wide survey currently occupying an additional six sites, from Pawleys Island, SC, at the south end to Caswell Beach, NC, at the north, since the summer of 2017.
The resulting knowledge of baseline conditions allows a more precise investigation of living and non-living processes dictating those fairly understudied biogeochemical conditions. Consequently, we have now been able to begin conducting process studies to explore the variations on the broad baseline picture we obtain from our monitoring time-series surveys.
We are currently probing the role of coastal “swashes,” tidal creeks in coastal sand fields, in regulating the release of land-derived macronutrients to the ocean, by interactions between water columns and underlying sandy seafloors, and how redirection works may affect this regulation. Along the same lines, we are interested in the transformations that borrow sand, freshly deposited during beach (re)nourishment projects, undergoes and how these may be affected by different physical and mineralogical properties than the preexisting sand column. We supplement these investigations with studies of pre- and post-storm-surge conditions in the geophysical and biogeochemical characteristics of the swash-zone sand column, to better appreciate how this habitat responds to natural physical forcings, and what analogies can be drawn to human influences.
In our poster presentation, we describe the approach and methodology behind, as well as preliminary results of, our monitoring time-series surveys and our process studies, to foster communication and collaboration among academia, government agencies and the private sector, as advocated by the U.S. Coastal Research Program.
Bio: Angelos Hannides is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Marine Science at Coastal Carolina University. His major research foci are: (1) nearshore permeable sediments and the interactions of physical forcing, biotic processes and organic matter cycling that determine their function and ecosystem services; (2) the applicability and performance of biogeochemical sensors on gliders and other sensor platforms; (3) marine policy definitions of good environmental state and appropriate indicators and activities necessary to monitor this state.
Laura Lemke, Stevens Institute of Technology
Co-Authors: Jon K. Miller
Development of a storm erosion climatology for the New Jersey coast
As a storm approaches, communities at risk require reliable information to anticipate its impacts and make preparatory decisions. As the beach is one of a community’s defenses, its erosion is a major concern. Thus, there exists a need to properly estimate a storm’s severity in terms of erosion potential.
Coastal erosion is driven by three main parameters; elevated water levels, wave heights, and storm duration. The Storm Erosion Index (SEI), developed at Stevens Institute of Technology, is a physically based parameter that evaluates a storm’s erosion potential considering all three drivers for both hurricanes and nor’easters. The index has been used at several locations on the east coast including Florida, North and South Carolina, and New Jersey to evaluate recent storms (Miller & Livermont, 2008; Wehof, et. al., 2014). Here, SEI has been shown to be more closely correlated with erosion severity than other traditional intensity measures.
In this study, the index is applied to the New Jersey coast to reevaluate historical storms and rank them based on SEI. As both storm and beach conditions vary spatially, New Jersey is divided into thirteen segments and a historical record is developed for each. SEI values are calculated for each storm identified over a 34-year period from available hindcasts. As described above, SEI is indicative of the storm’s erosion potential over its duration. Peak erosion intensity values (PEI) are also determined and are indicative of the erosive power at the storm’s peak. An extreme value analysis is performed to determine return levels associated with each storm based on its SEI and PEI.
The resulting historical records indicate the most intense storms based on SEI to be the December 1992 and November 2009 nor’easters, and Hurricane Sandy (2012). All three caused major erosion in the affected areas. In general, Hurricane Sandy is found to be ranked first in northern New Jersey whereas, in southern New Jersey it ranks either second or third with a lower return level. When considering PEI, Hurricane Sandy is ranked the top storm across all shoreline segments. This result can be attributed to the high water levels and wave heights at its peak. The fact that it is not ranked first in terms of SEI at particular shoreline segments, demonstrates the importance of storm duration in the cumulative effects. The December 1992 and November 2009 nor’easters, though less intense, exceed Hurricane Sandy in terms of duration resulting in higher cumulative erosion potential at some locations.
Current applications of the index and this dataset include real time forecasting where SEI is estimated for approaching storms using wave and water level forecasts and compared to the baseline climatology. Doing so allows the storm, and its associated impacts, to be quantified more appropriately, potentially enabling more informed preparatory decisions.
Miller, J.K. and Livermont, E., 2009. A predictive index for wave and storm surge induced erosion. Coastal Engineering Proceedings: 4143-4153.
Wehof, J., Miller, J.K. and Engle, J., 2014. Application of the storm erosion index (SEI) to three unique storms. Coastal Engineering Proceedings.
Bio: Laura Lemke graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with a B.E. in Civil Engineering and a M.E. in Ocean Engineering in 2014. Following graduation, she worked as a coastal engineer for CH2M out of their NYC office. She returned to Stevens in the Fall of 2016 to begin work on her Ph.D. under the advisement of Dr. Jon K. Miller. Laura currently serves as President for the Student Chapter of ASBPA at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Frank Marshall, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Co-Authors: Lynn Leonard Martin Posey Troy Alphin
Assessing the Impact of Living Shorelines on Sediment Trapping
As anthropogenic activities continue to increase in estuarine environments, so does the need to find management approaches that minimize the loss of valuable coastal wetlands. One such approach is the use of living shorelines, a conservation strategy employed to stabilize the edge of a coastal wetland and provide benefits to the local habitat. Living shorelines typically make use of natural features such as salt marsh grass and/or oyster reefs to attenuate erosive wave energy and create conditions conductive to sediment deposition and vegetation growth. While numerous studies have addressed the ecosystem benefits associated with living shoreline construction, fewer studies have attempted to quantify the physical changes resulting from their construction. The objective of this study is to quantify how living shorelines affect hydrodynamic conditions, sediment characteristics, and sediment accretion rates. Data was collected at two separate sites in North Carolina where boat wakes are a leading cause to marsh shoreline erosion. At the University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science, small scale experimental models mimicking living shorelines were deployed along the Intracoastal Waterway. The models were deployed in several configurations (oysters, grass, or combination) to determine which structural configuration attenuates the most wave energy and create conditions conducive to sediment deposition. Used alone, the grass models attenuated wave height 2X more effectively than the oyster models. Wave height was attenuated by ~50% by the grass model and ~25% by the oyster reef. Sediment deposition rates, however, did not significantly differ between individual shoreline types. When used together, oyster and grass together, maximized sediment retention. The results indicate that the combination of oyster reefs and marsh grass is most effective at producing hydrodynamic characteristics conducive to increasing sediment deposition rates. The second site is located in Saint James Plantation, Brunswick County which contains several full scale living shoreline oyster reefs of various ages dating back to 2007. Based on a digital elevation model created from aerial drone photographs, the construction of the oyster reefs have resulted in increased sediment accretion behind the reefs, with older reefs accreting more sediment than younger reefs. Deposited sediment behind the oyster reefs also increased in grain coarseness. Within the gaps of the oyster reefs, sediment has been eroded likely indicating living shorelines are causing the redistribution of sediment. The oyster reefs are also causing wave diffraction which can influence the sediment deposition behind the oyster reefs. Based on results from the models, vegetation growth mitigates the erosive effects of wave diffraction at the Saint James Plantation living shorelines. Data suggests that the age, design (size and gap location), and construction material (oyster, grass, or combination) affects the hydrodynamic and sedimentation rates of a living shoreline.
Bio: Frank Marshall is a graduate student in the Masters of Geoscience Program – Geology concentration at University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Frank’s research interests are in coastal hydrology and sedimentology and the use of living shorelines to combat salt marsh erosion in estuarine environments.
Mariah McBride, Texas A&M University at Galveston
Co-Authors: Victor Viser
Sargassum Movement and Landing Cost Projections as Functions of North Atlantic Oscillation Variation and pH Differentials
A correlation appears to exist between positive fluctuations of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and above average levels of Sargassum that land along the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, there subsists an indirect interconnection between the factors that stimulate a positive placement on the NAO index (i.e. surface water temperature, CO2 absorption rates, and atmospheric pressure) and the average pH level of the Atlantic Ocean. Given the assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that projects average oceanic pH level decline by 0.4 before the year 2100 (Meehl et al. 2007), the mean NAO Index level and pH level drop recorded between the years 1982 to 2015 were applied as augmentation factors to gauge a hypothetical projection of NAO trends by 2100. Based on these calculations, it appears that the frequency of NAO positive phases could increase, under certain conditions, by a factor of eight. Under these circumstances, it is possible that the resulting positive phase ampli cation could equate to volumetric increases of Sargassum landings on the Gulf of Mexico shoreline at a similar rate. In addition to the scientific analysis presented, this study also offers suggestions for future research, as well as possible implications for Sargassum mitigation policies.
Bio: Mariah McBride will be graduating this fall from Texas A&M University at Galveston with a Bachelor of Science in Maritime Public Policy and Communications in conjunction with a double minor in Ocean & Coastal Resources and Geology. During her attendance at Texas A&M University, Ms. McBride has worked as the sole undergraduate research fellow for the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores. Much of her research for the Center involves the evaluation of environmental economics. Ms. McBride sharpened her proficiency within this field while interning as a blue economy consultant for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this summer in Washington, D.C.
Michael Niebuhr, Galveston Bay Foundation
The Galveston Bay Foundation’s Oyster Shell Recycling Program and Volunteer-based Oyster Gardening
Galveston Bay, at the center of the Gulf coast oyster industry, has been facing countless hardships over the past 10 years. Hurricane Ike, in 2008, brought in so much sediment, that it destroyed over 50% of the bay’s reefs. In subsequent years, Texas was faced with some of the worst drought conditions that the state had ever seen, driving up salinity levels which increased the number of oyster predators. Texas has since been plagued by record-setting rainfall; capped off by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which brought almost 20 trillion gallons of rain across the Galveston Bay area, effectively turning many parts of the bay into a freshwater lake. Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD) estimates that many of the reefs throughout the bay faced an almost 50% mortality rate. These incidents, along with excessive removal of shells from the bay for commercial harvest have resulted in an extreme shortage in hard substrate, which is paramount to the success of oyster production. While oyster larvae can attach to many surfaces, oyster shells are the preferred substrate for larval attachment and growth (Coen and Luckenbach, 2000).
To combat this lack of hard substrate and to promote successful restoration of oysters in the bay, the Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) began its Oyster Shell Recycling Program in 2011. The program partners with restaurants to recycle shucked oyster shells. Since its inception, the program has grown from 1 restaurant and 1 shell curing site to having partnered with 10 different restaurants and 4 curing sites resulting in over 875 tons of shell recycled, increasing production over 10% each year. Each year, as the program expands, new strategies are employed to manage obstacles associated with acquiring and retaining restaurant partners, managing and maintaining curing sites, and developing gardening relationships.
To aid in the enhancement of local oyster reefs, GBF started a Volunteer-based Oyster Gardening program in 2012. This program allows for water-front communities to join in the efforts of restoring oyster reefs by “gardening” recycled shell from docks and/piers to recruit oyster spat. These gardens are used to help “seed” established restoration reefs around the bay through partnerships with TPWD and US Fish & Wildlife Service. This program has been steadily expanding in both the number of gardeners and the number of communities, with 2018 expecting to reach 4 total communities. Each year the program grows, new techniques are established to improve oyster larvae recruitment in the gardens. Based on the lessons learned from 6 years of oyster gardening, GBF has proposed the analysis of 2 new gardening methods in 2018 to assess what works best for the program going forward. Incorporating volunteers in this program allows local citizens to take ownership of the bay’s oyster population, thus instilling stewardship in the community and returning a valuable resource back to the bay to cultivate new oysters.
Bio: Michael Niebuhr has been with Galveston Bay Foundation for 2 ½ years, currently as Habitat Restoration Coordinator. Michael manages the Oyster Shell Recycling Program, Volunteer-based Oyster Gardening, and coordinates and leads volunteer reef restoration work. Michael holds a B.S. in Marine Environmental Law & Policy with a focus in Ocean & Coastal Resources from Texas A&M University at Galveston. As a native to Galveston Island, Michael has always held a personal connection to the Texas Coast and Galveston Bay and his current work allows him to give back to environment he grew up in.
Ashley Norton, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
Co-Authors: Jesse Hayden
Beach Profile Analysis for Nourishment Prioritization for Delaware’s Bay Beaches
Management of a populated coastline requires an understanding of the processes affecting an individual stretch of beach as well as the entire system as a whole. One key tool to understanding changes in the shape of a beach is repeated beach profiling. Since 1995, subaerial beach profiles have been measured and recorded biannually at 32 permanent stations along the state of Delaware’s Delaware Bay shoreline. The objective of this analysis is to compare both current and historic profile data to beach nourishment design templates developed for 10-year storm and erosion protection for the bayshore communities. Delaware is currently undertaking an effort to systematically prioritize small-scale beach nourishment projects using available data. Out of the prioritization project, there are two factors that specifically use beach profile data to quantify berm and dune status. In order to assess the need for beach nourishment for individual communities, volumetric deficiency below the template designs was measured as well as dune height deficiency. By assessing the deficiencies of the current bay beach profiles with respect to design template for protection from a 10-year of storm and 10 years of background erosion rates, we are also gaining an understanding of: 1) the current construction costs for proposed nourishment projects, and 2) the level of protection offered by the existing beach and dune dimensions. Historic trends in beach profile deficiency can be observed, and potentially correlated to past nourishment projects and historic climate forcing. This poster will illustrate the preliminary results of comparisons between beach design templates, and both the current and historical profiles.
Bio: Ashley Norton is a coastal scientist with the Shoreline and Waterway Management section of DNREC. She is also a PhD Candidate at the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping. Her interests include: coastal geology, coastal and seafloor mapping, coastal ecology and geospatial analysis.
Jyothirmayi Palaparthi, Florida Atlantic University
Co-Authors: Tiffany Roberts Briggs
Evaluation of Offshore Sediments in Palm Beach County, Florida for a Regional Sediment Management Strategy for Coastal Restoration Projects
Regional Sediment Management (RSM) is defined by the US Army Corps of Engineers as a “systems approach to manage sediments for sustainable projects, environments, and communities.” However, part of the RSM objective is to mimic natural sediment processes, which in conjunction with local or state policies may require textural and/or compositional characteristics of placed sediment are consistent or compatible with the natural/native characteristics. For example, beach nourishment projects should use beach compatible fill with composition, mean and median grain size, grain size distribution, sorting, skewness, silt content, color, carbonate content, and organic content matching the native or existing beach (USACE 2002). A significant effort has been made to address the offshore resources available for beach nourishment projects, particularly in Southeast Florida; however, less attention has been given to these resources for other RSM-type projects. The objective of this study is to reclassify the available offshore sediments based on their geotechnical properties for different coastal environments in Palm Beach County, Florida. The goal is to develop a robust RSM strategy for coastal restoration projects particularly along backbarrier (Intracoastal Waterway) shorelines susceptible to boat wake erosion. As coastal environments are increasingly threatened by climate change and sea level rise, sediment resources become scarcer, the need to efficiently and effectively use sediments will be of utmost importance for scientists, engineers, and managers in their efforts to protect coastal habitat and communities.
Jyothirmayi Palaparthi, Florida Atlantic University
Co-Authors: Tiffany Roberts Briggs
Economically viable rare earth element deposits along beach placers of Andhra Pradesh, eastern coast of India
Bio: I am Palaparthi Jyothirmayi from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) pursuing my 2nd year Master’s in Geosciences. I pursued my Master’s (MSc Tech Integrated 5yrs) in Applied Geology from Indian School of Mines, India. I am currently working on my Master Thesis, supervised by Dr. Briggs to propose a Regional Sediment Management plan for Palm Beach County by using the identified offshore sand sources. I would like a research that allows me to give back to the society. So, my future goal is to protect Indian Beach environment, because the preference to preserve the environment is very minimal in India.
Ephraim Paul, Akwa Ibom State University
Ibaka Beach Restoration Design Project
Ecotourism has been given increased attention in the last decade in Nigeria. Government at all levels are developing strategies to diversify and transform the economy from the present oil-dependent economy. Ecotourism has been identified as a valuable component of the process and is among the five pillars of the economic transformation framework. Sectorial reforms in policies, laws and regulations have boosted investors’ confidence and encouraged them to invest in tourism industry in Nigeria. The location and features of Ibaka Beach provide competitive and comparable advantages for the transformative economic concept. The Beach, with medium- and coarse-grained sand, is sited near a natural deep harbor and closed to major industrial and commercial centers.
This project was designed to assess the current state of the Beach and develop strategies and action plans to restore the Beach to international standards. This work documents the design aspect of the project. The project components are dredging, placement of dredged materials, widening the berm, raising the dune, and tree planting. The beach berm will be widened from 180 meters to 200 meters, using sand from dredged navigation channels, while maintaining the natural slope between the dune and depth of closure. Numerical model was applied to analyze the performance of alternative design concepts using the following metrics: erosion rates, quantity of sand required, shoreline retreat, longshore transport, and channel in-filling. Alternatives that passed the metrics benchmark were further subjected to environmental, economic, and technical feasibility tests. The design shown in this paper got the highest performance score and had been recommended to the project sponsor.
Bio: Ephraim Paul is an assistant professor and coastal engineer who combines laboratory and field observations with numerical-based methods to provide solutions to dredging and coastal engineering challenges in the society. His work encompasses hydro-graphic and geophysical surveys, navigation channel design, beach nourishment, dredging and beneficial uses of dredged materials, characterization of marine renewable energy resources for electric power generation, and coastal resources preservation and conservation. His papers have been published by professional societies, such as WEDA. His professional affiliations include: SNAME, WEDA, AGU, ASBPA, IEEE, ASCE, and ASME. He lives in Richmond, Texas with his wife, Mfon and children.
Peyton Posey, University of South Alabama
Co-Authors: Stephanie Smallegan
Effect of Beach Access Points and Characterization of Sites in Texas, Florida, and Alabama affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Nate
Causing over $200 billion in damage (the most expensive on record) and affecting every state along the Gulf of Mexico, the 2017 hurricane season was historical in many ways. For the first time since reliable weather records began nearly 150 years ago, two major hurricanes (greater than a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale) made landfall in the continental United States. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, both category 4 storms, made landfall in Texas and Florida, respectively, within one month of each other. Later in the season, a weaker Hurricane Nate (category 1) impacted coastal Alabama. Surprisingly, in many locations, the morphological damage caused by Nate was much greater than the damage caused by Harvey and Irma, according to post-storm reconnaissance surveys. Since all three of these storms made landfall in states along the Gulf Coast, a unique opportunity to cross-compare damage to sites arose. Site characteristics were both qualitatively and quantitatively recorded using aerial imagery provided by Google Earth Pro. Dune characteristics such as the width, depth, shape and vegetation density both before and after the storm were measured and recorded for all sites. Beach access point characteristics such as width, depth, material, and surrounding infrastructure were also measured and recorded both before and after the storm. Along with dune and beach access point characteristics, other observations were made regarding the beach width, sand characteristics, dune heights, etc. It was found in both Dauphin Island and Port Aransas that the beach access points seemed to allow a path for storm surge to channelize the flow of sediment through the dune field. Sombrero Beach did not have a developed dune field, and all vegetation and beach access points were completely overwashed during Hurricane Irma. Because of this channelization, erosion of dunes and civil infrastructure (such as undercutting of paved roadways) was much greater around beach access points. These results indicate that, in the presence of beach access points, the storm surge required to inundate and overwash dunes is significantly lower compared to locations without beach access points. Signs of channelization of the surge receding back into the ocean through marks in the sand were also observed, mainly in Port Aransas (possibly because the imagery was taken right after the storm versus a month after in Dauphin Island). This study made it clear that beach access points play a critical role in the vulnerability of coastal environments. Future studies should use physical or computer modeling to study the channelization process to determine the governing parameters of the beach access points and how they play a part in the erosion of the natural coast line and damage to civil infrastructure.
Bio: Peyton is a senior in the Department of Civil, Coastal, and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Alabama. As a single mother and full-time student, she has developed a great appreciation for her studies while raising her daughter. She an officer in Tau Beta Pi, engineering honor society, and Chi Epsilon, civil engineering honor society. In the spring of 2018, Peyton was chosen as the ASCE Student Civil Engineer of the Year for the state of Alabama. Peyton participated in the university’s undergraduate research fellowship program this summer under Dr. Stephanie Smallegan. She will graduate in May.
Sharon Tirpak, USACE Galveston District
United States Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District: An Overview of the Navigation, Ecosystem Restoration and Flood Risk Management (Inland and Coastal Storm) Programs along the Texas Coast.
The Galveston District was established in 1880 and is considered one of the oldest in the Corps. The area of responsibility encompasses the entire Texas Coast from the Sabine River to the Rio Grande and about 150 miles inland, an area of approximately 50,000 square miles. It includes 48 Texas Counties, two Louisiana Parishes and 400 miles of coastline. In an average year the District executes a $300M program, including shallow and deep draft navigation, flood risk management (inland and coastal storm), ecosystem restoration, regulatory and disaster response and recovery missions.
The presentation will provide an overview of the District’s current civil works missions of navigation, flood risk management and ecosystem restoration and how they can be intertwined to complement each other and be beneficial to the region. The presentation will also include information on the expected growth of the District’s program due to probable funding from the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which will provide funds to areas affected by Hurricanes, Harvey, Irma and Maria.
Bio: Ms. Tirpak, originally from Pittsburgh, PA, attended college in southern Maine and graduated with a BS in Marine Biology. She began her career as a Fishery Biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service conducting research on fish, dolphin and sea turtles. In 1994 Ms. Tirpak transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District where she worked in the Regulatory evaluating Department of Army Permits; in Planning developing feasibility studies; and since 2008 in Project Management leading multi-disciplinary teams through the planning, design and construction of federally funded civil works projects concerning flood risk management (inland and coastal storm), navigation and ecosystem restoration. She currently serves as a Deputy Chief of the Project Management Branch.
Cuong Tran, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Co-Authors: Atziri Ibanez, Jennifer Bucheit
Increasing Awareness and Understanding of Nature-Based Shorelines in the Ohio, Lake Erie Region
Coastal zones demonstrate to be significant regions for human inhabitance, economic growth, and natural protection from waves. The shoreline, naturally changing from wave action, is observed to increase landward due to rising human settlement and anthropogenic impacts. Consequently, a landward motion of the shoreline results in property loss and coastal degrade through shoreline erosion. Hardened infrastructures, commonly known as “seawalls,” are constructed and implemented by shoreline property owners as a barrier from wave energy and continued erosion. While somewhat successful, these structures can also be problematic, resulting in increased shoreline erosion, decreased benthic diversity and abundance, and loss of native species habitat. In addition, surface and groundwater runoff, as a result of storm events, have contributed to shoreline erosion from excess water weight. Our study focuses on the Great Lakes region, where more than 10,000 miles of coastline brings economic, residential, and recreational opportunities for its residents and visitors. Relatively unknown to its inhabitants, the Great Lakes region is experiencing copious amounts of erosion along its coasts. Partnering with Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve, our project’s purpose is to promote awareness along the coasts of Ohio bordering Lake Erie, by which 33 percent of Ohio’s 316 miles of shoreline have experienced erosion. Furthermore, Ohio’s shorelines, composed of limited amounts of erosion-resistant shale, poses a danger. The newly coined approach “nature-based shoreline,” a technique that uses natural material for shoreline stabilization, is a sustainable and cost-efficient alternative. Even so, there are still a growing number of permitting hardened infrastructures along the U.S. coast and few implements of nature-based shorelines. Our purpose is to determine the best practices for decreasing the barrier between science communication and property owner communities, as well as to uncover the issues mitigating the installation of nature-based shorelines. We have completed critical literature analysis of nature-based shorelines and gained insight from interviews of Ohio coastal employees to assess the primary determinants for best practices. Then, several communication pieces were created as an introduction for shoreline property owners to increase environmental literacy, as part of a growing effort to implement nature-based shorelines nationally. Following initiatives along Puget Sound, Hudson River, and Michigan’s inland lakes, we established this project to increase the understanding of nature-based shorelines and to decrease the intensity of shoreline erosion in areas bordering Lake Erie. With predicted higher sea level and increased storm intensity, hardened shorelines will not fare as well as nature-based shorelines. Our results demonstrate that closing the gap between communication and environmental education is the first step to increasing nature-based shoreline practices for more resilient coastlines.
Bio: Cuong Tran, a senior undergraduate student at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, is majoring in Global Environmental Science. He focuses on sea level rise, coastal erosion, and flooding mitigation surrounding coastal communities in an imminent world of warming temperatures. His short-term goals revolve around educating himself on coastal processes leaning towards an imminent world of rising sea level. He has completed an outreach internship with the Hawaii Sea Grant and is currently a part of two internships involving the study of historical and future shoreline rates in Hawaii and determining best communication practices to implement nature-based shorelines to shoreline property owners. His long-term goals are centralized on the idea of preparedness of global climate change; to learn among different perspectives of people on redesigning a more resilient coast. Since much of the U.S. population live along the coasts, now is a critical time to inform future concerns to the public before we see the full effects of global climate change.
Dennis Trizna, Imaging Science Research, Inc.
Marine Radar Observations of Daytona Beach Rip Current Daily Morphologies with Half Hour Temporal Resolution
We have developed a coherent-on-receive marine radar for imaging ocean orbital velocity wave patterns and near surface mean currents. The coherent radar imaging of radial velocity patterns provides a direct measurement of ocean wave orbital wave velocity, which can be used as input to derive ocean wave spectra (1). This direct method does not rely on a modulation transfer function (MTF) to scale echo intensity spectra to wave spectra as do earlier methods (2). We report here on rip current pattern image detection at Daytona Beach, FL. The rip currents appear stronger in radar echo intensity images than in radial velocity images, and are similar to rip current intensity observations reported on previously by Haller, et al, (3).
We demonstrate the capability of this radar to detect rip current features that appear in both intensity and radial velocity. We were hosted at the Volusia County Lifeguard Headquarters building at Daytona Beach, FL, from 15 September to 28 December 2015. The radar was at the lifeguard center building, 11 m above local ground level, and roughly 14 m above mean sea level. Preliminary analysis confirms previous reports of the number of lifeguard saves of swimmers being higher in the summer months than in the winter (4). We found that the offshore extent of the rip current features is farther in the late summer period than the late fall and winter period we covered, suggesting correspondingly stronger and more dangerous rip events then as well. We have developed the capability using the same radar data to independently determine local tidal cycles based on run-up tracking using 10-min mean images, which is used for comparison as well. We will present final results on the influence of the tidal cycle and local wind estimates on rip current occurrence and apparent strength.
References
[1] Trizna, D.B., U.S. Patent #8305257, “Method and Apparatus for Coherent Marine Radar Measurements of Properties of Ocean Waves and Currents”, 6 Nov. 2012. US Patent Off. [2] Young, I.R., Rosenthal, W, and Ziemer, F. “A three-dimensional analysis of marine radar images for the determination of ocean wave directionality and surface currents”, JGR, vol. 90, pp. 1049-1059, 1985. [3]. Haller, M.C., Honegger, D., Catalan, P.A., Rip current Observations via Marine Radar, J. Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering, 2014, pp. 115-124. [4]. Engle, J., MacMahan, J. Thieke, R. J., Hanes, D. M. Dean, R. G., Formulation of a rip current predictive index using rescue data, Proc. National Conf. on Beach Preservation Technology, FSPBA, Jan. 23-25, 2002, Biloxi, MS.Bio: Dennis Trizna received his PhD. From Iowa State University in physics, and joined the Naval Research Laboratory where he served from 1971 to 2001, in both the Radar Division and Remote Sensing Division. From 1992 to 2000, he also served as a program officer at the Office of Naval Research, Remote Sensing Program. After retirement fro NRL in 2001, he established Imaging Science Research, Inc. He developed a digital high frequency radar for naval applications of whip radar cross section measurements, and used the same digital technology for coherent marine radar development, which is the current focus of the company.
Victoria Uribe, Florida Atlantic University
Co-Authors: Anton Oleinik
Predictive Habitat Modeling for the Gastropod Lobatus gigas (the Queen Conch) in Broward and Palm Beach Counties
Queen Conch (Lobatus gigas), a large, nearshore, benthic marine mollusk, is currently a threatened and protected species in the state of Florida due to overfishing and exploitation. Conch still contribute to a thriving fishery in the Caribbean, but have also declined worldwide due to overexploitation. In order to encourage the survival of wild L. gigas, effective management strategies at the local level must be implemented to allow native populations to grow and recover, such as habitat enrichment and long-term monitoring. For the most part, conch research has been conducted in the Florida Keys and in the Caribbean. This study aims to provide more information about conch populations known to exist in Broward and Palm Beach counties in Southern Florida that approach the northernmost boundary of their distribution. Habitat suitability modeling will be explored as a technique to generate a comprehensive, predictive habitat model for L. gigas populations in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Research will be conducted using over a decade of data from monitoring programs that will help determine the most important factors in habitat preference for L. gigas. The free, open-source habitat suitability modeling software Maxent, which will be utilized in this project, incorporates previously recorded habitat condition data, such as population presence data and environmental data, into a completed map model showing locations with the highest probability of occurrence. Using this model, marine field surveys will be conducted on SCUBA to determine presence or absence of populations, the health of those populations, and the overall statistical validity of the model. This is a pilot study using predictive habitat suitability modeling as a technique to determine distribution of a benthic marine mollusk. This is a multidisciplinary project, incorporating geology, biology and digital imaging techniques into a unique and promising approach to conservation. This technique is relatively low cost and can be used in the future produce similar predictive habitat suitability models and encourage the designation of potential marine protected areas (MPAs) and other management strategies to aid in the recovery of the South Florida wild conch population.
Bio: Victoria Uribe is a Master’s Student at Florida Atlantic University studying Queen Conch habitat distribution under Dr. Anton Oleinik. Born and raised in Austin, TX, she graduated from Texas A&M University at Galveston in 2017 with a Bachelors in Marine Biology and a minor in Museum Studies. Her undergraduate time was spent studying marine invertebrate zoology, scuba diving, and balancing museum internships. Currently, her work is interdisciplinary and focuses on predictive habitat modeling for the threatened Florida Queen Conch. She hopes next to pursue a PhD in biological sciences and one day become a zoological curator.
Murat Utku, OBG
Co-Authors: Heather Weitzner, David Farber
Lake Bluff shoreline stabilization, Lake Ontario, Huron, New York
The focus of this project was to design a shoreline remediation system that would stabilize and protect a 100-foot-high, almost 45º angle eroding bluff on Lake Ontario from the erosive forces caused by waves, wind, groundwater, and rain. Geosynthetics, blown on compost material, and the installation of an irrigation system were all tools that were utilized for bluff stabilization, while an armor stone revetment was used to protect the toe of the bluff. This project may be used as an example for other shorelines experiencing similar bluff failure and erosional issues.
Bio: Dr. Utku has more than 24 years of experience in coastal engineering project experience including modeling, analysis and design. His project experience includes; numerical/ analytical wave/ coastal/ hydraulic processes modeling, ecosystem restoration and mitigation, hydraulic/coastal engineering, river, estuarine and coastal sediment and pollutant transport processes, dredging, navigational dredging, deep and shallow draft harbor/marina dredging, dredged material management, feasibility studies, flood damage reduction; shoreline erosion mitigation.
Elizabeth Vargas, Texas General Land Office
Addressing Coastal Issues of Concern with a Multiple Lines of Defense Approach
Recognizing that Texas does not have a state-sponsored coastal plan, Commissioner Bush directed his Coastal Resources Division to develop the Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan (Plan). The first iteration of the Plan (2017 Plan) highlights the value of the Texas coast, its resources, and the issues of concern that endanger coastal communities. The 2017 Plan also presents resiliency strategies and recommended nature-based projects to mitigate the impacts of the Issues of Concern.
Identifying that further education and coastal restoration is necessary to mitigate the coastal Issues of Concern, the Texas General Land Office recently began work on the 2019 version of the Plan to continue the coastal planning initiative. The 2019 Plan has a broader scope to address the natural and built environments as they pertain to resiliency for coastal communities. This includes a multiple lines of defense approach that will focus on the Issues of Concern in a holistic manner.
The Issues of Concern include habitat loss, erosion, degradation of water quality and quantity, impacts on coastal resources, abandoned or derelict vessels, structures and debris, and the impacts of storm surge and coastal flooding. The Issues of Concern are the outcomes of Drivers and Pressures that influence the current conditions of the coast.
Drivers can be social, economic or natural, and are typically instigated by the need of food, goods, services and energy. Coastal Pressures resulting from these Drivers can be either nature-based or built environment-based. Examples of Pressures include tropical storms, hurricanes, extreme weather events, relative sea level rise, depletion of freshwater inflows, sediment deficits, industry activity, and infrastructure and development.
To achieve a resilient Texas coast, we must understand the interconnectivity of the Issues of Concern and multiple lines of defense options that are available for coastal restoration using nature-based and built infrastructure projects. The Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan poster will illustrate how a nature-based and infrastructure-based projects typically mitigate several Issues of Concern when implemented in a multiple lines of defense strategy.
Bio: Elizabeth Vargas works in the Coastal Resources Division at the Texas General Land Office, and manages and coordinates projects related to coastal planing and policy. Most recently, Elizabeth is the project manager of the Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan. Elizabeth graduated from St. Mary’s University with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a Master of Science in Public Administration.
Heather Wade, Texas A&M University Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning
Co-Authors: Walter Peacock
State Coastal Management Programs under the CZMA: When do local plans and ordinances matter?
A qualitative study was conducted to analyze how coastal management programs across the United States implement federal consistency review by assessing federally-approved enforceable policies by policy type and category within a hazards and environment context. A qualitative content analysis of 82 coastal program documents, representing 23 coastal programs, was conducted to describe federal activities, licenses, permits, and financial aid that are reviewed for federal consistency, the type of enforceable policies used for federal consistency review implementation (state versus local), and the extent that programs use hazards and environmental protection focused enforceable policies. Results indicate that federal consistency review varies widely across coastal management areas, including the content and structure of enforceable policies. The most frequent type of policy that are submitted for and ultimately federally approved are state level regulations, although five programs were identified as also employing local plans and ordinances as enforceable policies in their coastal programs. This study adds to a very thin literature portfolio on the intersections of hazard mitigation, local land use planning, coastal management, and federal consistency, and offers descriptive analysis to show how coastal management can implement federal consistency to increase community resilience and what role local land use planning may or may not play in those efforts. Further research is needed to better understand these interconnections and how they are implemented.
Bio: Heather Wade is the Senior Associate Director for Planning and Extension of the Texas Sea Grant College Program. She also leads reporting and database management for the program and is responsible for the organization’s sponsored projects portfolio. Wade joined the staff in June 2011 as the program’s and state of Texas’ first Coastal Planning Specialist. She developed and implemented the coastal planning program to provide planning expertise and assistance to coastal communities and natural resource managers. Her work involved helping communities assess their resilience to natural hazards and assess and update their comprehensive plans and land use ordinances. She provided technical assistance to urban planners and coordinated and facilitated small and large workshops related to land use and environmental planning.
In 2015, Wade took a position with the State of Oregon as the Coastal State-Federal Relations Coordinator for the Oregon Coastal Management Program and Department of Land Conservation and Development. In that role, she managed a statewide database on coastal development and restoration projects, performed federal consistency reviews, managed grant projects, and networked with local, state, and federal governments to reach solutions to conflicts on the Oregon coast.
She received a bachelor of science in Environmental Studies with minors in Geography and Earth Sciences from Texas A&M University and a Master of Urban Planning with a focus on Land Use and Environmental Planning with a certificate in Environmental Hazards Management, also from Texas A&M University. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Science at Texas A&M University. Wade also currently serves on the Advisory Council of the National Association of Counties.
Robert Weaver, Florida Institute of Technology (FIT)
Co-Authors: Leigh Provost, Hannah Grisanti
Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Improvements of a Variable Area Suction Head for Muck Removal in the Indian River Lagoon
A variable area suction head was designed and developed in order to target muck during dredging in the Indian River Lagoon. The suction head was designed to limit the amount of large sediments entrained by the dredge. In precluding these coarser sediments, the dredged material is more desirable and apt for recyclability and the volumes of the material dredged can be well maintained. Multiple tests with various attachments to the suction head were performed to examine the most effective version of the system. Results showed that the suction head was effective in reducing the median grain size, d50, in most tests that were performed. Efficiency of the system in terms of “muck dredging efficiency” was developed to analyze how efficiently the system removed fines. Improvements can be made to the suction head and the dredging system in order to improve both the efficiency and production rates, thus making it more suitable for IRL dredging.
Bio: Dr. Weaver earned his M.Sc. (2004) and Ph.D. (2008) from the University of Florida, Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering graduate program studying storm surge and inundation working with ADCIRC and SWAN. Dr. Weaver joined Florida Tech (2011) after working as a post-doctoral research assistant at UNC-CH Institute of Marine Sciences. In 2013, he was instrumental in founding the Indian River Lagoon Research Institute at FIT. In addition to research/teaching, Dr. Weaver enjoys surfing, gardening and spending time with his daughters. Current research includes coastal flooding and transport, living shoreline/living dock design, design of fine sediment dredging systems, and 2D/3D circulation.
Heather Zhao, AECOM
Co-Authors: Mark Crowell, Rebecca Starosta, Brian Batten
Future Conditions Modeling and Mapping Through the FEMA Florida Sea Level Rise Pilot Study
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has recognized the potential implications of sea level rise (SLR) to coastal flood hazards, losses, flood insurance and community resilience planning. FEMA is currently evaluating strategies, approaches, and considerations for implementation of future conditions through the Technical Mapping Advisory Committee. Meanwhile, FEMA has engaged in a series of pilot studies in an effort to better understand how SLR affects coastal surge and wave heights in various geographies, and test different methods of analysis and mapping to develop conceptual non-regulatory products to assist community planning.
One such study was commissioned for Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties, FL. This effort built on lessons-learned from previous studies in North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and California. Specific study objectives were to 1) evaluate how SLR affects surge elevations in open coast, back-barrier and back-bay environments; 2) explore integration of the coastal landscape, including marsh and shoreline change into the flood assessment process; 3) explore methods to improve of approximate methods to efficient generate future flood hazard products.
This presentation will summarize the scope and intent of the study, discuss technical approaches and results, as well as stakeholder feedback on study products. We will focus on geographic variations in non-linear surge response and performance of approximate methods to efficient produce future condition mapping products. Additionally, we will highlight considerations for, and implementation of future marsh evolution and shoreline erosion into the approach.
Bio: Heather Zhao is a Project Manager and senior coastal engineer with AECOM. She has 13 years’ of experience in conducting hydrologic and hydraulic analysis for riverine and coastal hazard areas for FEMA Flood Insurance Studies (FIS). She is also experienced in modeling and mapping the coastal hazards caused by Sea Level Rise. Heather worked on the FEMA Florida Sea Level Rise Pilot Study as a technical reviewer.