Joseph Long, P. Soupy Dalyander, Michael Poff, Brian Spears, Brett Borne, David Thompson, Rangley Mickey, Steve Dartez, and Gregory Grandy, 2020. “Event and decadal-scale modeling of barrier island restoration designs for decision support”, Shore & Beach 88(1), 49-57. http://doi.org/10.34237/1008816
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http://doi.org/10.34237/1008816
Event and decadal-scale modeling of barrier island restoration designs for decision support
Joseph Long (1,5), P. Soupy Dalyander (2,5), Michael Poff (3), Brian Spears (4), Brett Borne (3), David Thompson (5), Rangley Mickey (5), Steve Dartez (3), and Gregory Grandy (6,3)
1) University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403; longjw@uncw.edu
2) The Water Institute of the Gulf, 1110 River Road South, Suite 200, Baton Rouge, LA 70802
3) Coastal Engineering Consultants Inc., 8570 Anselmo Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70810
4) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 341 Greeno Road North, Suite A Fairhope, AL 36532
5) U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, 600 4th Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
6) Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, P.O. Box 44027 Baton Rouge, LA 70804
An interdisciplinary project team was convened to develop a modeling framework that simulates the potential impacts of storms and sea level-rise to habitat availability at Breton Island, Louisiana, for existing conditions and potential future restoration designs. The model framework was iteratively developed through evaluation of model results at multiple checkpoints. A methodology was developed for characterizing regional wave and water levels, and the numerical model XBeach was used to simulate the potential impacts from a wide range of storm events. Simulations quantified the potential for erosion, overwash, and inundation of the pre- and post-restoration beach and dune system and were used as a preliminary screening of restoration designs. The model framework also incorporated a computationally efficient method to evaluate the impacts of storms, long-term shoreline changes, and relative sea level rise over a 15-year time period, in order to evaluate the effect of the preferred restoration alternative on habitat distribution. Results directly informed engineering design decisions and expedited later project stages including the construction permitting process.