Browsing by Author "Smith, Carter"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Open Access
An Analysis of Material Use in Living Shorelines
(2024-04-25) Exar, Laura
Coastal areas are increasingly affected by anthropogenic climate change through aspects such as flooding and storm surge. Historically, hard structural enforcements like seawalls and bulkheads have been utilized to mitigate these hazards, however, these additions are associated with adverse effects, including increased wave energy, erosion to adjacent properties, and maintenance costs. As an alternative to hard structures, nature-based solutions, such as living shorelines, are now being utilized due to their combined coastal protection and biodiversity benefits. Recent literature has highlighted the knowledge gaps surrounding living shoreline design and material use. Here, we utilize a literature review and field experiment to understand material use in living shorelines and how structural heterogeneity can influence species abundance. The literature review results reveal geographic and temporal trends in the materials utilized. Field results show that increasing the surface heterogeneity of artificial structures resulted in increased oyster abundance. These results are crucial for understanding the most appropriate and efficient designs and materials to further living shoreline implementation.
Open Access
Determining Living Shoreline Distribution in North Carolina: A Mixed Methods Study
(2023-04-28) Lienhard, Kathryn; Fairbairn, Nicholas
Coastal landowners in North Carolina have traditionally deployed hardened structures like seawalls and bulkheads to protect coastal development from erosion and inundation. However, living shorelines have emerged in recent decades as a more ecologically integrated solution, incorporating natural and human-made components to address erosion. To date, few studies have used geospatial tools to understand the deterministic factors driving the distribution of living shorelines in North Carolina. We consider how the distribution of living shorelines varies with a community’s socioeconomic demographics, proximity to enabling institutions, and vulnerability to coastal inundation. We explore the barriers that homeowners face in acquiring a living shoreline and the perceptions that inform their decisions. Using a mixed methods approach, our study uses geospatial tools, decision-tree analysis, and semi-structured interviews with coastal landowners to distill the primary determinants governing the distribution of living shorelines across North Carolina’s coast. We find that among coastal census tracts in North Carolina, the distribution of living shorelines has a significant negative correlation with the percent of the population living in poverty, suggesting that income constrains implementation of these projects. In contrast, vulnerability to coastal inundation and proximity to enabling institutions are not predictive of living shoreline distribution. Interviews elucidate that access to information and relevant networks, capacity to navigate the installation process, and ability to pay informed many homeowners’ decisions to install a living shoreline. Taken together, our findings shed light on the need to consider equity and vulnerability in shoreline protection and coastal restoration.
Open Access
Effects of Oyster Castle reefs on shoreline erosion and sediment composition
(2022-04-20) Rebellon, Juan
Declines in wild oyster populations and the growing need to protect coastal communities have led to the creation of novel reef substrates for use in oyster reef restoration. However, innovations in alternative substrates have outpaced scientific research quantifying their efficacy, leaving managers without the information needed for widespread adoption. To assess the effects of Oyster Castles, a concrete-based oyster restoration structure, on rates of horizontal and vertical shoreline erosion and sediment composition, we constructed replicate reefs just offshore of a medium-energy eroding salt marsh shoreline in North Carolina. We monitored vertical accretion of sediments and sediment composition behind reefs versus control shorelines and also measured rates of horizontal shoreline change over a two-year period. Our results show that reef and control sites did not differ significantly in terms of vertical sediment accretion, horizontal shoreline change, or sediment composition. The lack of differences between our reef and control sites may be due to our reef design choices or to the short study period. To fill the data-gap marine managers face when choosing reef designs, we recommend monitoring restoration sites over longer timeframes (> 5 years) and assessing efficacy differences between reef designs and spatial scales.