Browsing by Subject "Coastal resilience"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Unknown
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.
Unknown
Application of a Novel Climate Adaptation Tool for Prioritization of Historic Structures in Coastal National Parks
(2024-04-26) Craddock, Everett
Climate change poses a threat to future resource management in National Parks. For coastal parks, cultural resources such as historic structures are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change-related threats such as sea level rise and hurricane storm surge. In the summer of 2023, a novel tool was created at Cape Hatteras National Seashore to provide a simple methodology for prioritizing historic structures for climate adaptation based on physical vulnerability and historic significance metrics. The goal of this Master's Project is to assess the transferability of the novel climate change adaptation prioritization tool and compare the outputs of this tool to the most common climate change vulnerability assessment protocol used in coastal National Parks. The novel tool transferability assessment was conducted by applying the tool to historic structures in Cape Cod National Seashore and concluded that the current iteration of the tool requires modification for application in other parks due to inconsistencies of data applicability and availability and challenges in interpretation of the tool outputs. The comparison between the novel tool and the vulnerability assessment protocol revealed significant disparities between the assessment methodology and recommendations produced, and analysis of the outputs from both tools revealed substantial added value from significance metrics in the novel tool. Lessons learned from this analysis were used to produce recommendations for the National Park Service in development of climate change adaptation guidelines.
Unknown
Assessing Decision-Making in Shoreline Management Among North Carolina’s Waterfront Property Owners
(2018-04-26) McGarry, Jaclyn
The state of North Carolina is abundant in coastal resources including more than 12,000 miles of estuarine shoreline. Of approximately 600 miles of “modified” shoreline, 86.8% involve a bulkhead. Many coastal states now recommend the use of alternative stabilization methods, such as living shorelines or marsh sills. In comparison to bulkheads, seawalls and other hardened structures, these soft shore stabilization techniques better approximate the natural functions of the estuarine ecosystem while slowing the rate of erosion, often at a lower cost. Despite this, bulkheads remain the preferred method of erosion prevention in North Carolina. This project seeks to understand North Carolina waterfront property owners’ perceptions on options for shoreline stabilization and the the critical factors in their decision-making. Information gathered from a series of semi-structured interviews is used to make outreach recommendations within the state’s permitting framework.
Unknown
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.
Unknown
Living Shorelines for Coastal Resilience: Developing a Decision Support Framework to Analyze Coral Reef Restoration Sites
(2020-04-22) Anderson, Kris
Communities around the world seek coastal resilience solutions, as storms increase in intensity and high tide flooding occurs more frequently. With these changes, demand grows to understand and measure the impacts of ecosystem protection and restoration efforts. While previous studies investigated the role of coral reefs in shoreline protection, few offer a comprehensive approach to inform effective restoration and resilience decisions. This research focuses on developing a decision support framework to analyze coral restoration sites and inform coastal resilience decisions through a matrix comparison approach. The research design assembles a literature review, analytic framework development, and analysis built upon case study sites, coastal resilience data, and an information matrix to communicate results. Application of the framework revealed a lack of consistent data across case study sites and points to focus areas for future research. The methodology of the decision support framework offers a general approach, applicable to a broad range of living shorelines and restoration scenarios.
Unknown
MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE OF FLOOD PREPAREDNESS INITIATIVES IN COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA
(2016-04-19) Sechley, Talia
In coastal North Carolina, flooding disasters are expected to increase over the coming decades, since sea level rise in this region is advancing at twice the global rate. Assessing the effectiveness of flood preparedness strategies is essential in order to ensure continued protection against flooding. The goals of this project were to assess the performance of current flood preparedness initiatives, project the future effectiveness of the same strategies, accounting for continuing sea level rise, and identify policies that are maladaptive in light of climate adaptation considerations. Using a case study approach, this analysis revealed that many flood preparedness strategies may have been effective in the past, but do not take into account future sea level rise. In general, approaches to flood preparedness were determined to be maladaptive if they incentivized floodplain development, employed short-term planning horizons, or failed to account for climate change.
Unknown
Were the Post-Sandy Staten Island Buyouts Successful in Reducing National Vulnerability?
(2017-04-28) McGhee, Devon
An increasingly common post-disaster mitigation approach, home buyout programs are generally intended to reduce vulnerability to future disasters. However, to date, there has been no quantitative evaluation of whether or not coastal buyout programs are successful in reducing vulnerability. Through a change in vulnerability analysis, this study quantifies the success of the Staten Island buyout program in reducing the nationwide vulnerability of people and property to coastal flood hazards. Results show an increase in overall vulnerability, which includes exposure and social vulnerability, for 99% of the buyout participants studied. Buyout participants tend to relocate within five miles of their origin addresses, move to areas with higher levels of poverty, higher population density and greater percentages of individuals over 65. This analysis concludes that significant uncertainty remains with respect to whether or not the Staten Island buyout program met its objective of reducing the vulnerability of people and property to coastal flood hazards.