A new set of data from a large-scale sand bar migration experiment is presented. During this experiment, two sandbars were generated. One of the bar was generated by the action of undertow, and sediment moved offshore. The other bar was generated by the shoreward movement of sediment coming from the...
Natural habitats have the ability to protect coastal communities against the impacts of waves and storms, yet it is unclear how different habitats complement each other to reduce those impacts. Here, we investigate the individual and combined coastal protection services supplied by live corals on reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove...
Vegetation can protect communities by reducing nearshore wave height and altering sediment transport processes. However, quantitative approaches for evaluating the coastal protection services, or benefits, supplied by vegetation to people in a wide range of coastal environments are lacking. To begin to fill this knowledge gap, we propose an integrated...
South Louisiana has a major coastal erosion problem, exposing coastal communities to storm surge. The state is spending billions of dollars on projects that are not expected to last beyond 20 years. Research indicates that predominate stories influence problem definitions and solutions. Colten (2017) identified a shift in Louisiana's coastal...
To facilitate the design of Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBF) for flood protection, this thesis expands an existing engineering design methodology to NNBF systems. The existing approach is a Level III reliability method for the performance-based design of traditional coastal engineering systems. The expanded methodology incorporates uncertainties inherent to both...
Hazards threaten coastal communities and ecosystems over a wide range of spatiotemporal scales. One of the most pressing concerns for coastal property owners, decision makers, and researchers is the uncertain role that a changing climate will have on the intensity and frequency of these hazards. The significant uncertainties associated with...
As coastal communities face increasing chronic and acute hazards, nature-based coastal engineering solutions have experienced a rapid growth in popularity and interest. Recent works on this topic have shown that “Green Infrastructure” may be effective at mitigating coastal hazards and therefore provide sustainable adaptation alternatives to traditional engineering solutions such...
The use of natural and nature-based features for coastal hazard mitigation, particularly emergent vegetation such as mangrove forests, have become increasingly popular. However, the protection that these systems can provide has not been fully quantified for engineering design, and the uncertainties in parameterized equations have not been fully defined. In...
Successful prediction of nearshore sediment migration is important in determining the vulnerability of a coastline. During energetic wave climates (storm events) sediment rapidly erodes from beaches and is deposited offshore. In subsequent milder wave conditions, the sediment migrates shoreward, accreting on the beach and helping to protect the coastline. It...
Coastal foredunes protect lives, infrastructure, and ecosystems during severe winter storms. In the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW), coastal foredune geomorphology is determined by both physical and ecological mechanisms. Before the 1900's, the native plant Elymus mollis was the dominant dune grass and dune morphology was largely determined by sediment supply...