SPCMSC Mendenhall fellow presents research for Natural Hazards Mission Area
Presentation by USGS scientist Daniel Ciarletta highlights Mendenhall research to Natural Hazards Mission Area leadership and colleagues.
Aerial photos across a 47 year time span show landscape change at the Holgate peninsula on the south end of Long Beach Island, a barrier island in Atlantic County, New Jersey. The peninsula has undergone extension and inland migration since 1970. All of the images are published through the New Jersey Geographic Information Network (NJGIN), at: https://njgin.nj.gov/njgin/edata/imagery/index.html#!/.
(Credit: Meaghan Faletti, USGS. Public domain.)
To highlight the research being done by Mendenhall fellows at USGS, the NHMA is hosting a series of (virtual) seminars. SPCMSC scientist Daniel Ciarletta volunteered to kick-off the series, presenting his research "Modeling the Morphology of Modern Barrier Islands to Reconstruct Past Coastal Change”. Ciarletta’s presentation explained how he uses a coupled modeling and field approach to reconstruct the evolution of barrier islands and project their future sensitivity to changes in sediment availability and sea-level rise. Fielding questions from NHMA staff, he explained the implications of his work for partners, especially the National Park Service. The agency hopes to host Ciarletta and other SPCMSC staff for field data collection at Fire Island National Seashore in Long Island, New York.
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