Researchers discuss how differing degrees of coastline engineering at Long Island barrier islands influence their morphologic evolution at City College of New York seminar
SPCMSC Research Geologists Daniel Ciarletta and Emily Wei will present a talk, “Comparing the impacts of framework geology and coastal management on the morphologic evolution of Long Island Barriers” to students and professors at the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, City College of New York.
This talk by Drs. Ciarletta and Wei will highlight how geology and coastal management influence the resilience and availability of sediment at two coastal barrier systems at Long Island, NY: Fire Island and the Rockaway Peninsula. Despite being historically linked by alongshore sediment transport, the morphology of Fire Island and Rockaway are vastly different from each other due to human development and management strategies.
This presentation will draw from Dr. Ciarletta’s research using ground-penetrating radar and sediment cores to understand the terrestrial evolution of Fire Island. His work found that past inlet activity is still affecting sediment storage and release on the island today and is contributing to lags in morphological response that could decrease the future resilience of the barrier. Dr. Wei’s research uses marine-based seismic reflection and multibeam bathymetry to understand geologic and anthropogenic controls on sediment reservoirs. Her work revealed that sediment availability varies along the peninsula in accordance with glacial outwash deposits, sediment accommodation, and human modifications to the coastline such as jetties and groins. Thus, these barriers within the same coastal system are expected to continue evolving differently from each other despite experiencing similar forcing from increasing rate of sea-level rise and storm frequency/intensity. This complexity presents challenges to future management; however, these investigations may provide the insights necessary to prepare for the range of barrier morphological responses that could arise in the coming decades.
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