Assessing the effectiveness of nourishment in decadal barrier island morphological resilience
March 30, 2021
Nourishment has shown to be an effective method for short-term storm protection along barrier islands and sandy beaches by reducing flooding, wave attack and erosion. However, the ability of nourishment to mitigate the effects of storms and sea level rise (SLR) and improve coastal resilience over decadal time scales is not well understood. This study uses integrated models of storm-driven hydrodynamics, morphodynamics and post-storm dune recovery to assess the effectiveness of beach and dune nourishment on barrier island morphological resilience over a 30-year period, accounting for storms and a moderate amount of SLR. Results show that at the end of the 30 years, nourishment contributes to maintaining island volumes by increasing barrier height and width compared with a no-action scenario (i.e., no nourishment, only natural recovery). During storms where the collision regime was dominant, higher volumes of sand were lost from the wider beach in the nourishment scenario than in the no-action scenario. During stronger storms, nourishment reduced dune overtopping compared with the no-action scenario, allowing the island to maintain height and width. Additionally, nourishment was particularly effective in reducing breaching during back-to-back storms occurring in the same year.
Citation Information
| Publication Year | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Title | Assessing the effectiveness of nourishment in decadal barrier island morphological resilience |
| DOI | 10.3390/w13070944 |
| Authors | Davina Passeri, Matthew V. Bilskie, Scott C. Hagen, Rangley C. Mickey, P Soupy Dalyander, Victor Gonzalez |
| Publication Type | Article |
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Series Title | Water |
| Index ID | 70220274 |
| Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
| USGS Organization | St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center |
Related Content
Assessing the Effectiveness of Nourishment in Decadal Barrier Island Morphological Resilience: Model Inputs and Outputs
The effectiveness of nourishment in decadal barrier island morphological resilience was assessed using the XBeach model to simulate morphologic change over a 30-year period at Dauphin Island, AL, under scenarios of no-action and beach and dune nourishment, as described in Passeri et al., 2021. The 30-year simulation used a storm climatology developed for the region based on synthetic tropical cycl
Davina L. Passeri, PhD
Research Oceanographer
Research Oceanographer
Email
Phone
Rangley Mickey
Physical Scientist
Physical Scientist
Email
Phone
Related Content
- Data
Assessing the Effectiveness of Nourishment in Decadal Barrier Island Morphological Resilience: Model Inputs and Outputs
The effectiveness of nourishment in decadal barrier island morphological resilience was assessed using the XBeach model to simulate morphologic change over a 30-year period at Dauphin Island, AL, under scenarios of no-action and beach and dune nourishment, as described in Passeri et al., 2021. The 30-year simulation used a storm climatology developed for the region based on synthetic tropical cycl - Connect
Davina L. Passeri, PhD
Research OceanographerEmailPhoneRangley Mickey
Physical ScientistEmailPhone