I investigate the evolution of barrier island morphology to learn about how changes in sediment availability, sea-level rise, and other environmental factors impact coastal resiliency and vulnerability. To accomplish this, I combine field approaches with numerical modeling to quantify geomorphological change through time.
I received my B.S. in Oceanography from the Florida Institute of Technology, and an M.S. in Geoscience plus a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Management from Montclair State University. I received a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellowship from the USGS and started work at the Saint Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in 2019, where I currently research the effects of sediment availability on barrier island evolution.
Science and Products
Storm-Related Barrier Island Morphological Evolution
Barrier Island Sensitivity to Changes in Sediment Supply
Shoreface Morphology and Geology
Modeling Barrier Island Evolution, Shoreface Morphology, and Overwash
Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF) Capabilities
Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF)
Undeveloped and developed phases in the centennial evolution of a barrier-marsh-lagoon system: The case of Long Beach Island, New Jersey
Impacts of sediment removal from and placement in coastal barrier island systems
Executive SummaryOn June 24, 2019, Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to the directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to request their assistance in answering questions regarding coastal sediment resource management within the Coastal Barrier Resources System as defined by the Coastal Barrier
Quantifying thresholds of barrier geomorphic change in a cross-shore sediment-partitioning model
Barrier coasts, including barrier islands, beach-ridge plains, and associated landforms, can assume a broad spectrum of morphologies over multi-decadal scales that reflect conditions of sediment availability, accommodation, and relative sea-level rise. However, the quantitative thresholds of these controls on barrier-system behavior remain largely unexplored, even as modern sea-level rise and anth
Relative influence of antecedent topography and sea-level rise on barrier-island migration
Subaerial Barrier Sediment Partitioning (SBSP) Model Version 1.0
Science and Products
- Science
Storm-Related Barrier Island Morphological Evolution
Storms quickly and dramatically alter barrier island environments by changing adjacent seafloor morphology, eroding beaches, scarping or leveling dunes, and sometimes creating new inlets. Measuring the magnitude of barrier island sediment movement during and after storms allows us to track rates of beach recovery, dune growth, and inlet-related alterations to barrier island sediment supply.Barrier Island Sensitivity to Changes in Sediment Supply
Observations and models show that maintaining barrier islands requires a balance between sea-level rise and sediment supply. However, most estimates of sediment supply are not based on modern conditions, which could result in less accurate predictions of sediment fluxes. We explore how natural and human alterations impact modern sediment fluxes, or changes, on barrier islands – research that has...Shoreface Morphology and Geology
Exchanges of sediment between the shoreface and barrier islands allow barrier islands to adjust to changes in water level, such as those associated with storms or sea-level rise. Characterizing shoreface morphology and geology allows us to explore how past and present processes have impacted modern barrier island sediment transport and what that means for future barrier island evolution.Modeling Barrier Island Evolution, Shoreface Morphology, and Overwash
Barrier island field observations provide information about past and current environmental conditions and changes over time; however, they can’t tell us about the future. Models can predict possible future behaviors but are only as good as their input data. By integrating both observations and models, we can extend observations and arrive at more realistic predictions of barrier island behavior...Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF) Capabilities
As part of the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project, we use innovative technology and integrate a variety of techniques to characterize barrier island environments, reconstruct their past history, and predict their future vulnerability.Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF)
Sediments are the foundation of coastal systems, including barrier islands. Their behavior is driven by not only sediment availability, but also sediment exchanges between barrier island environments. We collect geophysical, remote sensing, and sediment data to estimate these parameters, which are integrated with models to improve prediction of coastal response to extreme storms and sea-level rise... - Publications
Undeveloped and developed phases in the centennial evolution of a barrier-marsh-lagoon system: The case of Long Beach Island, New Jersey
Barrier islands and their associated backbarrier environments protect mainland population centers and infrastructure from storm impacts, support biodiversity, and provide long-term carbon storage, among other ecosystem services. Despite their socio-economic and ecological importance, the response of coupled barrier-marsh-lagoon environments to sea-level rise is poorly understood. Undeveloped barriImpacts of sediment removal from and placement in coastal barrier island systems
Executive SummaryOn June 24, 2019, Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to the directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to request their assistance in answering questions regarding coastal sediment resource management within the Coastal Barrier Resources System as defined by the Coastal Barrier
Quantifying thresholds of barrier geomorphic change in a cross-shore sediment-partitioning model
Barrier coasts, including barrier islands, beach-ridge plains, and associated landforms, can assume a broad spectrum of morphologies over multi-decadal scales that reflect conditions of sediment availability, accommodation, and relative sea-level rise. However, the quantitative thresholds of these controls on barrier-system behavior remain largely unexplored, even as modern sea-level rise and anth
Relative influence of antecedent topography and sea-level rise on barrier-island migration
The response of barrier islands to sea-level rise is modulated by combinations of coastal processes, eco-geomorphic feedbacks, and structural controls, such as antecedent topography. Interactions among these drivers can lead to complex and non-linear changes in island morphology and transitions between migrational, erosional, or progradational states. This study seeks to constrain the morphologic - Software
Subaerial Barrier Sediment Partitioning (SBSP) Model Version 1.0
The Subaerial Barrier Sediment Partitioning (SBSP) model is a framework to simulate the morphological development of an idealized barrier coast in the cross-shore domain. The model code, built in MATLAB, consists of two scripts which must reside within the same folder when executed. The first, SBSP_InputControl.m, contains the user-defined input variables to run the simulation. The second, SBSP_Pr - News
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