| Description |
Hurricane Sandy greatly modified the morphology of Atlantic lagoonal estuaries, and it is critical to now assess how those changes, and future storm impacts, affect 1) the resiliency of the coast to future extreme water levels; 2) the resiliency of wetland habitats to wave attack; and 3) sediment transport and water quality. Observations and models enable us to understand the resilience of these estuaries and wetlands to storm forcing from historical and current perspectives and to estimate future responses. Historically, the stratigraphic records in both the estuary and adjacent marsh plain reveal the redistribution of sediment during prior events. Present-day measurements of hydrodynamics and sediment transport provide understanding of which mechanisms govern estuarine and wetland response during storms (e.g. wind-driven circulation, wave action, storm surge) and provide a data set with which to assess numerical models. Finally, numerical modeling of future scenarios provides a range of potential changes that managers and others can use to plan future responses and appropriate resilience strategies. |
