14 Jun 2024

Application of Coastal Resilience Metrics at Panama City Beach, Florida

Abstract: This study, for the first time, combines the Coastal Engineering Resilience Index (CERI) and Buffer Width (BW) metrics to better understand the historic, current, and future resilience of the coastal system at Panama City Beach, Florida. After the construction of the US Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) project at Panama City Beach, the CERI resilience metric has increased up to 21.3%, while negative storm impacts in the same have been less than 8%. The frequency of nourishment efforts moving forward is justified by a 24.3% increase in the BW metric when comparing cases that are nourished frequently with cases that are not nourished frequently. Moreover, there is a 129.2% increase in the BW metric when comparing the frequently nourished cases with the cases that are nourished only on an emergency basis. While the CERI and BW metrics have both been considered previously, their combined application provides an understanding of a broader temporal view of how storm events, CSRM projects, and nourishments have played a part in the resilience of the system at Panama City Beach over the last two decades and how they may play a role in the next half century.

27 Sep 2022

Analytic Methods for Establishing Restoration Trajectories

Abstract: This special report identifies metrics (standard and novel) and analytic approaches to developing trajectories and then describes the conceptual process of using those metrics and approaches to develop restoration trajectories to inform adaptive management in salt-marsh systems. We identify the composite time series trajectory (CTST) approach, in which metrics are measured from restoration sites of different ages within a small spatial range, and the retrospective single-site trajectory (RSST) approach, in which the same restoration metrics are measured over time at one restoration site. In all, we assessed the metrics of 39 studies of salt-marsh restoration in the United States between 1991 and 2019.

17 Sep 2021

Morphodynamics of Barrier-Inlet Systems in the Context of Regional Sediment Management, with Case Studies from West-Central Florida, USA

Abstract: The temporal and spatial scales controlling the morphodynamics of barrier-inlet systems are critical components of regional sediment management practice. This paper discusses regional sediment management methods employed at multiple barrier-inlet systems, with case studies from West-Central Florida. A decision-support tool is proposed for regional sediment management with discussion of its application to barrier-inlet systems. Connecting multiple barrier islands and inlets at appropriate spatio-temporal scales is critical in developing an appropriately scoped sediment management plan for a barrier-inlet system. Evaluating sediment bypassing capacity and overall inlet morphodynamics can better inform regional sand sharing along barrier-inlet coastlines; particularly where sediment resources are scarce and a close coupling between inlet dredging and beach placement is vital to long-term sustainable management. Continued sea-level rise and anthropogenic activities may intensify the need for investigating longer-term processes and expanding regional planning at a centennial timescale and are acknowledged as challenging tasks for RSM studies. Specifically, we suggested that a regionally focused, multi-inlet study was necessary for management plan of individual inlet for the west-central Florida case studies. Key recommendations based on the case studies are included.