Publications

In this work, we show that large-scale compound flood models developed for North and South Carolina, USA, can skillfully simulate multiple drivers of coastal flooding as confirmed by measurements collected during Hurricane Florence (2018). Besides the accuracy of representing observed water levels, the importance of individual processes was investigated. We demonstrate that across the area of inte

Flushing time, the time scale for exchange and mixing between embayed and oceanic waters in an estuary, plays an integral role in determining water quality and aquatic ecosystem health. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal variability of flushing times throughout Morro Bay, a short, low-inflow estuary (LIE) on the California coast, using a calibrated and validated hydrodynamic model (Delft3D).

The archaeological record documenting human history in deserts is commonly concentrated along rivers in terraces or other landforms built by river sediment deposits. Today that record is at risk in many river valleys owing to human resource and infrastructure development activities, including the construction and operation of dams. We assessed the effects of the operations of Glen Canyon Dam – whi

New York City faces accelerating inundation risk from sea level rise, subsidence, and increasing storm intensity from natural and anthropogenic causes. Here we calculate a previously unquantified contribution to subsidence from the cumulative mass and downward pressure exerted by the built environment of the city. We enforce that load distribution in a multiphysics finite element model to calculat

Alviso Slough in South San Francisco Bay has been experiencing restoration of adjacent former salt-production ponds into muted tidal ponds, tidal ponds, and salt marsh. As a result, tidal prism through Alviso Slough has increased and mercury-contaminated sediment has been remobilized. We developed a 2D, high-resolution, process-based model (Delft3D FM-wave) to hindcast observed morpho-dynamic deve

The ability of reefs to protect coastlines from storm-driven flooding hinges on their capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise. Here, we show how and whether coral restoration could achieve the often-cited goal of reversing the impacts of coral-reef degradation to preserve this essential function. We combined coral-growth measurements and carbonate-budget assessments of reef-accretion potential a

The invasive benthic foraminifera Trochammina hadai has been found for the first time in Europe along the coast of Normandy. Its native range of distribution is in Asia (Japan and Korea), and it has also been introduced along the coasts of western North America, Brazil and Australia. Morphological and molecular assessments confirm that specimens found in Le Havre and Caen-Ouistreham harbors belong

The anticipated construction of the Liberty Development Island near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, has created a need to understand how the island may influence sediment transport patterns and deposition on the nearby Boulder Patch ecosystem. This study uses a numerical model to characterize sediment transport pathways in Foggy Island Bay with and without the artificial island in place. We present the Delft

Prediction of shoreline evolution in coastal environments is critical to aid adaptation strategy planning for coastal communities. To perform reliable predictions, process-based shoreline change models have recently gained popularity in many applications. The study region here, Tillamook County, Oregon, on the US Pacific Northwest coast, has recently been experiencing elevated shoreline erosion ra

Sea level rise is expected to affect coastal areas all around the world, including the estuarine environment. New bathymetry collected in 2014 provided a unique opportunity to test the modeling of Elmilady et al. (2019), who presented a morphodynamic DELFT3D model of San Pablo Bay, California, that included detailed tidal water movement, wind-wave action, sediment transport, and resulting bed leve

Considerable uncertainty remains in the budgets of carbonate sediment on reef lined coasts, particularly with respect to the supply of sediment to a reef flat that is then transported throughout a reef system. In this study, we re-examine two recent studies, one on a barrier reef bounded by channels that incise the reef, and one on a fringing reef without channels. Results indicate that the presen

To help guide watershed restoration to reduce the impacts to adjacent coral reefs, the United States Geological Survey and Deltares acquired and analyzed oceanographic and sedimentologic data off 5 West Maui watersheds to calibrate and validate physics-based, numerical hydrodynamic and sediment transport models of the study area. The results indicated sheltered sites are impacted by terrestrial se