Coastal flood protection by a combined nature-based and engineering approach: Modeling the effects of marsh geometry and surrounding dikes

Abstract

As ecosystem-based adaptation to global change is gaining ground, strategies to protect coastal and estuarine areas from increasing flood hazards are starting to consist of natural tidal wetland conservation and restoration in addition to conventional coastal defense structures. In this study, the capacity of tidal wetlands to locally attenuate peak water levels during storm tides is analyzed using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model (TELEMAC2D) for a 3000 ha intertidal marsh (SW Netherlands). Model results indicate that peak water level reduction largely varies between individual flooding events and between different locations in the marsh. Model scenarios with variable dike positions show that attenuation rates can be minimized by blockage and set up of water levels against dikes or other structures confining the marsh size. This blockage only affects peak water level attenuation across wetlands if the duration of the flood wave is long compared to the marsh size. A minimum marsh width of 6 to 10 km is required to completely avoid blockage effects for the storm tidal cases assessed in this study. If blockage does not affect flood wave propagation, variations in attenuation rates between different locations in the marsh and between tides with varying high water levels can be explained with a single relationship based on the ratio between the water volume on the marsh platform and the total water volume on the platform and in the channels. Attenuation starts to occur when this ratio exceeds 0.2-0.4 and increases from there on up to a maximum of 29 cm/km for a ratio of about 0.85. Furthermore, model scenarios with varying marsh channel depth show that marsh scale attenuation rates increase by up to 4 cm/km if the channel elevation is raised by 0.7 m on average. Conversely, marsh scale attenuation rates decrease by up to 2 cm/km for scenarios in which the channels are lowered by 0.9 m on average. The marsh platform elevation has little effect on the maximum attenuation, but it determines which tides are attenuated. In particular, only overmarsh tides that inundate the platform are attenuated, while undermarsh tides that only flood the marsh channels are not attenuated or even amplified. These findings may assist coastal communities and managers in the optimization of the coastal defense function of tidal wetlands in combination with dikes.

Detecting the Morphology of Prograding and Retreating Marsh Margins—Example of a Mega-Tidal Bay

“…Salt marshes filter organic and metallic pollutants [7,8] and provide important nursing grounds for wildlife, including commercially exploited species such as Brown Shrimp [9]. Furthermore, their high productivity makes salt marshes important sites of blue carbon sequestration [10] and their vegetation and topography reduce storm surges and damp waves [11][12][13][14][15]. The loss of salt marshes to the sea is predicted to cause significant losses to the ecosystem services they provide [16] and release stored carbon into the ocean [17,18], diminishing its capacity to siphon atmospheric carbon.…”

The Sensitivity of a Dike-Marsh System to Sea-Level Rise—A Model-Based Exploration

“…Stark et al [54] explained that the ability of marshes to attenuate water levels is determined by the combination of friction effects along the tidal channels and their convergence. Models suggest a small and shallow tidal channel system will result in more attenuation than one with wide, deep channels [55]. Attenuation is strongest for surges up to about 1 m above the marsh platform and diminishes with higher inundation levels and longer lasting events [54,56].…”

Numerical modelling approach for the management of seasonal influenced river channel entrance

“…A good number of such studies were conducted, including those undertaken in the Mekong River Delta in Cambodia, which discharges into the South China Sea (United Nations, 1969;Kocar and Scott, 2012;Xue et al, 2012;Schmitt and Albers, 2014). Numerical modelling was applied in this case to predict the outcomes of different management solutions (Wang et al, 2014;Stark et al, 2016) or even the future shapes of the river channel entrances, due to its cost effectiveness advantages-cheaper and faster than physical modelling.…”