The Influence of Barrier Islands on Hurricane-Generated Storm Surge and Waves in Louisiana and Mississippi

Grzegorzewski, Alison Sleath; Cialone, Mary A.; Lansen, A.J.; Ledden, Mathijs van; Smith, Jane McKee; Wamsley, Ty V.

doi:10.1142/9789814277426_0087

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…This confirms findings in previous numerical modeling efforts (Grzegorzewski et al, 2008;Grzegorzewski, Cialone, and Wamsley, 2011;Otten, Bakker, and Meijer, 2006;TBS&S, 1997), which found that the barrier islands may block surge water completely when facing low-intensity but frequent storms or limit overtopping water volume when facing highintensity hurricanes. Although direct measurements of the reduction of surge elevation in the back embayment area behind barrier islands are rarely available, numerical studies have proven that shrinking barrier islands increase the level of flooding risks on the leeward side of the barrier islands (Cialone, 1993;Stone, Zhang, and Sheremet, 2005).…”

Section: Barataria Bay and Lake Pontchartrainsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Both restored barrier islands and the land accretion from sediment-diversion projects effectively reduced the significant wave heights due to bathymetric and frictional effects. Both numerical studies and analysis of historical data have shown that coastal barriers, especially the barrier island chains, can effectively reduce the risk of waves in the area behind the islands during storm events (Cialone, 1993;Grzegorzewski et al, 2008). Benefits of barrier islands for reducing wave heights were also confirmed in the current study.…”

Section: Barataria Bay and Lake Pontchartrainsupporting

confidence: 71%

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Surge and Wave Modeling for the Louisiana 2012 Coastal Master Plan

Cobell

Zhao

Roberts

et al. 2013

Journal of Coastal Research

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Cobell, Z.; Zhao, H.; Roberts, H.J.; Clark, F.R.The goal of the study was to evaluate various coastal restoration and protection projects and the associated benefits for reductions in storm surge and wave height. Efforts in numerical modeling have been made to create a database of storm surge and wave responses to a set of hypothetical storms under current and various future conditions. The ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) and the Unstructured Simulating WAves Nearshore (UnSWAN) models were selected for this study. A coarser version of the state-of-the-art, southern Louisiana, unstructured mesh was developed to reduce computational overhead while maintaining critical hydraulic features. Model outputs were reviewed and analyzed from coastwide and onshore-transect points of view. The potential benefits of restoration and protection projects proposed in the Master Plan were examined by comparing Future without Action outputs to the Master Plan outputs. Hurricane protection projects, such as levees, provide remarkable protection at their leesides but increase and redistribute surge water at their front sides. Narrow, restored landscapes, such as barrier islands or ridges, may provide wave attenuation to some extent but, in many cases, provide minimal benefits in surge level reduction. Larger-scale restoration projects, such as sediment diversions, can result in land accretion and enhance vegetation coverage, thus resulting in notable benefits associated with damping waves and storm surge and ultimately reducing risk for inland communities. ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Coastal Louisiana, storm surge, waves, restoration and protection, numerical modeling.

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Section: Barataria Bay and Lake Pontchartrainsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Barataria Bay and Lake Pontchartrainsupporting

confidence: 71%

Surge and Wave Modeling for the Louisiana 2012 Coastal Master Plan

Cobell

Zhao

Roberts

et al. 2013

Journal of Coastal Research

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“…One specific measure that receives much attention is the (re)creation of wetlands and barrier islands. Their presence could reduce the surge levels near populated areas (see Grzegorzewski et al , 2008). The impacts of wetlands on the surge levels used for design can be taken into account.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk‐based design of flood defence systems: a preliminary analysis of the optimal protection level for the New Orleans metropolitan area

Jonkman¹,

Kok²,

Ledden³

et al. 2009

J Flood Risk Management

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After the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans due to hurricane Katrina, plans have been developed for the improvement of the flood protection system of the city. In this paper, we apply the principles used in the Netherlands for risk‐based design of flood protection systems to the New Orleans metropolitan area. In this so‐called economic optimization, the incremental investments in more safety are balanced with the reduction of the risk to find an optimal level of flood protection. Although the analyses are preliminary and not yet fully realistic, the presented outcomes indicate that for densely populated areas, such as the central parts of New Orleans, it could be justified to choose a higher protection level than the currently proposed level of 1/100 per year. The results of the economic optimization can be considered as technical advice that can be used as input for the (political) decision‐making.

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The Influence of Barrier Islands on Hurricane-Generated Storm Surge and Waves in Louisiana and Mississippi

Cited by 2 publications

References 4 publications

Surge and Wave Modeling for the Louisiana 2012 Coastal Master Plan

Surge and Wave Modeling for the Louisiana 2012 Coastal Master Plan

Risk‐based design of flood defence systems: a preliminary analysis of the optimal protection level for the New Orleans metropolitan area

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