Undeveloped and developed phases in the centennial evolution of a barrier-marsh-lagoon system: The case of Long Beach Island, New Jersey

Tenebruso, Christopher; Nichols-O’Neill, Shane; Lorenzo‐Trueba, Jorge; Ciarletta, Daniel J.; Miselis, Jennifer L.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.958573

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 73 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Modeling of decade to century-scale evolution of human-occupied barriers is limited (McNamara & Werner, 2008a, 2008bMagliocca et al, 2011;Rogers et al, 2015;Miselis & Lorenzo-Trueba, 2017;Karanci et al, 2017;Tenebruso et al, 2022), in part because it is challenging, involving human and natural dynamics that interact across nested spatial scales, and change over time in response to shifts in climate and land use (Lazarus et al, 2016). To overcome this, previous studies have relied on simplified morphodynamic models to investigate generalized behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within these exploratory model frameworks (Murray, 2003;, shoreface and barrier geometries are represented by idealized (nodal) profiles, and cross-shore and alongshore processes are represented through the application of simplifying assumptions. This approach has enabled the identification of important human-natural couplings, such as emergent instabilities in barrier morphology arising from short-term hazard mitigation and policy decisions (McNamara & Werner, 2008a, 2008b; differential filtering of overwash deposition by residential and commercial development (Rogers et al, 2015); shifts in natural patterns of barrier evolution (Tenebruso et al, 2022) and increased vulnerability of developed barriers to drowning by SLR (Miselis & Lorenzo-Trueba, 2017) stemming from human interference in barrier-marsh couplings (reduced overwash delivery, lagoon dredging); and greater swings in barrier stability and more rapid barrier narrowing as a result of dune management strategies (Magliocca et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Future of Developed Barrier Systems - Part I: Pathways Toward Uninhabitability, Drowning, and Rebound

Anarde¹,

Moore²,

Murray³

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Developed barrier systems (barrier islands and spits) are lowering and narrowing with sea-level rise (SLR) such that habitation will eventually become infeasible or prohibitively expensive in its current form. Before reaching this state, communities will make choices to modify the natural and built environment to reduce relatively short-term risk. Using a new coupled modeling framework, we simulate how, over decades to centuries, defensive measures to protect development (roadways and communities) alter the physical characteristics, and therefore habitability, of barrier systems. We find that the pathway toward uninhabitability (via roadway drowning or community narrowing) and future system states (drowning or rebound) depends largely on dune management – which influences overwash delivery to the barrier interior – but also on exogenous conditions (SLR and storminess), initial conditions (barrier elevation and width), and alongshore connectivity of management strategies. The timing and occurrence of barrier drowning depends on the rate of SLR and on stochasticity in the timing and intensity of storms and dune recovery processes. We find that negative feedbacks involving storms can allow barriers that do not drown to rebound toward steady-state geometries within decades after management practices cease. In the case of partial, early abandonment of roadway management (i.e., decades before the road is deemed untenable), we find that system-wide transitions to less vulnerable states are possible, even under accelerated SLR and increased storminess.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Developed Barrier Systems - Part I: Pathways Toward Uninhabitability, Drowning, and Rebound

Anarde¹,

Moore²,

Murray³

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Within these exploratory model frameworks (Murray, 2003(Murray, , 2013, shoreface and barrier geometries are represented by idealized (nodal) profiles, and cross-shore and alongshore processes are represented through the application of simplifying assumptions. This approach has enabled the identification of important human-natural couplings, such as emergent instabilities in barrier morphology arising from short-term hazard mitigation and policy decisions (McNamara & Werner, 2008a, 2008b; differential filtering of overwash by residential and commercial development (Rogers et al, 2015); shifts in natural patterns of barrier evolution (Tenebruso et al, 2022) and increased vulnerability of developed barriers to drowning by SLR (Miselis & Lorenzo-Trueba, 2017) stemming from human interference in barrier-marsh couplings (reduced overwash delivery, lagoon dredging); and greater swings in barrier stability and more rapid barrier narrowing as a result of dune management strategies (Magliocca et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Modeling of decade to century‐scale evolution of human‐occupied barriers is limited (Karanci et al., 2018; Magliocca et al., 2011; McNamara & Werner, 2008a, 2008b; Miselis & Lorenzo‐Trueba, 2017; Rogers et al., 2015; Tenebruso et al., 2022), in part because it is challenging, involving human and natural dynamics that interact across nested spatial scales (Hoagland et al., 2023), and change over time in response to shifts in climate and land use (Lazarus et al., 2016). To overcome this, previous studies have relied on simplified morphodynamic models to investigate generalized behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Developed Barrier Systems: 1. Pathways Toward Uninhabitability, Drowning, and Rebound

Anarde,

Moore,

Murray

et al. 2024

Earth's Future

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many barrier islands and spits (collectively, “barriers”) throughout the world are highly developed. As low‐lying, sandy coastal landforms, barrier systems are naturally reshaped by processes associated with storms and sea‐level rise (SLR). The resulting landscape changes threaten development, and in response, humans employ defensive measures that physically modify barrier geometry to reduce relatively short‐term risk. These measures include the construction of large dunes, emplacement of beach nourishment, and removal of washover. Simulations conducted using a new coupled modeling framework show that, over decades to centuries, measures to protect roadways and communities alter the physical characteristics of barrier systems in ways that ultimately limit their habitability. We find that the pathway toward uninhabitability (via roadway drowning or community narrowing) and future system states (drowning or rebound) depends largely on dune management—because building dunes blocks overwash delivery to the barrier interior—and on initial conditions (barrier elevation and width). In the model, barriers can become lower and narrower with SLR to the point of drowning. The timing and occurrence of barrier drowning depends on randomness in the timing and intensity of storms and dune recovery processes. We find that under a constant rate of SLR, negative feedbacks involving storms can allow barriers that do not drown to rebound toward steady‐state geometries within decades after management practices cease.

show abstract

“…The latter overlaps with the concept of geomorphic capital, which is defined as sediment reserves that must be exhausted before frontal erosion of a barrier transitions to wholesale migration (Mariotti and Hein, 2022). Mesoscale barrier dynamics also include human interventions, which have impacted coastal barriers directly and indirectly for decades to hundreds of years through the manipulation of sediment input and partitioning across the entire shoreface-barrier-marsh-lagoon system (Abam, 1999;Elko et al, 2021;Hein et al, 2019;Rogers et al, 2015;Tenebruso et al, 2022;Williams et al, 2013), as well as through stabilization and destruction of barrier geomorphic boundaries, such as the backbarrier-marsh interface (Stutz and Pilkey, 2005;Tenebruso et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications for the resilience of modern coastal systems derived from mesoscale barrier dynamics at Fire Island, New York

Ciarletta,

Miselis,

Bernier

et al. 2024

Earth Surf. Dynam.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Understanding the response of coastal barriers to future changes in rates of sea level rise, sediment availability, and storm intensity/frequency is essential for coastal planning, including socioeconomic and ecological management. Identifying drivers of past changes in barrier morphology, as well as barrier sensitivity to these forces, is necessary to accomplish this. Using remote sensing, field, and laboratory analyses, we reconstruct the mesoscale (decades–centuries) evolution of central Fire Island, a portion of a 50 km barrier island fronting Long Island, New York, USA. We find that the configuration of the modern beach and foredune at Fire Island is radically different from the system's relict morphostratigraphy. Central Fire Island is comprised of at least three formerly inlet-divided rotational barriers with distinct subaerial beach and dune–ridge systems that were active prior to the mid-19th century. Varying morphologic states reflected in the relict barriers (e.g., progradational and transgressive) contrast with the modern barrier, which is dominated by a tall and nearly continuous foredune and is relatively static, except for erosion and drowning of its fringing marsh. We suggest that this state shift indicates a transition from a regime dominated by inlet-mediated gradients in alongshore sediment availability to one where human impacts exerted greater influence on island evolution from the late 19th century onward. The retention of some geomorphic capital in Fire Island's relict subaerial features combined with its static nature renders the barrier increasingly susceptible to narrowing and passive submergence. This may lead to an abrupt geomorphic state shift in the future, a veiled vulnerability that may also exist in other stabilized barriers.

show abstract

Undeveloped and developed phases in the centennial evolution of a barrier-marsh-lagoon system: The case of Long Beach Island, New Jersey

Cited by 5 publications

References 73 publications

The Future of Developed Barrier Systems - Part I: Pathways Toward Uninhabitability, Drowning, and Rebound

The Future of Developed Barrier Systems - Part I: Pathways Toward Uninhabitability, Drowning, and Rebound

The Future of Developed Barrier Systems: 1. Pathways Toward Uninhabitability, Drowning, and Rebound

Implications for the resilience of modern coastal systems derived from mesoscale barrier dynamics at Fire Island, New York

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About