Carolina Coastal Change Processes

Objectives

The primary objectives of this project are to investigate the processes that cause coastal change, and develop a capability to predict their impacts. We will build on the findings of previous coastal change and erosion studies (including the North Carolina and South Carolina Regional Coastal Erosion Studies and the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards Project) and utilize resources developed by the Community Sediment Modeling Project. Studies conducted for this project are designed to examine interactions between oceanographic forcing and surface and subsurface coastal geology, and the resulting topographic changes that these interactions cause along inner shelf, nearshore, and subaerial beach. Specifically, the objectives of this project are:

1. Improve our understanding of the processes leading to coastal change at sub-regional to regional scales.

2. Quantify interactions between the geology and physical processes that control coastal behavior.

3. Develop an improved capability for predicting coastal change and vulnerability to coastal hazards.

4. Provide regional information to understand processes of coastal change relevant to the Carolinas.