Modeling the Morphology of Modern Barrier Islands to Reconstruct Past Coastal Change

Barrier islands are dynamic landforms that protect 10% of all coasts, not accounting for barriers in bays and lakes. Yet, the ability to predict their future response to changes in sediment availability, rate of sea-level rise, and storm frequency is impeded by the lack of historical records detailing their past behavior. Using models and targeted field investigations, Dr. Ciarletta will explain novel approaches to use the morphology of modern U.S. east coast barriers to reverse-engineer their past evolutions and sediment budgets