Barrier island vulnerability to breaching: a case study on Dauphin Island, Alabama

Hansen, M.; Sallenger, A. H.

Abstract:

Breaching of barrier islands can adversely impact society by severing infrastructure, destroying private properties, and altering water quality in back bays and estuaries. This study provides a scheme that assesses the relative vulnerability of a barrier island to breach during storms. Dauphin Island, Alabama was selected for this study because it has a well documented history of island breaches and extensive geological and geomorphic data. To assess the vulnerability of the island, we defined several variables contributing to the risk of breaching: island geology, breaching history, and island topography and geomorphology. These variables were combined to form a breaching index (BI) value for cross island computational bins, each bin every 50 m in the alongshore direction. Results suggest the eastern section of Dauphin Island has the lowest risk of breaching with the remaining portion of the island having a moderate to high risk of breaching. Two reaches in the western section of the island were found to be particularly vulnerable due primarily to their minimal cross-sectional dimensions.

Genre:

Conference Paper

ProdID:

70031305

Citation Author:

Hansen, M.; Sallenger, A. H.

Citation Contributing Office:

Citation Datum:

Citation Day:

Citation Edition:

Citation Editor:

Citation End Page:

Citation Issue:

Citation Keywords:

Citation Language:

English

Citation Larger Work Title:

Coastal Sediments '07 - Proceedings of 6th International Symposium on Coastal Engineering and Science of Coastal Sediment Processes

Citation LatN:

Citation LatS:

Citation LonE:

Citation LonW:

Citation Month:

Citation No Pagination:

Citation Number Of Pages:

Citation Online Only Flag:

Citation Phsyical Description:

Citation Projection:

Citation Public Comments:

Citation Publisher:

Citation Series:

Citation Series Code:

Citation Series Number:

Citation Search Results Text:

Barrier island vulnerability to breaching: a case study on Dauphin Island, Alabama; 2007; Conference Paper; Coastal Sediments ‘07 - Proceedings of 6th International Symposium on Coastal Engineering and Science of Coastal Sediment Processes; Hansen, M.; Sallenger, A. H.