Coastal barrier environments are dynamic landscapes that can change dramatically within human timescales. As sea level rises and storminess increases in association with climate change, wave behavior (dominant orientation, power) is also changing, with significant implications for the evolution of … Read more

The response of barrier landscapes to storm events can vary substantially at a range of spatial scales, even within an individual barrier island. To characterize alongshore variations in morphological response to and recovery from storm events, we are comparing lidar … Read more

In order for barrier islands to persist during periods of sea level rise (SLR), they must migrate landward to maintain their elevations relative to sea level. The ability of an individual island to effectively migrate is controlled by complex interactions … Read more

Vegetation is a key contributor to the development of topographic relief on barrier islands, and thus can be influential in determining barrier island susceptibility to overwash. As global temperatures increase, cool-weather grasses that build continuous dunes in the mid-Atlantic coastal … Read more