Publications

Dune restoration projects that integrate re-vegetation efforts have become increasingly popular in coastal communities. Vegetated dunes have high aesthetic value and are likely to be more resilient to wave-induced erosion. Restored vegetation is likely to act as a stabilizing agent in dune systems; however, there is virtually no scientific knowledge on the impact of plants on dune erosion and protective capabilities during storms. [Read more…] about Coastal sand dunes and dune vegetation: Restoration, erosion, and storm protection

Aeolian sand beds exhibit regular patterns of ripples resulting from the interaction between topography and sediment transport. [Read more…] about Direct numerical simulations of aeolian sand ripples

Interactions between backbarrier marshes and barrier islands will likely play an important role in determining how low-lying coastal systems respond to sea level rise and changes in storminess in the future. [Read more…] about Interactions Between Barrier Islands and Backbarrier Marshes affect Island System Response to Sea Level Rise: Insights from a coupled model

Coastal dunes can protect communities and infrastructure against storm surge and wave attack. They provide a natural barrier of granular material that erodes during storm conditions and dissipates wave energy in the process. Vegetation is abundantly present in most coastal dunes and may enhance the capability of the dune to withstand erosion. [Read more…] about Erosion of vegetated coastal dunes

Barchan dunes — crescent-shaped dunes that form in areas of unidirectional winds and low sand availability — commonly display an asymmetric shape, with one limb extended downwind. Several factors have been identified as potential causes for barchan dune asymmetry on Earth and Mars: asymmetric bimodal wind regime, topography, influx asymmetry and dune collision. [Read more…] about Origins of Barchan Dune Asymmetry: Insights from Numerical Simulations

Coastal dunes, in particular foredunes, support a resilient ecosystem and reduce coastal vulnerability to storms. In contrast to dry desert dunes, coastal dunes arise from interactions between biological and physical processes. [Read more…] about Vegetation Controls on the Maximum Size of Coastal Dunes

Vegetation canopies control mean and turbulent flow structure as well as surface wave processes in coastal regions. A non-hydrostatic RANS model based on NHWAVE (Ma et al., 2012) is developed to study turbulent mixing, surface wave attenuation and nearshore circulation induced by vegetation. A nonlinear k − ϵ model accounting for vegetation-induced turbulence production is implemented to study turbulent flow within the vegetation field. [Read more…] about Numerical study of turbulence and wave damping induced by vegetation canopies

This paper describes the three-dimensional velocity flow field measurements in the vicinity of the inlet mouth of a cutterhead suction dredge. Using acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs), an accurate visualization of the velocity flow field was used to determine a region of inflow around the cutterhead. [Read more…] about Laboratory Measurements of the Suction Inlet Flow Field of A Model Cutter Suction Dredge

Sediment transport is studied as a function of the grain to fluid density ratio using two phase numerical simulations based on a discrete element method for particles coupled to a continuum Reynolds averaged description of hydrodynamics. [Read more…] about Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Sediment Transport, From Bed Load to Saltation

The quantity of resuspended solids (RSS) created during dredging operations is both a production and environmental issue. Numerical models predict the movement of sediment plumes from dredging operations; however, these far-field models need a “source term” as input. The purpose of this work was to generate a “source term” by developing a near-field resuspension model for cutter suction dredging operations. [Read more…] about Near-Field Resuspension Model for a Cutter Suction Dredge