Exploring Ecological, Morphological, and Environmental Controls on Coastal Foredune Evolution at Annual Scales Using a Process-Based Model

Selwyn S. Heminway (), Nicholas Cohn, Elizabeth H. Davis, Andrew White, Christopher J. Hein and Julie C. Zinnert
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Selwyn S. Heminway: Oak Ridge Institute for Research and Education, 1299 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
Nicholas Cohn: Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 1261 Duck Rd, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949, USA
Elizabeth H. Davis: Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, 1375 Greate Rd, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
Andrew White: Oak Ridge Institute for Research and Education, 1299 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
Christopher J. Hein: Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, 1375 Greate Rd, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
Julie C. Zinnert: Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 W Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-24

Abstract: Coastal communities commonly rely upon foredunes as the first line of defense against sea-level rise and storms, thus requiring management guidance to optimize their protective services. Here, we use the AeoLiS model to simulate wind-driven accretion and wave-driven erosion patterns on foredunes with different morphologies and ecological properties under modern-day conditions. Additional sets of model runs mimic potential future climate changes to inform how both morphological and ecological properties may have differing contributions to net dune changes under evolving environmental forcing. This exploratory study, applied to represent the morphological, environmental, and ecological conditions of the northern Outer Banks, North Carolina, USA, finds that dunes experiencing minimal wave collision have similar net volumetric growth rates regardless of beach morphology, though the location and density of vegetation influence sediment deposition patterns across the dune profile. The model indicates that high-density, uniform planting strategies trap sediment close to the dune toe, whereas low-density plantings may allow for accretion across a broader extent of the dune face. The initial beach and dune shape generally plays a larger role in annual-scale dune evolution than vegetation cover. For steeper beach slopes and/or low dune toe elevations, the model generally predicts wave-driven dune erosion at the annual scale.

Keywords: coastal dunes; aeolian transport; coastal erosion; AeoLiS; nature-based solutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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