易胜博官网

After a summer of high heat, intensely destructive hurricanes, constant flooding and steady sea level rise, coastal roads have taken a beating, threatening their ability to transport people, goods and services. With a new $1.8 million National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant, 易胜博官网 researchers will study how and why coastal hazards like excessive flooding are causing roads to fail and how to protect this critical infrastructure.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to better understand the causal links of not only the extreme events but also the gradual changes in sea level rise that can increase the rate of damage to pavement and trigger failures that require major road reconstruction,鈥� says , professor of civil and environmental engineering. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at storm surges and wave action but also factors like the amount of time the pavement is under water.鈥�

The focus of the project is to understand the combined hazards of overtopping and subsurface moisture 鈥� flooding from above and below the road. 易胜博官网 researchers, including civil and environmental engineering professor and associate professor , and their partners at the University of South Alabama and the will develop a number of hydrodynamic models that can analyze fluids in motion. They will use new data collected in the field as well as historical information to create high-resolution models to study groundwater and pavement as well as perform an adaptation impact assessment to develop a toolkit to help assess the vulnerability of roadways to flooding hazards.

鈥淚mproving coastal roads to withstand the increasing water hazards is important not only for transportation and the people who live there but also for the overall economy and ecosystems in the area.鈥� 听

Researchers say that while engineers have investigated these impacts independently, an approach is needed that combines the different effects to better evaluate options when it comes to pavement alternatives. This information will be valuable to state and town officials to assess the impact of sea level rise on the longevity of coastal roadways and help implement practical alternatives for communities to protect the infrastructure.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to prioritize and share this information so we can create important decision-making tools, identify institutional barriers and develop policies needed to update state transportation agency coastal resilience practices,鈥� says Sias. 鈥淚mproving coastal roads to withstand the increasing water hazards is important not only for transportation and the people who live there but also for the overall economy and ecosystems in the area.鈥� 听

Taking into account factors like climate change and shifting weather patterns, the study will focus on two geographically and geologically diverse coastal regions 鈥� the northeast coast of 易胜博官网 and the southeast coast of Alabama. The research team will work with key end users to determine adaptation approaches and new management policies and practices for transportation agencies that positively impact surrounding communities.

The grant is part of NOAA鈥檚 E, which is based in the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). The ESLR provides a suite of science products to inform coastal managers of local coastal vulnerability and solutions to mitigate flood risk. NCCOS delivers ecosystem science solutions for NOAA鈥檚 National Ocean Service and its partners, bringing research, scientific information and tools to help balance the nation鈥檚 ecological, social and economic goals.

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