Files
Abstract
Storm surge poses a major risk in the northern Gulf of Mexico, causing inundation and erosion of low-lying barrier islands. This reduces the flood protection that barrier islands provide to the mainland. Hydrodynamics and morphology were simulated at Dauphin Island, Alabama, and Petit Bois Island, Mississippi, between 2005 and 2020. Tropical cyclone-driven hydrodynamics were simulated using ADCIRC+SWAN. Then, storm-induced morphological changes and natural recovery were simulated using XBEACH and EDGR process-based morphologic models. The resulting elevation was used for the following storm simulation. Averaged across all storms, differences at the mainland were 2.2 and 0.9 cm, and differences near the islands were 1.2 and 6.4 cm. The maximum difference in peak wave height was 84.1 cm greater at the barrier islands than the mainland. Understanding how using different representations of barrier island morphology impacts simulated hydrodynamics can help improve engineering design and restoration planning on the mainland and the islands.