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Abstract
Coastal infrastructure in the form of seawalls and salt marshes is essential for the success of the economy, society, and environment. Such infrastructure (both natural and constructed) around the world enables trade, connects communities, creates opportunities, and protects from the unpredictable natural environment. Without reliable coastal infrastructure, our nation would not be what it is today, which is why these assets need to be upheld and protected through efficient asset management and monitoring. Unlike sea walls and other gray infrastructure, there is no well-established monitoring method for salt marshes in the context of asset management. In this thesis, I evaluate current monitoring methods for gray infrastructure and salt marshes. I use measured salt marsh erosion rates over time in order to develop guidelines for monitoring wave reduction in salt marsh habitats. Salt marsh erosion rates were compared over the years utilizing different environmental thresholds and variations to ensure a conservative approach to monitoring over time. The proposed approach is derived from current asset management approaches for monitoring gray infrastructure. The intent of using an asset management approach was to ensure that the proposed monitoring method fits into universal standards of current infrastructure assessment, in the form of a rating scale. Based on this evidence, a condition assessment rating and maintenance plan for salt marshes is proposed along with recommended remediation methods and hybrid infrastructure plans.