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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment

William & Mary

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Road Network Analyses Elucidate Hidden Costs Of Road Flooding Under Accelerating Sea Level Rise, Molly Mitchell, Jessica Hendricks, Daniel Schatt Mar 2023

Road Network Analyses Elucidate Hidden Costs Of Road Flooding Under Accelerating Sea Level Rise, Molly Mitchell, Jessica Hendricks, Daniel Schatt

VIMS Articles

Introduction: As sea level rises and coastal communities simultaneously grow, road flooding has the potential to significantly disrupt travel along road networks and make houses, businesses, and critical facilities difficult to reach. The impacts of tidal and storm surge flooding on roadways present challenging social and economic considerations for all coastal jurisdictions. Maintenance, public and private accessibility, evacuation routes, emergency services are just a few of the common themes local governments are beginning to address for low-lying roadways currently known to flood. Continuation of these services allows a community to thrive, to maintain or increase its tax base, and to …


Enhancing Assessments Of Blue Carbon Stocks In Marsh Soils Using Bayesian Mixed-Effects Modeling With Spatial Autocorrelation — Proof Of Concept Using Proxy Data, Grace S. Chiu, Molly Mitchell, Julie Herman, Christian Longo, Kate Davis Jan 2022

Enhancing Assessments Of Blue Carbon Stocks In Marsh Soils Using Bayesian Mixed-Effects Modeling With Spatial Autocorrelation — Proof Of Concept Using Proxy Data, Grace S. Chiu, Molly Mitchell, Julie Herman, Christian Longo, Kate Davis

VIMS Articles

Our paper showcases the potential gain in scientific insights about blue carbon stocks (or total organic carbon) when additional rigor, in the form of a spatial autocorrelation component, is formally incorporated into the statistical model for assessing the variability in carbon stocks. Organic carbon stored in marsh soils, or blue carbon (BC), is important for sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. The potential for marshes to store carbon dioxide, mitigating anthropogenic contributions to the atmosphere, makes them a critical conservation target, but efforts have been hampered by the current lack of robust methods for assessing the variability of BC stocks at …


Effects Of Tidal Flooding On Estuarine Biogeochemistry: Quantifying Flood-Driven Nitrogen Inputs In An Urban, Lower Chesapeake Bay Sub-Tributary, Alfonso Macías-Tapia, Margaret R. Mulholland, Corday R. Selden, Jon Derek Loftis, Peter W. Bernhardt Aug 2021

Effects Of Tidal Flooding On Estuarine Biogeochemistry: Quantifying Flood-Driven Nitrogen Inputs In An Urban, Lower Chesapeake Bay Sub-Tributary, Alfonso Macías-Tapia, Margaret R. Mulholland, Corday R. Selden, Jon Derek Loftis, Peter W. Bernhardt

VIMS Articles

Sea level rise has increased the frequency of tidal flooding even without accompanying precipitation in many coastal areas worldwide. As the tide rises, inundates the landscape, and then recedes, it can transport organic and inorganic matter between terrestrial systems and adjacent aquatic environments. However, the chemical and biological effects of tidal flooding on urban estuarine systems remain poorly constrained. Here, we provide the first extensive quantification of floodwater nutrient concentrations during a tidal flooding event and estimate the nitrogen (N) loading to the Lafayette River, an urban tidal sub-tributary of the lower Chesapeake Bay (USA). To enable the scale of …


Impact Assessment And Management Challenges Of Key Rural Human Health Infrastructure Under Sea Level Rise, Molly Mitchell, Robert Isdell, Julie Herman, Christine Tombleson Mar 2021

Impact Assessment And Management Challenges Of Key Rural Human Health Infrastructure Under Sea Level Rise, Molly Mitchell, Robert Isdell, Julie Herman, Christine Tombleson

VIMS Articles

Accelerating sea level rise in Virginia, United States, will significantly increase the flooding threat to low-lying roads, residences, and critical infrastructure as well as raise the water table, allowing saltwater intrusion into well water and threatening the function of septic fields. Although most of the adaptation work in Virginia has focused on urban economic centers, the majority of the coastline is rural and faces different threats and opportunities to address them compared to urban areas due to their reduced economic assets and their reliance on private infrastructure. In this case study, we assess the potential for geospatially quantifying impact to …


Treading Water: Tools To Help Us Coastal Communities Plan For Sea Level Rise Impacts, E A. Smith, W Sweet, Molly Mitchell, R Domingues, C P. Weaver, M Baringer, G Goni, J Haines, Jon Derek Loftis, John D. Boon, David L. Malmquist Jun 2019

Treading Water: Tools To Help Us Coastal Communities Plan For Sea Level Rise Impacts, E A. Smith, W Sweet, Molly Mitchell, R Domingues, C P. Weaver, M Baringer, G Goni, J Haines, Jon Derek Loftis, John D. Boon, David L. Malmquist

VIMS Articles

As communities grapple with rising seas and more frequent flooding events, they need improved projections of future rising and flooding over multiple time horizons, to assist in a multitude of planning efforts. There are currently a few different tools available that communities can use to plan, including the Sea Level Report Card and products generated by a United States. Federal interagency task force on sea level rise. These tools are a start, but it is recognized that they are not necessarily enough at present to provide communities with the type of information needed to support decisions that range from seasonal …


Shorescape-Level Factors Drive Distribution And Condition Of A Salt Marsh Facilitator (Geukensia Demissa), Robert E. Isdell, Donna M. Bilkovic, Carl Hershner Oct 2018

Shorescape-Level Factors Drive Distribution And Condition Of A Salt Marsh Facilitator (Geukensia Demissa), Robert E. Isdell, Donna M. Bilkovic, Carl Hershner

VIMS Articles

Ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) are a highly abundant bivalve filter feeder throughout the salt marshes of the U.S. Atlantic Coast. These mussels form a mutualistic relationship with smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora wherein the grass provides habitat and shade to the mussels, and the mussels stabilize the sediment and fertilize the grass. Salt marshes are, however, rapidly changing and eroding as humans modify the coast, and the rate of sea level rise is accelerating. In order to understand how ribbed mussels may respond to their changing habitat, we collected mussel density and distribution data from 30 marshes covering the range of …