Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Captain Sinclair's Recreational Area Living Shoreline And Oyster Restoration, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr.

Reports

Presentation report on Captain Sinclair's Recreational Area Living Shoreline and Oyster Restoration project.

Project awarded 2023 ASBPA Best Restored Shore award

Occohannock On The Bay Living Shoreline Project, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan

Reports

Presentation report on Occohannock on the Bay (Camp Occohannock) Living Shoreline restoration project.

Project Purpose:

Demonstrate living shorelines as cost-effective, hybrid green-gray infrastructure approach for protecting local communities from coastal hazards while enhancing coastal resilience and ecosystem health.

Project awarded ASBPA Best Restored Shore Award for 2023

Increasing Use Of Natural And Nature-Based Features To Build Resilience To Storm-Driven Flooding, Final Report, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Pamela Mason, Jessica Hendricks, Julie Herman, Karen Duhring, Carl Hershner

Reports

In coastal Virginia today, local governments are dealing with recurrent flooding driven by coastal storms, exacerbated by rising sea level and increased frequency of intense rain events. At the same time, they are confronted with increasing demands on limited resources to address issues coastal flooding in concert with water quality, wetlands management, shoreline erosion, habitat, and community needs such as infrastructure, flood insurance and open space. One solution is to maximize the protection of existing and implement new natural and nature-based features (NNBFs) to capitalize on the provision of multiple benefits to address many of these coastal issues.

There are …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia’S Rivers 2021 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-fourth year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2021, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007, ASMFC 2020).

We also report on two fishery independent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 4) and the Chickahominy River (year 7; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia’S Rivers 2022 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2022, evaluating hatchery programs and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007a; ASMFC 2020). We also report on a fishery-independent monitoring program to determine abundance and stock structure of river herring (A. pseudoharengus, and A. aestivalis) in Virginia by evaluating the adult spawning runs in the Chickahominy River, a major tributary of the James River, and the Rappahannock River. Further, a …

The Resilience Adaptation Feasibility Tool (Raft) As An Approach For Incorporating Equity Into Coastal Resilience Planning And Project Implementation, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Tanya Denckla Cobb, Elizabeth Andrews, Sierra Gladfelter, Gray Montrose

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

As coastal communities across the U.S. and worldwide undertake efforts to enhance their resilience to coastal hazards, they must do so while ensuring that all voices are heard, addressing and preventing disparate impacts, and, ultimately, increasing resilience in an equitable way. The Resilience Adaptation Feasibility Tool (RAFT) assists coastal communities in incorporating equity into resilience planning and implementation of projects to increase resilience. The RAFT includes social and economic dimensions in assessment of resilience and focuses on how localities can build resilience equitably. The RAFT process has three phases -- a scorecard assessment, development of a resilience action checklist that …

Management Practices For Urban Areas In The Hampton Roads Vicinity: Data Files, Gary F. Anderson

Data

During 1980 through 1981, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science conducted studies in the Hampton Roads Virginia vicinity to assess pollutant loading in runoff from various land use types. The 13 urban study areas also included established BMPs such as grassy swales and retention ponds to measure their effectiveness in reducing pollutant loads to the Chesapeake Bay. The focus was on nutrients, BOD and suspended solids. The studies were conducted with support of the U.S. EPA under section 208 of the Federal Clean Water Act.

Methods and results are documented in the associated publication. Data files were processed using SPSS …

Ware River Intensive Watershed Study Data Files - Part 2. Estuarine Receiving Water Quality, Gary F. Anderson

Data

The Ware River is a small coastal estuary draining into the Chesapeake Bay estuary. VIMS monitored the Ware watershed for rain events, runoff, and impacts to the estuary from April 1979 through July 1981. This entry contains the estuarine receiving water quality monitoring data files for the portion of the study known as Part 2 – Estuarine Receiving Water Quality. A set of stations on the tidal estuarine portion of the river were sampled by-monthly during high slack tide events. The stations were also sampled during 24-hour ‘intensive surveys’ and immediately following storm events to document impacts. Methods and results …

Living Shoreline Design Guidelines For Shore Protection In Virginia’S Estuarine Environment, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Karen Duhring

Reports

The Chesapeake Bay has about 6.5 million people living in its coastal counties and much of the shoreline is privately-owned. For communities along the shore, the continual shore retreat may be a problem. When land along the shore show signs of erosion, property owners tend to address it.

These guidelines are meant to address the need to educate consultants, contractors, and other professionals in the use of living shoreline strategies. It provides the necessary information to determine where they are appropriate and what is involved in their design and construction. The guidelines focus on the use of created marsh fringes …

The Impact Of Climate Change On Virginia's Coastal Areas, Jonathan L. Goodall, Antonio Elias, Elizabeth Andrews, Christopher "Kit" Chope, John Cosgrove, Jason El Koubi, Jennifer Irish, Lewis L. Lawrence Iii, Robert W. Lazaro Jr., William H. Leighty, Mark W. Luckenbach, Elise Miller-Hooks, Ann C. Phillips, Henry Pollard V, Emily Steinhilber, Charles Feigenoff, Jennifer Sayegh

Faculty Publications

As part of HJ47/SJ47 (2020), the Virginia General Assembly directed the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) to study the “safety, quality of life, and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia.” In pursuit of this goal, the commission was to “accept any scientific and technical assistance provided by the nonpartisan, volunteer Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (VASEM). VASEM convened an expert study board with representation from the Office of the Governor, planning district commissions in coastal Virginia, The Port of Virginia, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, state universities, private industry, and …

Coastal Natural And Nature-Based Features (Nnbfs) Ranked: Co-Benefits For Coastal Buildings And Target Areas For The Creation Of New Or Restoration Of Nnbfs In Coastal Virginia, Pamela Mason, Jessica Hendricks, Julie Herman

Data

Community resilience to storm-driven coastal flooding is improved with the presence of natural and nature-based features (NNBFs) such as wetlands, wooded areas, living shorelines, and beaches. These natural and created features can provide multiple benefits for a local community, including mitigating the impacts of storm surge and sea-level rise and allowing communities to take advantage of programmatic incentive programs like FEMA’s Community Rating System and nutrient reduction crediting.

As part of a NOAA-funded project NA17NOS4730142, an exportable geospatial protocol and NNBF ranking methodology was developed with the goal of incentivizing the protection and creation of NNBFs across Chesapeake Bay localities …

Vims Ferry Pier Ambient Water Monitoring Data, Salinity And Temperature, Daily Summary 1947-2003, Gary F. Anderson

Data

Bulk water parameters of Temperature and Salinity were measured at the VIMS Ferry Pier from 1947 to 2003. Initial methods were undocumented but likely automated with an instrument and chart recorder since the data consists of a daily high and low measurement from which a mean value was derived.

Beginning in 1971 an automated instrument recorded continuously from which 2-hour measurements were made and daily minimum and maxima were derived. Beginning in 1986 an Inter-Ocean CTD instrument placed at mid-depth was interfaced to a digital data logger (Campbell Scientific CRJ) that recorded data every six minutes, resulting in 240 measurements …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia’S Rivers 2020 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-third year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2020, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007, ASMFC 2020).

We also report on two fisheryindependent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 3) and the Chickahominy River (year 6; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of …

Migration Of The Tidal Marsh Range Under Sea Level Rise For Coastal Virginia, With Land Cover Data, Julie Herman, Molly Mitchell

Data

The layers in this geodatabase were intended to represent the land that is encompassed by the average tidal range as sea level rises in the Virginia coastal region, including Chesapeake Bay and tributaries, the Atlantic Ocean side of the Eastern Shore, and Virginia Beach. The data layers in this geodatabase represent each two foot range of elevation incremented by 0.5 ft (e.g. 0-2 ft, 0.5-2.5 ft, 1-3 ft, etc.) with the current land cover that exists in that range.

ArcGIS metadata is included in the geodatabase.

Further details are provided in the Geodatabase Information file located from the download tab.

Ware River Intensive Watershed Study Data Files: Part 1. Nonpoint Source Contributions, Gary F. Anderson

Data

The Ware River is a small coastal estuary draining into the Chesapeake Bay estuary. VIMS monitored the Ware watershed for rain events, runoff, and impacts to the estuary from April 1979 through July 1981.

This entry contains the runoff volume, rainfall and water quality monitoring data files for the portion of the study known as Part 1 – Nonpoint source contributions. Streams and small catchments representing suburban, agricultural and forested small basins were monitored regularly and during large rainfall events to estimate pollution loading to the estuary from the watershed. Methods and results are documented in the related literature. Data …

Examining The Role Of Environmental Nonprofits In Shoreline Management For Coastal Resilience In Virginia, Taiwo Oguntuyo, Ogechukwu Agim, Ren-Neasha Blake, Juita-Elena Wie Yusuf, Marina Saitgalina, Michelle Covi

College of Business (Strome) Posters

Environmental Nonprofits emerged over the years to attend to the environmental needs of communities and individuals, as well as address environmental issues that concern the public. These issues are usually those that have been neglected, given insufficient attention, or cannot be singularly handled by the government. In advocating for coastal resilience, environmental nonprofits have been identified in the literature as actors with critical roles in addressing coastal issues such as sea-level rise, flooding and shoreline management. In recent times, shoreline management has emerged as one of the foremost areas of focus expedient for the achievement of coastal resilience, and the …

Future Sea Level And Recurrent Flooding Risk For Coastal Virginia, George Mcleod, Tom Allen, Emily Steinhilber, Sheila Hutt, Manuel Solano, Kellie Burdick

Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency (CCRFR): Reports

From Executive Summary:

The report presents analysis of the best available existing data on coastal land elevation, sea level rise projections, vertical land motion (subsidence), and building and transportation assets. Sea level rise (SLR) projections are analyzed as Relative SLR (RSLR), combining the effects of vertical water rise (or “eustatic” change) with regional trends in vertical land motion, or subsidence. The study made use of available Commonwealth LiDAR elevation data, buildings, and roads as well as several sources of federal data, including sea level trends, tidal flooding and datums, and peer-reviewed and government reports. Maps of potential future inundation provided …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2019 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Robert Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-second year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2019, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on two fishery-independent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 2) and the Chickahominy River (year 5; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river herring …

Living Shoreline Sea Level Resiliency: Performance And Adaptive Management Of Existing Breakwater Sites, Year 2 Summary Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Angela C. Milligan

Reports

The Coastal Zone Management program, through NOAA grants, has funded several projects that have reviewed design considerations and monitored living shoreline systems for effectiveness at both shore protection and habitat enhancement. These studies presented data regarding the construction and performance of three living shoreline projects that were built between 1999 and 2003 in Maryland (Hardaway et al., 2007 and 2009) and were in part the basis for the “Living Shoreline Design Guidelines for Shore Protection in Virginia’s Estuarine Environments” and the contractor training classes (Hardaway et al., 2017). In addition, extensive research has been done on the design and performance …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2018 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Robert Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-first year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2018, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on two fishery-independent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 1) and the Chickahominy River (year 4; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river herring …

Fostering University Collaboration And Building Capacity To Respond To Coastal Resilience Challenges In Virginia: Findings From The Rotating Resilience Roundtables Workshop Spring 2019, Wie Yusuf, Michelle Covi, Anamaria Bukvic, Tom Allen, Taiwo Oguntuyo

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

[from Background and Overview]

Communities in coastal Virginia, particularly in the urban region of Hampton Roads and the rural Eastern Shore peninsula, are experiencing the impacts of climate change as part of everyday life. Among the most apparent impacts are sea level rise and associated flooding, but increasingly residents of the region are observing changing ecosystems, health impacts and complex social challenges are made more difficult. The region is experiencing the fastest rate of relative sea level rise on the U.S. east coast due to interactions between ocean currents, global sea level rise, high-water tables and ground subsidence (Adapt Virginia …

Precipitation Trends Across The Commonwealth Of Virginia (1947 – 2016), Michael J. Allen, Thomas R. Allen

Virginia Journal of Science

Water is an important resource for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Too much water increases runoff, disrupt transportation networks, and contributes to school closures. Too little water may adversely impact agricultural operations. To improve climate-related information to Virginia citizens, this study assesses means and changes in precipitation across the Commonwealth of Virginia (1947 – 2016). Using daily station-level precipitation data from the Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN), descriptive statistics were calculated for 43 locations in terms of total precipitation (inches decade^-1), precipitation days (x>0”), and heavy precipitation days (x>1.0”). On average, locations showed an overall increase in …

The Case For A Mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard In Virginia: A Case Study Examining Virginia’S Potential For A Mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard By Comparing Virginia To Maryland And North Carolina, Rebecca Wescott

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Since the early 1980s, states have utilized Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (“RPSs”) as policy mechanisms to “promote broader investment in renewable energy without requiring passage of a comprehensive energy policy measure that includes a pricing mechanism for carbon.” RPS policies can be drafted in one of two ways: (1) as a mandatory RPS, a legal mandate on what percentage of a state’s power portfolio must come from specific eligible renewable energy sources by a specific date in the future, or (2) as a non-binding or voluntary RPS, a policy goal that recommends that a certain percentage of a state’s power …

Gis Data: King & Queen County Tidal Marsh Inventory, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie G. Bradshaw, Carl Hershner, Evan Hill

Data

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science published the first Tidal marsh Inventories using data collected in the early 1970's. Using high resolution color infra-red imagery from 2009 a new Tidal Marsh Inventory has been developed for the York River Watershed in 2010. Marsh boundaries were generated using heads-up digitizing techniques at a scale of 1:1,000. Each marsh polygon was classified by morphologic type: fringe, extensive, embayed, or marsh island. Marshes were ground-truthed in the field where a community type index was assigned to each marsh based on plant community make-up. Each marsh was also coded with a marsh number which …

Gis Data: King William County Tidal Marsh Inventory, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie G. Bradshaw, Carl Hershner, Evan Hill

Data

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science published the first Tidal marsh Inventories using data collected in the early 1970's. Using high resolution color infra-red imagery from 2009 a new Tidal Marsh Inventory has been developed for the York River Watershed in 2010. Marsh boundaries were generated using heads-up digitizing techniques at a scale of 1:1,000. Each marsh polygon was classified by morphologic type: fringe, extensive, embayed, or marsh island. Marshes were ground-truthed in the field where a community type index was assigned to each marsh based on plant community make-up. Each marsh was also coded with a marsh number which …

King William County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Data 2019, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, Jessica Hendricks, Carl Hershner, Evan Hill

Data

The 2019 Inventory for King William County was generated using on-screen, digitizing techniques in ArcGIS® -ArcMap v10.4.1 while viewing conditions observed in 2017 imagery from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP), Google Earth, and Bing high resolution oblique imagery. Five GIS shapefiles are developed. The first describes land use and bank conditions (KingWilliam_lubc_2019). The second portrays the presence of beaches (KingWilliam_beach_2019). The third reports shoreline structures that are described as arcs or lines (e.g. riprap) (KingWilliam_sstru_2019). The fourth shapefile includes all structures that are represented as points (e.g. piers) (KingWilliam_astru_2019). The Tidal Marsh Inventory is included as the fifth file …

Virginia Non-Tidal Wetland Condition Assessment 2016, Tamia Rudnicky, Kirk J. Havens, Michelle Henicheck, Dave Davis, Kory Angstadt, David Stanhope

Data

This data set is a GIS-based landscape (Level one) assessment of the water quality and habitat benefits of non-tidal wetlands from the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) in Virginia utilizing the 2016 National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) and 2016 Tiger/Line roads. The model assessment uses remote sensing and GIS technology to characterize land use patterns and features around wetlands such as surrounding land cover and density of roads as well as individual wetland characteristics such as wetland size and type to determine the wetlands overall condition as related to habitat and water quality functions. The water quality analysis determines the percentages …

King And Queen County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Data 2019, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, Jessica Hendricks, Carl Hershner, Evan Hill

Data

The 2019 Inventory for King and Queen County was generated using on-screen, digitizing techniques in ArcGIS® -ArcMap v10.4.1 while viewing conditions observed in 2017 imagery from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP), Google Earth, and Bing high resolution oblique imagery. Five GIS shapefiles are developed. The first describes land use and bank conditions (kq_lubc_2019). The second portrays the presence of beaches (kq_beach_2019). The third reports shoreline structures that are described as arcs or lines (e.g. riprap) (kq_sstru_2019). The fourth shapefile includes all structures that are represented as points (e.g. piers) (kq_astru_2019). The Tidal Marsh Inventory is included as the fifth …

Evaluation Of Private Landowner Intention To Create Early Successional Habitat In Virginia's Appalachian Region, Hannah M. Coovert

Theses and Dissertations

As human land uses continue to expand rapidly across the landscape, the management practices of private landowners are an essential part of effective conservation of biodiversity. Conservation of early successional habitats (ESH) and the species that depend on them is a priority in the eastern United States, and efforts to create more ESH on private lands has primarily focused on forest landowners and the harvesting of timber. Private lands with significant pasture cover in a forested landscape present an additional opportunity to create and maintain ESH, yet our understanding of landowner values and attitudes about management strategies in pastures (i.e., …

Catch The King Tide 2018: All King Tide Data, Jon Derek Loftis

Data

"Catch the King" is a citizen-science GPS data collection effort centered in Hampton Roads, VA, that seeks to interactively map the King Tide's maximum inundation extents. The goal is to validate and improving predictive model accuracy for future forecasting of increasingly pervasive "nuisance" flooding.