April 28th, 2019
Lecturer: Dr. Karim Alizad, Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, University of South Carolina
Number of participants: 29
Number of women among participants: 8
Abstract: The ecology, infrastructure, and economy of coastal regions are significantly influenced by coastal hydrodynamics and the associated changes in climate and sea level rise, which are exacerbating the threat of flooding and storm surge for low-lying coastal areas. Nature-based features such as wetland and riparian zones protect low lands from flooding but are losing their productivity or becoming inundated due to sea level rise and climate change effects. This highlights the imperative need for researchers to assess the response of susceptible coastal wetland systems under projected climate change and sea level rise scenarios. To achieve this goal of quantifying the evolution of coastal wetlands, an integrated hydrodynamic-marsh model, the Hydro-MEM model, was developed to couple ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) and salt marsh (MEM) models. This model projects future hydrodynamics and wetland coverage under sea level rise scenarios for large-scale domains. This presentation will demonstrate different estuaries response to rising sea levels and how integrated modeling can help to protect coastal regions. The produced spatial interactive maps demonstrate projected flooded regions, wetland loss, and possible regions for future wetlands. These tools and maps are currently employed in multiple states and agencies including National Estuarine Research Reserves, Fish and Wild Life Services, and NOAA. The societal outcomes consist flood maps, online interactive tools, and possible restoration activities contribute to well-informed decisions of coastal managers.
Bio: Dr. Karim Alizad is a research assistant professor in the Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences at the University of South Carolina. His research is focused on the effects of climate change and sea level rise on coastal ecosystems and coupling field collected data with large-scale hydrodynamic models. His current projects and grants with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) include tidal hydrodynamics, storm surge, and ecological modeling in the east coasts of the US and Gulf of Mexico.
