Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Skarke, Adam
Committee Member
Dyer, Jamie
Committee Member
Linhoss, Anna
Committee Member
Beebe, Alex
Date of Degree
5-1-2020
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
Geology
Degree Name
Master of Science
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Department of Geosciences
Abstract
Rates of marsh wetland loss in the northern Gulf of Mexico are the highest observed in North America. Marsh terraces have been implemented over the last 30 years to address this loss. Marsh Terraces reduce fetch and resulting wave energy which, reduces rates erosion of sediments in coastal wetlands. This thesis evaluated marsh terraces by extensive data collection that will assess the spatiotemporal relationships between wind patterns, wave parameters, and sediment strength in water bodies modified with marsh terraces. Data collected during two four-month deployments captured the passage of 40 cold front storms and the passage of Hurricane Barry. Results indicated that the mean threshold for erosion for marsh platform and terraces (0.194 N/m2 and 0.500 N/m2) were often exceeded during the passage of cold front storms. Orientation to reduce the influence of these storms was determined to be 270/55 which is perpendicular to cold front associated winds.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/16690
Sponsorship
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (grant # NAS2000008944)
Recommended Citation
French, Joseph, "Optimization of marsh terracing as a wetland restoration technique: Mitigation of cohesive sediment erosion by waves associated with frontal passage" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 3402.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/3402
Comments
Cold Front||Wetland||Erosion||Marsh Terrace||Gulf of Mexico||Sediment