Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Han, SaMin
Committee Member
Schauwecker, Timothy J.
Committee Member
Brzuszek, Robert F.
Date of Degree
8-8-2023
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
Landscape Architecture
Degree Name
Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.)
College
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Department
Department of Landscape Architecture
Abstract
Dauphin, Petit Bois, and Horn Island form the Alabama gulf-barrier chain directly south of Mobile Bay. Many studies have targeted local climate stressors and the flux of longshore currents as factors for erosional and accretional changes on these islands, but little attention is paid to the degradation of their vegetative dune-systems as a contributor to their shoreline morphology (Hanley et al., 2014; Smith, 2018; Byrnes, 2010). This study fills this literary gap, utilizing GIS raster classification and Digital Shoreline Analysis System to measure vegetative health and shoreline change on these islands and verify a relationship between these two factors. The distribution of vegetation on the Barrier Islands has been shown to mitigate shoreline changes, particularly ocean-side erosion. This thesis has significance in that it geo-statistically verified the importance of natural infrastructure, vegetative dune systems, in shoreline stability using GIS.
Recommended Citation
Hogue, Walter Hastings, "Dune to shore: The relationship between vegetative dune systems and shoreline stability in barrier islands" (2023). Theses and Dissertations. 5879.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/5879