Coastal Barrier Island Creation/Augmentation as a Mitigation Means of Mainland Disaster Protection Against Water and Wind Forces

Abstract

The creation of a coastal marsh using maintenance dredged material from a nearby shipping channel was performed as a pilot project for restoring and augmenting a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of the State of Mississippi in the United States. This beneficial use of dredged material, not only provided an ecological habitat for coastal wildlife, but also augmented the size of a coastal barrier island. This augmented barrier island in its new size and configuration helped buffer and dissipate the powerful energy of Hurricane Katrina and other storm surges experienced by Coastal Mississippi in 2005. Geotechnical and coastal engineering challenges included site selection, location, size, and shape; bearing, stability, and performance of containment dikes for sediment in-fill; in-fill sediment characterization; and in-fill sediment performance. This project demonstrated that geotechnical and coastal engineering along with application of appropriate environmental sciences can provide engineered systems to produce coastal protection and other benefits through creation and/or augmentation of offshore barrier islands.