Coastal Impacts, Recovery, and Resilience Post-Hurricane Sandy in the Northeastern US

Amanda L Babson,Sara Stevens,Richard O Bennett,Susan Adamowicz

doi:10.1007/s12237-020-00809-x

Abstract

Post-Hurricane Sandy research has improved our understanding of coastal resilience during major storm events, accelerated sea level rise, and other climate-related factors, helping to enhance science-based decision-making, restoration, and management of coastal systems. The central question this special section examines is: “looking across the breadth of research, natural resource management actions and restoration projects post-Hurricane Sandy, what can we say about coastal impact, recovery, and resilience to prepare for increasing impacts of future storms?” These five studies, along with lessons from other published and unpublished research, advance our understanding beyond just the documentation of hurricane impacts but also highlights both natural and managed recovery, thereby advancing the developing field of coastal resilience.

Highlights

Hurricane Sandy made landfall as a post-tropical cyclone on October 29, 2012, near Brigantine, New Jersey
The magnitude of Hurricane Sandy and the breadth of research on ecosystem resilience post-Hurricane Sandy provides an opportunity to learn about the response and recovery of coastal ecosystems following the storm and to apply the results to ecosystem management to prepare for future storms
1 National Park Service, Narragansett, RI, United States 2 U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA, USA 3 U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Wells, ME, USA 4 National Park Service, Kingston, RI, USA. This perspectives paper sets the context for the special section, which includes studies of post-storm resilience, results of natural resource management actions, and restoration projects as part of the post-Hurricane Sandy coastal resilience efforts by the Department of the Interior (DOI)