Abstract
To re-establish the intertidal wetlands with full tidal exchange and improve salmonid rearing habitat in the Skagit River estuary, State of Washington, USA, a diked agriculture farm land along the Skagit Bay front is proposed to be restored to a fully functional tidal wetland. The complex and dynamic Skagit River estuarine system calls for the need of a multi-facet and multi-dimensional analysis using observed data, numerical and analytical methods. To assist the feasibility study of the restoration project, a hydrodynamic modeling analysis was conducted using a high-resolution unstructured-grid coastal ocean model to evaluate the hydrodynamic response to restoration alternatives and to provide guidance to the engineering design of a new levee in the restoration site. A set of parameters were defined to quantify the hydrodynamic response of the nearshore restoration project, such as inundation area, duration of inundation, water depth and salinity of the inundated area. To assist the design of the new levee in the restoration site, the maximum water level near the project site was estimated with consideration of extreme high tide, wind-induced storm surge, significant wave height and future sea-level rise based on numerical model results and coastal engineering calculation.
Highlights
Estuarine wetland provides important fish habitats for salmon during their juvenile rearing period before they migrate from freshwater to the saltwater environment [1]
The hydrodynamic model of Skagit River estuary was first applied to simulate the tidal circulation under the baseline condition
River estuary in Puget Sound using a three-dimensional unstructured-grid coastal ocean model
Summary
Estuarine wetland provides important fish habitats for salmon during their juvenile rearing period before they migrate from freshwater to the saltwater environment [1]. Population shift and land use change over the past century have resulted in a significant impact on the coastal ecosystem and the associated marine wildlife. Construction of dikes in estuarine and coastal systems for protection of agriculture land use has eliminated the natural tidal exchange to the agriculture farm land, altered tidal prism, and changed the sedimentation pattern in estuarine systems. Urban development and construction of dikes for agriculture land use have caused significant losses of nearshore habitat and impact on salmon migration in the Skagit River, Port Susan Bay and Lower Snohomish River in Whidbey Basin of Puget. To protect and improve estuarine habitats that are vital to marine wildlife, many nearshore restoration projects are currently underway to restore estuarine habitats and improve fish migration pathway through dike breaches, setbacks, and removals in the Puget Sound region
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