CAREER: Capturing the translation of wave climate to coastal change on rocky shorelines across scales

Washington University, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

Rocky coasts make up over half of the world’s coastlines. Each day, these coastlines are hammered by the force of thousands of crashing waves, causing the coastline to retreat, sometimes catastrophically. As climate changes and ocean waves become more extreme, potential acceleration of coastal retreat poses significant threats to natural habitats, cultural heritage, coastal communities, and critical infrastructure. However, the influence of extreme waves on rocky coast erosion is not well-known, limiting the prediction of evolving coastal hazards. This project will synthesize environmental, topographic, and geologic datasets, use innovative seismic monitoring techniques, and develop new models to understand the sensitivity of rocky coast erosion and coastal hazards to extreme waves. The project will integrate research activities into public-facing outreach and university education, including newly developed educational modules and online interactive tools, both leveraging publicly accessible, live-streamed datasets. This project aims to understand how variable wave action translates to coastal erosion and sea cliff retreat on rocky coastlines. The work is structured around three components: (1) quantifying how tectonics and near-shore morphology control wave energy delivery to rocky shores, (2) measuring near-shore wave transformation and sea cliff response across a range of settings, and (3) piloting a coastal erosion model that accounts for wave climate, wave filtering effects, and cliff erosion thresholds. The project's main contributions include a probabilistic description of wave energy delivery, direct field measurement of wave climate translation to coastal geomorphic work, and a novel erosion model quantifying coastal sensitivity to shifting environmental extremes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.