SPCMSC Scientist Releases Report on Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards

SPCMSC Scientist Releases Report on Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards at Science Policy Conference

The USGS Coastal Change Hazards group in St. Petersburg, Florida will release a report in early May that quantifies hurricane-induced coastal erosion hazards for sandy coastlines in the Gulf of Mexico. Modeled storm conditions and measured beach elevations were used to calculate the likelihoods of dune erosion, overwash, and beach inundation during landfall of category 1-5 hurricanes. Results indicate that approximately 70% of the beaches on the US Gulf of Mexico shoreline are vulnerable to extreme erosion associated with overwash during a category-1 hurricane landfall. USGS Oceanographer Hilary Stockdon will present the results of the study, “'National Assessment of Hurricane-induced Coastal Erosion Hazards: Gulf of Mexico,” at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Science Policy Conference in Washington, DC, May 1-2, 2012.