19 Hydrology and Hydrogeology in the Southeast: Processes, Problems, and Geologic Controls I

Friday, 31 March 2017
10:20 AM - 12:00 PM
Potomac E

SIMULATING MARINE AND GROUNDWATER INUNDATION ON A BARRIER ISLAND SETTING UNDER CHANGING SEA-LEVEL RISE SCENARIOS

Paper number: 19-3
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 11:00 AM – 11:20 AM

Authors

Abstract

Numerical modeling and geospatial techniques were used to assess the extent of groundwater and marine inundation on Bogue Banks barrier island (North Carolina) in response to future sea-level rise scenarios (0.2-1.4 m). Hydrogeologic data and groundwater levels collected from 29 wells across the island were used to build and calibrate a numerical model of the surficial aquifer on the island. The calibrated model was used to simulate the impact of sea-level rise on the water table under steady-state conditions. Geospatial techniques were then used to estimate the proportion of land lost to groundwater and/or marine inundation under the projected sea-level scenarios. Results reveal that marine and groundwater inundation would have comparable impacts, with between 7 and 22% of the land being lost to water under sea-level rise scenarios of ≤1.2 m. At extreme sea-level rise scenarios (1.4 m), the effects of groundwater inundation were far much greater than those of marine inundation (with land losses of 28% for marine inundation and 40% for groundwater inundation). As a consequence, groundwater inundation may therefore play an important role in management issues related to how climate change and sea-level rise may impact water resources in coastal communities.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 3

doi: 10.1130/abs/2017SE-289691

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