{"id":29600,"date":"2020-03-09T14:55:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T18:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/?p=29600"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:26:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:26:44","slug":"georgias-living-shore-uga-addresses-coastal-resilience-from-many-fronts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/georgias-living-shore-uga-addresses-coastal-resilience-from-many-fronts\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia\u2019s living shore: UGA addresses coastal resilience from many fronts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The coast has long been a place where the future happens first. Millennia before James Oglethorpe landed at Yamacraw Bluff on the Savannah River to found the Georgia colony, Native Americans, such as the Mokoma, Timucua and the Guale, had already introduced their civilizations to the area.<\/p>\n

But on the coast, nothing is permanent\u2014not the populations, not the vegetation. Not even the land.<\/p>\n

Today, instead of vast marshes and uninterrupted coastal plains, there are neighborhoods, highways, commercial tracts and beach developments. There are shrimp boats and fish trawlers. There\u2019s a shipping industry that boasts both the Port of Savannah\u2014the fastest growing in the nation for the past 10 years\u2014and the Port of Brunswick, the second busiest in the country for shipping motor vehicles.<\/p>\n

Coastal Georgia is an ever-changing landscape that ebbs and flows in response to both natural and human-made forces. Scientists and researchers from an array of disciplines at the University of Georgia are dedicated to understanding how to balance those systems so the people of the state and visitors can enjoy them for years to come. UGA\u2019s activities in pursuing coastal resilience run the gamut from educating the public to uncovering the latest science to helping communities withstand the physical and economic effects of the intruding sea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section css=”.vc_custom_1583847980785{margin-bottom: -35px !important;background-color: #e4ddc7 !important;}” el_class=”fw-polygon”][vc_row equal_height=”yes” bg_type=”bg_color” css=”.vc_custom_1583355630958{margin-bottom: -10px !important;border-bottom-width: -10px !important;padding-bottom: -10px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1567710326062{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}” el_class=”polygon-wrapper”][vc_raw_html el_class=”polygon” css=”.vc_custom_1583246142210{background-image: url(https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/03\/Alexander-Clark-046-1.jpg?id=29666) !important;}”]JTNDJTIxLS1sZWF2ZSUyMHRoaXMlMjBlbXB0eS0tJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ el_class=”polygon-content”][vc_column_text el_class=”testimonial”]\u201cThe coastal ecosystems and coastal jobs are critically important for the economy of the state. That\u2019s everything from seafood production to ecotourism to port activities.\u201d<\/strong><\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text el_class=”credit”]\n

\u2013 Clark Alexander, director, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”container image-caption”]Photo by Stephen Morton[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]\n

Losing ground?<\/h2>\n

For the majority of Georgia\u2019s population, the coast is a place to come and have fun temporarily, to visit the sites and do a little fishing, shopping and beach-combing, before they go back home. But the people who live there depend on the coast\u2019s resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coastal ecosystems and coastal jobs are critically important for the economy of the state. That\u2019s everything from seafood production to ecotourism to port activities,\u201d said Clark Alexander, director of UGA\u2019s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Mark Risse, director of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, says Georgia has some of the most protected coastal ecosystems on the U.S. eastern seaboard. (Photo courtesy of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The state\u2019s seafood industry employs nearly 10,000 people, to the tune of $1.4 billion in sales, while the recreational fishing industry supports more than 1,400 jobs with another $140 million in sales. Because many of the species in these two industries spend at least part of their life cycles in the marsh, Alexander said, it\u2019s vital for business that coastal ecosystems stay healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorgia has some of the best and most protected coastal ecosystems on the eastern seaboard. It has 14 barrier islands, and most are in long-term conservation,\u201d said Mark Risse, director of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant<\/a> and Georgia Power Professor of Water Policy.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”29608″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” el_class=”container”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]One of the biggest questions on the coast is how marshes will respond to the ongoing rise in sea level. Will they be able to withstand the ascending waterline, or will the Atlantic wash them away? According to photographic studies from the air, it looks like the marshes have been able to replenish themselves at the same rate the sea rises\u2014so far. But models show the water\u2019s pace is likely to increase.<\/p>\n

“When we look forward, it’s a little scarier because we see the pace of sea-level rise increasing, and it means the marsh has to keep up. It\u2019s going to have to sort of run faster to stay in place,\u201d explained Merryl Alber, director of the UGA Marine Institute<\/a> on Sapelo Island.<\/p>\n

Alber is working with research scientist Jessica O\u2019Connell on a study mapping what\u2019s going on under the soil in the marshes.<\/p>\n

\"Merryl
Merryl Alber, director of the UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, is studying the impacts of sea-level rise that we can\u2019t see. She and her colleagues are mapping what\u2019s happening to coastal plant life underneath the soil. (Photo by Peter Frey)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s evidence that we might be losing ground that we\u2019re not seeing when we look from above,\u201d said Alber. \u201cThat could lead to the loss of that marsh, which would result in less carbon being stored by the plants.\u201d<\/p>\n

If plants aren\u2019t able to store as much carbon, it will stay in the air where it could contribute to higher temperatures. What\u2019s more, marshes are a nursery of nutrients for developing plant and animal life. Take away the marshes, and you wipe out a good portion of the base of the food web of the coast.<\/p>\n

In the midst of mapping this loss, they\u2019re trying to see if they can identify the most vulnerable spots and share it with the Department of Natural Resources to protect those areas.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”29612″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” el_class=”container”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]\n

The resilience of a living shore<\/h2>\n

One way to help keep the coast resilient may be to convince developers to switch from using armored shorelines, made of metal, wood or concrete, to using natural materials like grasses, oyster shells, sand or rock in an array known as a \u201cliving shoreline.\u201d Whereas armored shorelines simply keep the water at bay, sometimes just moving its destructive force down the coast, living shorelines can absorb the water.<\/p>\n

\"Brian
Brian Bledsoe\u2019s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems works with state and local permitting agencies to help communities progress toward infrastructure systems that operate more in harmony with natural systems and are more tolerant to environmental disruptions. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cLiving shorelines can adjust and regenerate after a hurricane or a major storm. It may look a little beat up, but it\u2019s going to patch itself back together using solar energy,\u201d said Brian Bledsoe, director of UGA\u2019s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems<\/a> (IRIS). \u201cHow many bulkheads that get hammered do you see building themselves back up?\u201d<\/p>\n

These shorelines work by trapping sediment in the water, which promotes plant growth. They also can absorb much more of the incoming waves, with a small portion of marsh absorbing a large portion of the wave energy, explained Bledsoe.<\/p>\n

The living shorelines also protect those species that are a critical part of the coastal ecosystem. Studies show an increase in fish, crabs and shrimp at living shorelines built by Marine Extension and Sea Grant on Tybee, Sapelo and Little St. Simons islands. Bagged oyster shells and native vegetation provided the base, with natural oyster reefs forming on top over time. In addition to erosion control, the oyster shells improved water quality by naturally filtering pollutants from runoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiving shorelines in Georgia are doing the job they were designed to do and have remained intact after storm events and continue to stabilize the shoreline,\u201d said Tom Bliss, director of Marine Extension\u2019s Shellfish Research Lab. \u201cContinued monitoring will allow us to determine their longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bledsoe is working on teaching permitting agencies up and down the coast about the benefits of living shorelines, which can work in concert with armored shorelines for a hybrid approach, making the system stronger overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go down to your permitting agency and you want to get a permit for a bulkhead, they have a standard process and can issue those relatively quickly. It\u2019s something they\u2019re familiar with,\u201d said Bledsoe. \u201cBut if you want to build a living shoreline, they\u2019re not as accustomed to handling that. It\u2019s often outside their comfort zone.”<\/p>\n

\"living
Living shorelines, like this one at Cannon\u2019s Point Preserve on St. Simons Island, use natural materials like oyster shells, sand or rock to absorb some of the water and wave energy unleashed during a tropical storm or hurricane. (Photo by Courtney Balling and Tommy Jordan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

IRIS and Marine Extension collaborate with state and federal agencies, as well as private partners, to raise awareness of living shorelines as a prudent investment. IRIS has proposed a resiliency plan to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the backside of Tybee Island, which would create living shorelines along with natural pathways to move floodwaters in a way that reduces damage to infrastructure.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a critical time, according to Risse. As coastal communities like Tybee and St. Marys experience flooding during high tides, there\u2019s a real concern that people\u2019s homes and retirement nest eggs will be drowned. With the region expected to double in population over the next 40 years, helping communities understand the ongoing risk while creating sustainable development is one of its biggest challenges.<\/p>\n

Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant for years has been working with coastal communities to join the Consumer Ratings System, a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that reduces flood insurance premiums\u2014sometimes by as much as 80 percent\u2014for property owners in cities and counties that take action to exceed minimum floodplain management standards.<\/p>\n

Tybee Island put $1 million into drainage improvements and began requiring new property owners to build at least one foot above the base flood elevation. As of 2017, Tybee Island property owners had saved more than $3 million in insurance premiums.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”29618″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” el_class=”container”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]\n

The troubles with floods<\/h2>\n

In addition to flooding from the sea, overworked stormwater systems can inundate the streets as well. Because these systems are designed to drain to rivers or the ocean, high tide can bring an intrusion of saltwater. When it rains, the basins are already partially full, giving the streets nowhere to drain.<\/p>\n

Crumbling septic systems are one potential risk, said Alexander. As sea level rises, the coastal water table is pushed up, reducing the amount of dry soil the system uses to filter the waste and making it easier for disease-bearing materials to potentially contaminate drinking water.<\/p>\n

An inventory of septic systems in an 11-county region along the Georgia coast was completed by Marine Extension last year. Risse and Scott Pippin, a faculty member with UGA\u2019s Carl Vinson Institute of Government<\/a>, are now working with the individual counties to determine which systems may be at risk and adding them to a public database.<\/p>\n

In partnership with IRIS, Pippin has funding from the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration to use this septic inventory to assess present and future vulnerabilities in Bryan County, west of Savannah. Bryan is one of Georgia\u2019s fastest-growing counties.<\/p>\n

Jill Gambill, Marine Extension\u2019s coastal community resilience specialist, helps communities and coastal residents plan for future incursions of the sea. Following Hurricane Matthew, Gambill led a series of focus groups in coastal communities to assess residents\u2019 attitudes and behaviors related to evacuation. Using this information, Gambill produced materials to help better prepare coastal residents in the event of a storm, rolling out a YouTube video, social media and graphics to encourage residents to evacuate in advance of Hurricane Irma in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest take-homes is that storm surge is complex and there are lots of aspects to it,\u201d Risse said. \u201cWe need to do a better job communicating what the risks are.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]\n

\"sugar
Nik Heynen in geography is working with the Gullah Geechee community of Hog Hammock on Sapelo Island to reintroduce crops like sugar cane on the island. The project would help Hog Hammock residents become more self-sufficient and provide a boost to the community\u2019s economy. (Photo courtesy of Nik Heynen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Environmental justice for all<\/h2>\n

Taking practical steps is very much influenced by one\u2019s economic means, explained Alber. \u201cOne thing people are starting to key into is understanding the differences in people\u2019s ability to respond to the challenges,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you have more money and live in a flooded area, you can probably move. But if you don\u2019t have a lot of money, it may be challenging. So there are some environmental justice questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The identity and economic class of a community can have a significant effect on how much help and access they get to these solutions, said Nik Heynen, professor in the Department of Geography.<\/p>\n

As part of UGA\u2019s Cornelia Walker Bailey Program on Land and Agriculture, co-directed by Heynen and Sapelo Island business leader Maurice Bailey, Heynen spends a lot of time working with the island\u2019s Gullah Geechee community of Hog Hammock. These direct descendants of people brought over as slaves from West Africa possess a unique culture. The community was once as large as 500 people but has dwindled to around 40. It\u2019s a relationship that took a lot of time and care to build, Heynen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cStripping assumptions about what people in the community want, opening lines of communications between people who respect each other and are willing to be honest, even when it\u2019s difficult, goes a long way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Heynen works alongside residents as they reintroduce several crops, like sugar cane, that were once grown on the island. Currently, with five plots of land, one as large as 25 acres, they\u2019re working it on a shoestring, using a lot more manual than mechanized labor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can get a tractor, it\u2019ll really be a game-changer,\u201d said Heynen.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”29610″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” el_class=”container”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]\n

\n

Teaching the future<\/h2>\n

In Savannah, UGA\u2019s Marine Education Center and Aquarium, part of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, hosts kids aged 6 to 15 during the Summer Marine Science Camp and provides educational field trips to students during the school year, where they learn from scientists about the coastal ecosystem, sea life and local habitats. The aquarium also conducts adult education programs. Its offerings are designed around the concept that educating and familiarizing the public with the ecosystem will inspire people to preserve and protect their environment.<\/p>\n

In addition, Marine Extension hosts internship programs for students, teachers and the public in topics such as aquarium science, water quality, shellfish, coastal septics and socioeconomic issues. College students take part in courses where they learn about and prepare for careers in the marine sciences and coastal management.<\/p>\n

To help teach residents about the dangers of staying in place during an evacuation order, Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn, associate professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and director of the Games and Virtual Environments Lab, has created a virtual reality system that gives them a first-person experience of a hurricane.<\/p>\n

\u201cVirtual reality is particularly good at placing users in a situation that can be potentially fatal or even impossible in the physical world, in a way that\u2019s very realistic to the senses,\u201d said Ahn.<\/p>\n

By experiencing a storm in a virtual world, Ahn is giving people a way to see just how dangerous a storm can be. Users can look in all directions and see the water entering a house and surrounding them with debris, mud and furniture, making it difficult for them to move, much less leave. At the end, the simulation shows what someone should do in such a situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very visceral, frightening experience,\u201d said Ahn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1583848286182{margin-bottom: -10px !important;}”]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjI2MDAlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGV1p0S3RURnJ6MU0lM0YlM0RyZWwlM0QwJTIyJTIwZnJhbWVib3JkZXIlM0QlMjIwJTIyJTIwYWxsb3clM0QlMjJhY2NlbGVyb21ldGVyJTNCJTIwYXV0b3BsYXklM0IlMjBlbmNyeXB0ZWQtbWVkaWElM0IlMjBneXJvc2NvcGUlM0IlMjBwaWN0dXJlLWluLXBpY3R1cmUlMjIlMjBhbGxvd2Z1bGxzY3JlZW4lM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0U=[\/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text el_class=”container image-caption” css=”.vc_custom_1583780085480{margin-top: -10px !important;border-top-width: -10px !important;}”]Living through a hurricane can be terrifying. Sun Joo \u201cGrace\u201d Ahn, who directs UGA\u2019s Games and Virtual Environments Lab, created a virtual reality simulation that shows users what it\u2019s like to experience a hurricane storm surge in real time. \u201cIt\u2019s a very visceral, frightening experience,\u201d Ahn says.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]\n

The big picture<\/h2>\n

\u201cOne third of the salt marsh in the eastern United States is along our 100 mile coast and these marshes have a tremendous impact on the entire Atlantic ocean,\u201d Risse said. \u201cKey parts of our coastal food web including many fish and sea turtles originate in coastal Georgia and travel around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that biodiversity, add the cultural diversity of those who call the Georgia coast home, from the Gullah Geechee and descendants of the European settlers, to the newcomers arriving from the four corners of the globe, and it\u2019s clear that the coast is a lot more complex than previously understood. It takes patience, the ability to learn from what each other sees, and an openness to new ideas to fully comprehend how the natural world responds to the activities of humankind. One thing is sure: We\u2019ll get a lot farther working the puzzle together than on our own.<\/p>\n

That goes for scientists too.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to learn your colleagues\u2019 thought structures, their tools, models, how they view the world,\u201d said Bledsoe. But it gives researchers a more holistic view of the region, so they can understand how everything works together. \u201cIt takes a lot of time, discussions and humility.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner el_class=”fw-image” css=”.vc_custom_1583247484834{background-image: url(https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/03\/RV-Georgia-Bulldog-Skidaway-30395-054.jpg?id=29671) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column_inner][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text el_class=”container image-caption”]The R\/V Georgia Bulldog is the oldest research vessel operated by Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. First dubbed the Lady Marilyn when she was built in 1977, the Bulldog today conducts a wide range of basic and applied research, such as sea turtle ecology and techniques that could be helpful to Georgia\u2019s fisheries and shrimpers. (Photo by Peter Frey)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container first-paragraph”] The coast has long been a place where the future happens first. Millennia before James Oglethorpe landed at Yamacraw Bluff on the Savannah River to found the Georgia colony, Native Americans, such as the Mokoma, Timucua and the Guale, had already introduced their civilizations to the area. But on the coast, nothing … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Georgia\u2019s living shore: UGA addresses coastal resilience from many fronts”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":76104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"feature-single.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[298],"tags":[],"post_medium":[691,314],"publications":[],"authors":[523],"photographers":[525,441,442,527,526],"video_credit":[],"takeaways":[],"class_list":["post-29600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marine-science","post_medium-feature","post_medium-read","authors-david-terraso","photographers-courtney-balling","photographers-dorothy-kozlowski","photographers-peter-frey","photographers-stephen-morton","photographers-tommy-jordan","entry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29600"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76106,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29600\/revisions\/76106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29600"},{"taxonomy":"post_medium","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_medium?post=29600"},{"taxonomy":"publications","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publications?post=29600"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=29600"},{"taxonomy":"photographers","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/photographers?post=29600"},{"taxonomy":"video_credit","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/video_credit?post=29600"},{"taxonomy":"takeaways","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/takeaways?post=29600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}