URI ocean engineering students study impact of rising sea
levels, storms on Matunuck
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| University of Rhode Island Ocean Engineering Senior Design Class presentation: Assessment of Damage from Storm Surge and Sea- Level Rise along Matunuck Beach Road and the Surrounding Community. l, 1950s, r, 2012 |
KINGSTON, R.I — It’s no
secret that rising sea levels and destructive storms are threatening Rhode
Island’s coastal communities. Now University of Rhode Island students are
studying one community that could be hit especially hard: Matunuck.
The yearlong analysis by eight senior ocean engineering students is so thorough that flooding projections were made for specific structures —709 to be exact.
Those home and business owners will be able to find out what could happen to their buildings during a powerful storm with rising sea levels up to 5 feet.
The study is valuable to home and business owners and community planners. Home and business owners can decide whether to renovate their structures now to protect them from floodwaters, and planners can better identify areas that are vulnerable to flooding.
The students teamed up with Malcolm Spaulding,
of South Kingstown, professor emeritus of ocean engineering at URI who created
a computer-based program called STORMTOOLS that gives property owners and
cities and towns a more complete understanding of flood risks.The yearlong analysis by eight senior ocean engineering students is so thorough that flooding projections were made for specific structures —709 to be exact.
Those home and business owners will be able to find out what could happen to their buildings during a powerful storm with rising sea levels up to 5 feet.
The study is valuable to home and business owners and community planners. Home and business owners can decide whether to renovate their structures now to protect them from floodwaters, and planners can better identify areas that are vulnerable to flooding.
Using the online tool, property owners simply enter their address and find out what lies ahead for their buildings. They learn how deep the floodwaters will be during a storm, and the impact of rising seas on their property. The program uses graphics and satellite images to create maps that show water levels for 25-year, 50-year and 100-year storms and sea-level rise of 1, 2, 3 and 5 feet.
“It’s proving to have some legs,’’ Spaulding says, of the program. “A lot of people are using it. People in the coastal areas are increasingly concerned about these kinds of issues.’’
Climate change will bring profound changes to Rhode Island’s coastal communities in the coming decades. Scientists project sea levels to rise 3 to 5 feet in the state by 2100, and recent government projections are as high as 7 feet, Spaulding says.
The URI students selected Matunuck because it has one of the highest erosion rates on the southern coast of Rhode Island. The 709 houses and businesses they identified are all in an area prone to flooding. The results were alarming. With a 100-year storm and sea-level rise of 5 feet, 431 houses would be damaged.
And that’s important information for homeowners making plans for the future, says Spaulding. Property owners, for example, might consider elevating their houses or businesses, or taking other steps now.
The study could also help communities make decisions about whether to build in an area that could flood, or install shore protection systems. Planners also might consider new evacuation routes based on the students’ flooding projections.
Policymakers trying to figure out which communities in the state are at risk also benefit. This analysis is being done to assist the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council and the organization’s Beach Special Area Management Plan. "STORMTOOLS will be an integral part of the CRMC's approach to managing the Rhode Island shoreline," says Grover Fugate, director of CRMC.
“This isn’t a generic study,’’ says Spaulding. “It’s not just the general neighborhood. We looked at structure by structure, and the level of damage for each building.’’
Students also benefited by working on a project with relevance to the real world.
“The project is extremely practical,’’ says Spaulding. “The students get to work on a very important problem, using state-of-the art methods. That will stand them in good stead.’’
URI students Tyler Blanpied, Alicia Kauffman, Conor O’Neil, Nick Proulx, Matt Rajacich, Hailey Simpson, Chris Small and Jeff White will continue their work next semester.
Proulx, of Swansea, Mass., says the project has inspired him to look for work as a coastal engineer after he graduates. He also hopes the project sparks state and local leaders to move swiftly to protect coastal areas.
“We really want to raise awareness about sea-level rise and erosion rates,’’ says Proulx. “Matunuck is a highly populated area, and the majority of houses are low-lying. Some people are unwilling to evacuate in an emergency, but our project shows the danger from these storms. I like to think what we’re doing is cutting-edge and leads to a larger movement in the state.’’
Teresa Crean, coastal community planner for URI’s Coastal Resources Center and Rhode Island Sea Grant, says she’s held workshops in North Kingstown, Narragansett, Charlestown, Westerly, and Block Island about STORMTOOLS and its potential to alert people to risks. The response, she says, has been positive.
“Rhode Island’s coastal communities have access to a high- resolution tool that other states in the country don't have at their disposal,’’ she says. “This tool allows cities and town to move forward with understanding risk and helps them prepare for coastal storms and projected sea-level rise.’’
For more information visit STORMTOOLS, or email Crean at tcrean@crc.uri.edu.
