Engineering

"Installation of the future" includes strengthened envelope and elevation requirements, coastal resilience

JINHUA, China — In the shade of a willow tree, Li Tao and his buddy dabble lines in a slow-moving river channel and occasionally pull out a tiny fish. "It's good to have a place like this for people to relax," says Li, his shirt off in the midday heat. This place — called Baisha Creek — has come full circle.

White blankets of sand, bright blue water and palm trees swaying with the breeze – it’s the picturesque landscape that comes to mind when you think of Florida’s beaches. But this stunning scenery comes at a cost with the need to regularly artificially replenish eroding shorelines, a process also known as beach nourishment.

The river model was instrumental in charting the potential impacts of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project, which broke ground in August.

(CNN) — Hurricanes, heat and humidity have always been looming threats on the Gulf Coast. But as drought grows in the Central US and sea level rises, residents in southern Louisiana are finding a formerly unusual emergency is becoming more frequent: saltwater is infecting drinking water city by city up the Mississippi River.

Inflation could push the cost of Texas' coastal barrier project — already expected to be the largest civil engineering project in U.S. history — to $57 billion, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.

A little-known climate threat lurks under our feet: rising groundwater that could release toxic chemicals from more than 132,000 contaminated sites in coastal areas of the US. In a first of its kind study, researchers estimated the number of polluted industrial sites and mapped them to areas likely to experience groundwater inundation due to rising seas.

County officials estimate they've lost almost 50,000 cubic yards worth of sand in places like Coquina Beach.

Sea-level rise is often pointed to as the unbeatable culprit chomping away at Southern California's most popular asset. But rising seas aren't the only reason the coastline is disappearing. Decades of development along the coast blocked sand flow to beaches.

Pinellas County officials are taking emergency measures to shore up some beaches that were slammed by Hurricane Idalia. It will be paid for with money from county tourist development taxes.

Thomas K. Ruppert, a coastal planning specialist with Florida Sea Grant and thought leader on legal policy around sea-level rise adaptation and other areas of environmental law, has been selected as the assistant provost for coastal resilience and director of the new Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative (VCRC) at William & Mary.

Potential health risks of high salt concentrations for those who rely on Mississippi River lead mayor to sign declaration

Coastlines – the interface between land and sea – lie at the frontline in the battle against climate change impacts.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island’s “Living Breakwaters” project received international acclaim this month as the winner of the 2023 Obel award, which recognizes outstanding architectural contributions in service of both people and the planet.

A long drive by Key Biscayne to get federal aid for its beach mitigation and renourishment advanced last week as a county committee pushed the effort forward toward an Oct. 3 vote by the county commission.

America’s largest provider of dredging services, Houston-headquartered Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD), reports that it has booked recent awards totaling $177 million, taking its dredging backlog to approximately $1.1 billion.

Through the summer, public works crews worked with lifeguards to keep the beach access open in front of the Upper Township Beach Patrol headquarters on Williams Avenue in Strathmere, even as high tides would pull sand from the beach side.

A decade after Hurricane Sandy, critics of a federal plan that allocates billions to protect the region from rising waters are calling it a ‘failure of imagination’

A water district best known for supplying the celebrity-studded enclaves of Calabasas and Hidden Hills could soon become famous for a very different reason.

Barmouth's current defences are in a poor condition and need to be upgraded

TRENTON – The Department of Environmental Protection announced the launch of an online mapping tool that will help the public, stakeholders and government officials advance work that is needed to bolster the resilience of New Jersey’s coastal areas to climate change.

MOREHEAD CITY — In response to written questions from N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) Chair Robin Smith, a state Department of Justice attorney confirmed Thursday that the state no longer has any jurisdiction over isolated wetlands.

Landscape studio Scape has won the Obel Award for 2023 for its "visionary" coastal defence system in New York City that will grow in efficiency as oysters inhabit it.

Engineering teams have developed a repair design which will bring the roadway slightly inland as it passes in front of the Paul’s Slide complex. This design also allows for an enlarged catchment area between concrete barriers and fencing placed along the northbound lane and the toe of the slide. This will enhance safety for the traveling public as well as for construction and maintenance crews. (Caltrans)

PROVIDENCE – If Hurricane Lee starts heading towards Rhode Island, the crew at the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is prepared.