Morning Sessions, Champagne Room

10:20 am - 10:50 am
Mapping Delaware’s Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise
Mark F. Wolanski, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Delaware Coastal Programs

Delaware is a coastal state; its economy and quality of life have historically been linked to its shoreline, vast expanses of tidal wetlands and its fertile farm fields. Due to its location and link to the coast, Delaware is particularly vulnerable to the effects of rising sea levels. To prepare for sea level rise (SLR), the State formed the Delaware Sea Level Rise Advisory Committee. The goal of the committee is to assess Delaware’s vulnerability to future inundation problems related to SLR and to develop a set of recommendations. GIS played a critical part in the development of the vulnerability assessment. A series of inundation maps were produced showing three different SLR scenarios. Based on these maps, social and economic resources, natural resources, and critical infrastructure have been identified as being vulnerable. This presentation will explain the data types used in the vulnerability mapping and the importance of scalability.

10:50 am - 11:20 am
Height Modernization: Implications of Unreliable Benchmarks
Drexel Siok, DNREC, Delaware Coastal Programs

As sea levels continue to rise and land subsides, having reliable benchmarks for surveying becomes an important need.  Updating Delaware’s vertical control network will improve the accuracy of Delaware’s vertical control network to provide coastal managers, public safety, transportation organizations and local officials with the necessary level of elevation confidence for planning and implementing coastal hazard mitigation and sea level rise adaptation strategies.  An investigation into elevation data throughout the state revealed an underlying concern for a lack of vertical control in Delaware.  Through a Height Modernization project, a network of newly installed and historic benchmarks will be surveyed in order to provide Delaware with a complete coverage of vertical control and, in turn, provide a new network of good, vertical benchmarks.
Co-authors: Robert W. Scarborough, Ph.D.; David B. Carter, Delaware Coastal Programs; Bartholomew Wilson, Science Coordinator, Center for the Inland Bays

11:20 am - 11:50 am
Using LIDAR Data to Assess the Effect of Beach Nourishment on Assateague Island National Seashore
Nicholas Villa, KCI Technologies

This paper intends to determine if beach nourishment is a viable solution for the problems of eroding shorelines and decreasing elevation on Assateague Island National Seashore (AINS). Several types of beach nourishment have been chosen to fight the aggravated erosion on the island caused by the jetties built along the Ocean City, Md. inlet in 1935. The recent nourishment efforts have concentrated on the placement of sand offshore in hopes that the natural wave action will transport the sand up on the beach. Its effectiveness in the study area remains a question. This research project uses LIDAR data combined with GIS analysis to determine if the elevation, extent, and volume of Assateague Island have changed over time under natural and nourished conditions. It was found that despite great variations in the three aspects examined, AINS has been restored to or has maintained its 1996 conditions.