During the week of April 2, researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science will present their first 5-year findings of their studies on shoreline erosion and military sustainability at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
Through use of NCCOS’ Wave Exposure Model (WEMo) and a boat wake model (BoMo; under development), researchers were able to define both shoreline erosion ‘hot spots’ as well as potential mitigation sites where removal of shoreline revetments could be replaced by vegetation.
Additionally, boat wake analysis of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway which passes through the Base revealed extreme exceedance of wind wave events by boat wakes as a likely driver for the doubling of the AIW width over the last ~70 years.
Portions of the AIW were identified as needing shoreline protection measures, either as boat speed control or wave barriers to prevent potential disruption of military training activities.