An expert elicitation to inform coastal management decision-making for mitigating future hazards

Journal of Environmental Management
By: , and 

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Abstract

A scientific expert elicitation was conducted to address the feasibility of restoring coastal environments in response to future hazards to best meet management objectives. Subject matter experts produced probabilistic estimates of coastal change metrics used to evaluate decision objectives and alternatives informed by a stakeholder advisory group. Changes in salt marsh extents, storm surge flooding and barrier island morphology by the year 2050 were estimated for three scenarios of management actions (no action, interior headland restoration, beach and dune nourishment), while also considering the effects of future sea level rise (SLR). Collectively the participants were confident in their expectations of increased storm surge flooding with SLR, regardless of management interventions. Estimates of marsh response had large uncertainty, but experts generally hypothesized that marsh area would decrease with increasing SLR if no action was taken, especially in areas already experiencing marsh deterioration. There was agreement that dune heights and barrier island widths would decrease with SLR if no action was taken. Experts felt that beach and dune nourishment may reduce the amount of erosion under future SLR. All experts recognized the dynamic effects of SLR and feedback between bio-geo-physical processes that govern coastal systems. Participants agreed that size and location of management actions were important factors for influencing the coastal response. Expert elicitation is novel in the context of coastal management decision making and can be a useful tool for informing future scientific needs and providing rapid results to end users to inform reallocation of resources surrounding research and application.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title An expert elicitation to inform coastal management decision-making for mitigating future hazards
Series title Journal of Environmental Management
DOI 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127447
Volume 394
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center
Description 127447, 15 p.
Country United States
State Alabama, Mississippi
Other Geospatial Dauphin Island, Grand Bay
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