MODELING ALTERNATIVES FOR EROSION CONTROL AT MATAGORDA COUNTY,TEXAS, WITH GENCADE

Ashley Frey, James Rosati, III, Kenneth J. Connell, Hans Hanson, Magnus Larson

Abstract


Matagorda Peninsula and Sargent Beach, Texas, USA, have experienced some of the highest rates of erosion along the Texas coast. In order to increase protection from tropical events and slow beach habitat erosion, several structural alternatives were studied. These alternatives were modeled with GenCade, a newly developed 1D shoreline change and sand transport model. GenCade was calibrated and validated over the 60 miles of shoreline in Matagorda County. Then separate GenCade grids and simulations were conducted for the structural alternatives at Matagorda Peninsula and Sargent Beach. At Matagorda Peninsula, different groin lengths and spacing between groins were modeled with and without beach fills and mechanical bypassing. The alternatives at Sargent Beach included detached breakwaters, groins, and beach fills. Although the process described in this paper only includes a small part of a more detailed study, these simulations helped lead to a recommendation of the selected alternatives for preliminary engineering design.

Keywords


GenCade; numerical modeling; shoreline change; sand transport; Matagorda County

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