INVESTIGATING THE WAVE ACTION ON SHORELINE STRUCTURES IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA

Coastal erosion in southwest Louisiana has profound socio-economic and environmental impact due to the substantial loss of essential coastal levees and highways that constitute barriers to flood damage and highway access corridors, respectively. The primary goal of the proposed project is to provide an improved insight on coastal erosion rates within a dynamic environment in a study site at Cameron parish, Louisiana. Field experiments were completed at test levee structures located 10 miles west of Holly Beach. The field experiments are coupled with both lab experiments performed in a wave tank facility and numerical simulations on flow-sediment interaction around levee structures. The results of this project will determine the potential benefits to the State of Louisiana from the utilization of alternative substrate material in coastal structures to minimize erosion damage to the levees and adjacent roadways due to the wave surges.