Event Title
Streaming Media
Presentation Abstract
The Living Dike – Pilot Project Phase Technical Development from multiple Multi-Discipline Walkabouts. Abstract Salish Sea Conference The Living Dike – Pilot Project Phase Technical Development from multiple Multi-Discipline Walkabouts. John Readshaw, P. Eng. SNC – Lavalin Inc. Gary Williams, RP Bio. G.L. Williams and Associates The Living Dike project, described in an earlier Salish Sea Conference presentation, has now moved into a seven year funded pilot project phase. As part of this phase, a series of walkabouts was undertaken at two of the intended pilot project sites to better understand the ecological services being provided by the existing saltmarsh and low- tide tidal flats. The walkabouts were conducted by a marine wetlands biologist and a coastal engineer to ensure that as many aspects of the ongoing ecological services and any potentially related physical oceanographic or coastal engineering elements of the areas were considered. The walkabouts revealed a previously not realized or appreciated, presence of a fibrous algal or a microphytobenthos mat that was providing important erosion protection to the lower intertidal area of the existing salt marsh and also the presence of a biological based source of clean sand material that was being transported across the fibrous mat into the higher mid marsh portions of the existing salt marsh by low energy summer based sea breeze wind and related systems. The biologically sourced sediment, together with Zostera japonica and Zostera marina fronds being transported onshore in the early fall, combined to reinforce the seaward platforms of the marsh to provide a dynamically resilient physical restoring process to the existing marsh. The presentation will provide a time series of the processes witnessed over 10 evenly spaced walkabout, an initial technical summary of the processes at work and guidance on how this naturally occurring marsh building process can be incorporated into the Living Dike concept.
Session Title
Communities and Ecosystems
Conference Track
SSE6: Human-Nature Systems
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2022 : Online)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE-traditionals-390
Start Date
27-4-2022 9:45 AM
End Date
27-4-2022 11:15 AM
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Type
Text
Language
English
The Living Dike – Pilot Project Phase Technical Development from multiple Multi-Discipline Walkabouts.
The Living Dike – Pilot Project Phase Technical Development from multiple Multi-Discipline Walkabouts. Abstract Salish Sea Conference The Living Dike – Pilot Project Phase Technical Development from multiple Multi-Discipline Walkabouts. John Readshaw, P. Eng. SNC – Lavalin Inc. Gary Williams, RP Bio. G.L. Williams and Associates The Living Dike project, described in an earlier Salish Sea Conference presentation, has now moved into a seven year funded pilot project phase. As part of this phase, a series of walkabouts was undertaken at two of the intended pilot project sites to better understand the ecological services being provided by the existing saltmarsh and low- tide tidal flats. The walkabouts were conducted by a marine wetlands biologist and a coastal engineer to ensure that as many aspects of the ongoing ecological services and any potentially related physical oceanographic or coastal engineering elements of the areas were considered. The walkabouts revealed a previously not realized or appreciated, presence of a fibrous algal or a microphytobenthos mat that was providing important erosion protection to the lower intertidal area of the existing salt marsh and also the presence of a biological based source of clean sand material that was being transported across the fibrous mat into the higher mid marsh portions of the existing salt marsh by low energy summer based sea breeze wind and related systems. The biologically sourced sediment, together with Zostera japonica and Zostera marina fronds being transported onshore in the early fall, combined to reinforce the seaward platforms of the marsh to provide a dynamically resilient physical restoring process to the existing marsh. The presentation will provide a time series of the processes witnessed over 10 evenly spaced walkabout, an initial technical summary of the processes at work and guidance on how this naturally occurring marsh building process can be incorporated into the Living Dike concept.
