Coastal Protection Using Vegetation
Oral
Jessica Cote, MSCE, PE
Owner
Blue Coast Engineering PS, Inc
Kathy Ketteridge, PhD, PE
Senior Managing Engineer
Anchor QEA, LLC
Many tidal embayments in Puget Sound have been impacted by development and are a focus for restoration efforts since they provide rearing habitat and migration corridors for salmon. A combination of field data collection methods and desktop analysis are being utilized to calculate tidal prism, channel dimensions, marsh extent, and water surface elevations of natural embayments to develop a model of tidal channel characteristics that can be broadly applied to design estuary restoration projects in Puget Sound. Initial results indicate sediment supply to the barrier beach and watershed area are important in the formation of the primary tidal channel.