Field Stories: Coastal Resiliency in Georgia

On a recent trip to Georgia, I found myself unexpectedly (and directly!) in the path of Tropical Storm Debby. The rainfall, flooding, and wind prevented me from visiting Sapelo Island, but I was still able to participate in a week long workshop about science communication and bioinformatics in Savannah with some fellow marine scientists.  

While we experienced substantial rainfall in Savannah for several days, there was less flooding than initially forecasted. Given the circumstances, I was curious about the factors of coastal resiliency in Georgia that may have contributed to reducing the impact of flooding during Debby.

​Having collected wild oysters from Georgia for my dissertation, I knew that there are expansive natural oyster reef structures along the coastlines in the greater Savannah area. Specifically, I know that native oyster reefs play a role in shielding the coast from storm surge and erosion. ​

Tropical Storm Debby was forecasted to bring close to 30 inches of rain to Savannah, GA, a record rainfall. Image credit: NOAA & Savannah Morning News

Some wild local oysters near Savannah, GA. Some oyster reefs occur deeper in the water column (subtidally) where they are fully covered by water. This reef is intertidal, where the oysters are exposed to air during low tides.

With a growing number of people living in coastal areas along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the US, it's imperative to better understand coastal mitigation strategies in the face of rapidly intensifying storms and climate change events. Natural oyster reefs are ecosystem engineers that provide a physical barrier which mitigates storm surges and prevents successive erosion (Chowdhury et al 2021). Beyond physical factors, filter-feeding oysters clear bacteria that enters the water through storm drainage and runoff. Oyster reefs also provide valuable structural habitat for many marine species. This habitat is the foundation for biodiverse ecosystems and healthy fisheries that remain resilient to extreme climatic events (Chowdhury et al 2021). ​

​To investigate additional factors of coastal resilience in Georgia, I visited Tybee Island, just east of Savannah, with other workshop attendees. While there, we were inundated with heavy rain and wind, but we were able to identify several features of the landscape that, in part, play a role in buffering the coastline from storms. 

​I teamed up with scientists Damián Santiago-Sosa, Paul Okrah, Darrian Talamantes, and Mai Fahmy, who shared their expertise on resilient coastal ecosystems and how marine scientists study these coastlines in the video that we created!

Check out our video on features of resilient coastlines such as sand dunes, bacteria, and biodiversity! These resilient features are similar among many coastlines in different marine environments, so next time you're on the coast, see how many of these features you can identify.

We encountered strong winds & rain on Tybee Island from Tropical Storm Debby!

Coastal scientists Paul Okrah and Damián Santiago-Sosa on Tybee Island with me!

Citations
1. Chowdhury, Mohammed Shah Nawaz, Megan La Peyre, Loren D. Coen, Rebecca L. Morris, Mark W. Luckenbach, Tom Ysebaert, Brenda Walles, and Aad C. Smaal. "Ecological engineering with oysters enhances coastal resilience efforts." Ecological Engineering 169 (2021): 106320​