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Establishing the Role of the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands in Mississippi Sound and Bight Circulation Using Observational Data Analysis and a Coastal Model

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Establishing the Role of the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands in Mississippi Sound and Bight Circulation Using Observational Data Analysis and a Coastal Model The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Fall 2019 Establishing the Role of the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands in Mississippi Sound and Bight Circulation Using Observational Data Analysis and a Coastal Model Laura Hode University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the Oceanography Commons Recommended Citation Hode, Laura, "Establishing the Role of the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands in Mississippi Sound and Bight Circulation Using Observational Data Analysis and a Coastal Model" (2019). Dissertations. 1737. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1737 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ESTABLISHING THE ROLE OF THE MISSISSIPPI-ALABAMA BARRIER ISLANDS IN MISSISSIPPI SOUND AND BIGHT CIRCULATION USING OBSERVATIONAL DATA ANALYSIS AND A COASTAL MODEL by Laura Elizabeth Hode A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Ocean Science and Engineering at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved by: Dr. Stephan D. Howden, Committee Chair Dr. Dmitri A. Nechaev Dr. Jeremy D. Wiggert Dr. Patrick J. Fitzpatrick Dr. Davin J. Wallace ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Dr. Stephan D. Howden Dr. Jeremy D. Wiggert Dr. Karen S. Coats Committee Chair Associate Director of Dean of the Graduate School School December 2019 COPYRIGHT BY Laura Elizabeth Hode 2019 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT The Mississippi-Alabama barrier islands restrict exchange between the Mississippi Sound and Mississippi Bight in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The islands also act as storm breaks for tropical cyclones, so their continued existence sustains marine ecosystems and protects coastal communities. However, the chain has undergone extensive segmentation, erosion, and westward migration in the past two hundred years. The islands are now more susceptible to further erosion (Pendleton et al., 2013; Morton, 2007). Additional reduction in island subaerial land extent would alter circulation in the Mississippi Sound and Bight. Consequently, this study targeted the two most vulnerable barrier islands in the chain for removal in an ocean model to understand how circulation might change in an island loss scenario. A multiplatform data analysis assessed patterns in existing circulation over a four year period. Circulation varied both seasonally and on short time scales ranging from hours to days. Additionally, storm-induced changes to circulation were examined for the hurricane seasons of the same four year period to gauge how non- periodic events impacted the Mississippi Sound and Bight. Circulation response to tropical cyclones that entered the Gulf of Mexico varied storm to storm. Prior to initiating the island removal scenarios, validation of the oceanic and atmospheric models was completed to deduce model skill using the observational data. Finally, the response of Mississippi Sound and Bight circulation to island loss was examined under time-invariant and time-variant conditions. Analysis of model output found island removal weakened currents in existing island passes but created new water exchange pathways where the islands had been removed. The new pathways increased ii salinity within the Mississippi Sound by as much as 2 near the removed islands. However, the island chosen for removal dictated the extent of circulation changes and which half of the Sound saw larger salinity increases. Seasonality played a role in how the Mississippi Sound and Bight responded to island loss. Results suggest permanent changes to circulation which would impact the resiliency of the remaining barrier islands and substantially shift distributions of hydrographic properties. These changes would have ecological and economic consequences throughout the Mississippi Sound. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was made possible in part by a grant from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. High frequency radar data are publicly available through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information & Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) at https://data.gulfresearchinitiative.org (https://doi.org/ 10.7266/N77D2SJ5D5RBW). Funding was also provided by the Shelf-Slope Interactions and Carbon Transformation and Transport in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Platform Proof of Concept for the Ocean Observing System in the Northern Gulf of Mexico project as part of the Northern Gulf Institute and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The design and implementation of this project would not have been possible without the assistance and dedication of multiple individuals. I would like to acknowledge the exemplary efforts of Dr. Stephan Howden, Dr. Arne Diercks, Kevin Martin, James Davis, and Richard Slaughter in establishing and maintaining the Central Gulf of Mexico Ocean Observing System high frequency radar network. The support staff at CODAR Ocean Sensors also deserve thanks. The coastal ocean model used in the study was created as part of the CONsortium for oil spill exposure pathways in COastal River-Dominated Ecosystems efforts. Model development was led by Dr. Jeremy Wiggert. Many thanks are due to Dr. Wiggert as well as to current and former members of the modeling group including Mike Dinniman, Dr. Kemal Cambazoglu, Dr. Stephan O’Brien, and Dr. Chudong Pan for their efforts in the creation and development of the coastal ocean model. Additionally, Dr. Patrick Fitzpatrick and Yee Lau developed a Mississippi Bight region-specific atmospheric product for use in the model. Thank you. iv Several persons provided invaluable input on the study region’s dynamics and on equipment that supplied data used in this study. I would like to thank Dr. Ervin Otvos and Dr. Gregory Carter for discussions on the history of the Mississippi-Alabama barrier islands. I would especially like to thank Dr. Davin Wallace for insights into the barrier islands’ vulnerability. Thanks are due as well to Dr. Dmitri Nechaev for discussion on model skill assessment and output analysis. Robert Moss Jr. and Mike Runner supplied details on the Mississippi Department of Marine Resource-US Geological Survey hydrological stations needed for model validation. Thank you. Several current and former graduate students aided in the research and troubleshooting of this project. Thank you to Robert Hollis, Dr. Stephan O’Brien, Dr. Sarah Epps, Uchenna Nwankwo, Shara Gremillion, and Courtney Bouchard. Thank you as well to Samuel Wright for his ArcGIS assistance. I am grateful to the University of Southern Mississippi for the opportunity to conduct this research. Finally, I would like to thank the members of my committee: Dr. Stephan Howden, Dr. Dmitri Nechaev, Dr. Jeremy Wiggert, Dr. Davin Wallace, and Dr. Patrick Fitzpatrick. Thank you for your assistance and dedication. v DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this work to my grandfather, Emil Handzel, and my father, Phillip Handzel. Growing up, my father told stories about how my grandfather immigrated to the United States as a child. He never finished high school, so his dream for his children was that they graduate high school. They all received their diplomas. My father carried that dream forward. He wanted my brother and me to attend and finish college. We both have bachelor’s degrees, and I have had the pleasure and opportunity to move forward onto graduate studies. To both of them, I owe a heartfelt thanks for dreaming of more for the generations that come after. My grandfather and father instilled a dream of higher achievements in me, and this work would not have been possible without their vision and the support of my friends and family. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................ xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ xxiii CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Study Area ................................................................................................................ 2 1.2 Barrier Island Formation and Evolution ................................................................... 4 1.3 Mississippi Sound and Bight Circulation Drivers .................................................... 7 1.3.1 Tides ................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.2 Rivers ................................................................................................................. 9 1.3.3 Winds ................................................................................................................
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