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Khalil, S. M.; Finkl, C. W., and Raynie, R. C., 2013. Development of new rRestoration strategies for Louisiana barrier island systems, northern Gulf of Mexico, USA The rapid degradation of Louisiana's barrier island (BI) systems adversely impacts the vitality of strategic economic and biological resources (including aquatic habitat). Louisiana's BI systems have undergone landward migration through BI rollover, area loss and island narrowing as a result of complex interactions among land subsidence, sea-level rise, wave processes, inadequate sediment supply, and intense human disturbance. Consequently, the structural continuity of the BI shorelines has weakened as the islands narrowed, fragmented and, in some cases, submerged. Several multipronged restoration strategies are currently underway to develop effective interdisciplinary restoration projects that mitigate degradation of the Mississippi River delta plain and compensate for coastal land loss. Restoration of the BI systems requires strategies that protect interior wetlands and bolster the first lines of storm defense in a post- Hurricane Katrina-Rita-Gustav-Ike-Isaac and post-Deep Water Horizon era. Coastline degradation would have continued were it not for a series of massive barrier island restoration projects. Such efforts commonly consist of beach nourishment on the Gulfside and marsh creation on the bayside of barrier islands. Regionalizing monitoring, maintenance, and data management efforts support the still evolving scientific and engineering aspects of rebuilding BIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Pakistan's Indus River Delta, Arabian Sea Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC), related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Alaska's Ivishak River Delta, Beaufort Sea Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC), related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Mexico, State of Veracruz's Gulf of Mexico Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC), related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Canada's Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Atlantic Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC), related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Florida's St. Vincent Island, Gulf of Mexico coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC), related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Gulf of Mexico Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Atlantic Coast, Iceland. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Kamchatka Peninsula, Chukchi Sea Coast, Russia. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Bering Sea Coast, Alaska. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Resurrection Bay Coast, Alaska. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Manitoba, Hudson Bay Coast, Canada. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment Argentina, Atlantic Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment Pacific Coast. California. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Sakhalin Island, Gulf of Patience Coast, Russia. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Uruguay, Atlantic Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Pacific Coast, New Zealand. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Gulf of Mexico Coast, Texas. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Atlantic Coast, North Carolina. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Mexico, Gulf of California Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Gulf of Mexico Coast, Mississippi. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Madagascar, Indian Ocean Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of State of Georgia, Atlantic Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Guatemala, Pacific Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Columbia, Rincon del Mar Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

The article presents an illustrated reference of biophysical environment of Sierra Leone, Atlantic Coast. Topics discussed include coastal belt linked classification (CBLC) , related environments and habitats; dominant catenary sequence (DCS): coastal ecological sequence (CES); and related geology, biology, geomorphology, littoral oceanography.

Coastal land loss in the Mississippi River delta region, related to degradation of wetlands and erosion of barrier islands, contributes to loss of valuable habitat, endangerment of infrastructure and socioeconomic systems, and coastal flooding hazards. Restoration of these ecosystems is thus a primary activity that requires large volumes of sand to rebuild beach-dune systems and restore wetland habitats. Sand sources have traditionally been sought offshore in the marine environment, but there are problems associated with setbacks from oil and gas infrastructure, presence of muddy overburden, and limited reserves of beach-quality sediments. Fluvial sand sources in channel and point-bar deposits become an attractive alternative for barrier island restoration because of large volumes of relict deposits and because active sand waves are renewable. Results of preliminary geophysical and geotechnical investigations in the lower Mississippi River (south of New Orleans) along a 32-km stretch of the river indicate the presence of at least 23 million cubic meters of usable sediments in seven potential borrow sites. Caveats to assessment and exploitation of river sands include interpretation of vibracores and seismic reflection profiles that include evidence of lateral translation-type bank failures along bendways, lateral slumps, and postdepositional disturbance of strata above -30 m. Reliable extraction of good quality sediment should occur down current from bendways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic erosion of beaches along the eastern Texas barrier island coast is increasingly mitigated by renourishment efforts that periodically place large volumes of sand onshore. Location of beach-quality sands on the inner continental shelf is challenged in an environment where terrestrial rivers deposit fluvial sediments in back bays and lagoons instead of offshore and by shelf areas that are dominated by muds. The search for beach-quality sands thus requires understanding of the coastal geological framework and morphodynamic processes that accompanied late Quaternary evolution in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The occurrence of surficial sand deposits as positive bathymetric features on the seafloor (ridges, shoals, banks) and presence of sands buried in paleovalley (drowned channels) infill sequences makes for complicated search procedures that must accurately differentiate a range of sedimentary settings by geophysical and geotechnical surveys. Compilation of vast amounts of data from historical core logs and newly acquired information in a marine information system (MIS) permits spatial analyses in a format that is compatible with development of a sand search model. The resulting differentiated investigative sand-search methods, that comprise part of the Texas Sand Search Model (TSSM), are able to target potential borrow areas in ebb-tidal shoals, low-relief ridge deposits, high-relief banks, and in mud-covered paleovalley sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]