JELA Barataria Preserve Future Conditions Modeling Study

whitbeck, Julie

The objective of the Barataria Preserve Future Conditions Modeling project is to provide park managers with scientifically rigorous projections of key coastal environmental conditions across the Barataria Preserve landscape over the next 25 to 50 years. The park will use these projections to inform and guide park planning and to prioritize management endeavors over this interval. To provide projections of future coastal conditions at the preserve, M&N performed a modeling study based in part on the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan Integrated Compartment Model (ICM) modeling approach. Two complementary coastal numerical models were developed for this study: a detailed hydrodynamic model of the Barataria Basin that represents the complex basin and JELA Barataria Preserve landscape with high resolution; and a “downscaled” JELA ICM that offers improved resolution and representation of the hydrology in the upper basin.