Partnering With Industry To Improve Coastal Decision-Making
Q. Jim Chen, professor of civil and environmental engineering, jointly appointed in the department of marine and environmental sciences, is collaborating with DHI Water and Environment Inc. (DHI Group) to enable improved coastal decision-making for climate change adaptation. To innovate new ways to use, manage, and live with water and protect water-related ecosystems, they are investigating methods to account for coastal vegetation and its relevance for wave attenuation, storm surge reduction, and biodiversity in the design of nature-based solutions (NBS).
Currently, there are no official or universal design guidelines for NBS. The goal of the research is to assign values and strength to different types of NBS and to have a science-based framework for optimizing both engineering and ecological benefits. This would enable more efficient and objective decision-making surrounding the complex design of NBS, while allowing for cost efficiency and adaptability in a changing climate. Chen is working with DHI experts on testing the accuracy of their wave modeling solutions with his field data. Chen’s research focuses on coastal processes and NBS using field campaigns, numerical modelling, and physics-informed neural networks.
Read the original full article by DHI, “A Full Circle in Coastal Research”