Researchers in Virginia, Scotland partner to study solutions for sea level rise

Virginia Tech will partner with Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Specifically, the research will focus on understanding how the soil behind seawalls is affected by repeated wetting and drying cycles caused by waves coming over the walls. By pinpointing vulnerable areas, researchers aim to enhance the design and resilience of sea walls.

“This problem is very complex. We understand that. One of the reasons it has not been done in the past is because it’s not an easy task to combine all of these factors,” said Sherif Abdelaziz, an associate professor at Virginia Tech. “Basically, the impact of climate change has a lot of parameters that actually impact our infrastructure, and we used to only consider one at a time. The project aims to consider a holistic picture of what’s going on, so we applied for funding, [and] we’re really excited to start.”

Abdelaziz said Heriot-Watt University will create small-scale versions of the project, and Virginia Tech will build full-scale versions. Virginia Tech has already worked on a retaining wall research facility at the Prices Fork Geotechnical Research Laboratory, focusing on the impact of temperature on earth retaining structures, which are structures that are built to prevent erosion of shorelines. This project will complement the current research by adding another level of complexity by measuring how much water fills in the soil, Abdelaziz said.

According to Abdelaziz, about 40% of the population in the United States lives in counties on the coast. Coastal cities are being forced to invest significant funds to protect their residents. By 2050, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that coastal communities across the nation will experience an average of 45 to 85 high-tide flood days per year. In coastal Virginia, subsidence will likely exacerbate sea-level rise, as well. When Virginia Tech scientists examined different sea-level rise scenarios compounded with the effect of land subsidence, they found by the year 2100, for the Chesapeake Bay area, 282 to 373 square miles face a risk of flooding.

Like Hampton Roads, communities in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe are facing negative impacts from sea level rise. According to research from the most recent climate projections from the national meteorological service for the UK, the region could see anywhere up to 1.15 meters of sea level rise by 2100.

By working with other researchers, Abdelaziz said the project will integrate multiple points of view to find solutions. He and Melis Sutman, assistant professor in geotechnical engineering at Heriot-Watt’s School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, got their doctorate degrees from Virginia Tech, so both teams already feel connected through the research.

“It’s the very first step on how we actually change how we look at problems, in general,” he added. “So I think we need to start moving toward a holistic idea of having all disciplines integrated together, and I’m not only talking about engineering problems. Things in our world are so complex, [and] our problems are becoming more and more complex. We cannot continue to address them independent of one another. We’re all connected.”