Protecting our Coasts: Atlantic Reefmaker Wave Attenuator System Reducing Coastal Erosion
Atlantic Reefmaker, Scenic Consulting Group’s innovative wave attenuation system was installed as part of the Atlantic Harbor maintenance dredging and living shoreline project to provide protection of the commercial fishing harbor channel using innovative nature-based engineering solutions.
RALEIGH, NC – September 2020 – Scenic Consulting Group, a coastal and environmental engineering firm with expertise in environmental planning, engineering, coastal management, and unmanned aircraft systems, has installed the Atlantic Reefmaker, a living shoreline wave attenuation system, to help mitigate coastal erosion as part of the Carteret County’s and the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Atlantic Harbor maintenance dredging and living shoreline project.
The Atlantic Harbor project is funded primarily from a $1.1 million grant the North Carolina Coastal Federation obtained in 2018 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Carteret County, North Carolina to build living shorelines. The Coastal Federation, has promoted and built living shorelines for years as a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to bulkheads, jetties and other hard structures to prevent shoreline erosion and channel shoaling.
The Atlantic Reefmaker System is installed on the seaward side of openings in a granite rock sill (living shoreline) that was constructed around White Point, in Core Sound, just offshore from Atlantic Harbor. The openings in the structures allow fish to pass through the rock sill, which, along with planted vegetation, provides habitat for non-sessile life, such as fish, and a surface for oysters and other sessile life to attach.
The Atlantic Reefmaker is comprised of six individual concrete disks stacked on a 12” diameter composite fiberglass pile. A total of six units were installed. The concept is a water flow-through wave attenuation technology that dissipates wave energy in three ways: (1) wave energy reflects back into open water from the front face of the structure; (2) wave energy collisions occur along the sides of the octagonal structure; and, (3) water energy dissipates as it’s directed through the system.
The legs on the water-facing front side of the structure of the Ecodisks tray directs water to the fiberglass piling. The piling speeds up the wave energy, and when the water reaches the ‘landward’ side of the structure, the water exits the structure. The wave energy dissipates because the flow is no longer concentrated, and, if there is sediment in the water column, the sediment drops out and accretes on the shoreline.
“Our wave attenuators are designed to limit the wave energy that causes erosion and siltation in high wave-energy environments. We’re confident these attenuators will perform well and provide a permanent solution to erosion in this ecosystem and we appreciate the opportunity to work on this critical Atlantic Harbor project, which benefits a community that relies on a sound and stable coast for both commercial and recreational activities,” said Randy Boyd, principal of Scenic Consulting Group.
“We are thrilled to finally work with Scenic Consulting Group to demonstrate the use of Atlantic Reefmaker in living shoreline construction in North Carolina,” said Dr. Lexia Weaver, Coastal Scientist at the Coastal Federation. “We have another tool in the toolbox now to help reduce shoreline erosion and create valuable habitat in our estuaries.”
About Scenic Consulting Group
Scenic Consulting Group is a coastal and environmental engineering firm headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, that designs and builds projects that work with nature. We represent decades of engineering and natural sciences experience working in conjunction with a trusted network of partners to assist our clients with environmental planning, engineering, coastal management, unmanned aircraft systems, and emergency services.
We apply the right tools necessary to create the optimal build for any site. We combine our expert environmental science skills with aerial imagery and video to help develop strategies to mitigate potential impacts involving critical environmental factors such as wetlands and streams, protected species, and invasive species encroachment, and to streamline environmental permitting.
Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About North Carolina Coastal Federation
The North Carolina Coastal Federation is a member-supported non-profit that focuses on protecting and restoring the North Carolina coast. Since 1982, the federation has been in the field restoring miles of coastline; training and educating students, adults and communities to take actions that result in cleaner coastal waters and advocating for an accessible, healthy, productive coast.
Created to give a united voice to the need for long-term coastal management, the federation remains a collaborative, grassroots organization at its heart and brings together traditional and nontraditional organizations, government agencies and businesses in order to achieve what is best for the North Carolina coast and to leave a legacy of clean water for future generations. The federation has 16,000 supporters and reaches almost 300,000 people directly each year.
Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn
Hi Atlantic Reefmaker, Scenic Consulting Group’s innovative wave attenuation system was installed as part of the Atlantic Harbor maintenance dredging and living shoreline project to provide protection of the commercial fishing harbor channel using innovative nature-based engineering solutions.