Technical Research

SAGE develops a wide range of technical research focused on the design, performance, risk reduction, and long-term management of planning and engineering solutions across inland and coastal settings. These research efforts help to bridge gaps between policy, planning, and implementation to best determine current and future successes of Civil Works projects. Applictions draw from an ever-improving understanding of domestic and international best practices.

Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) Project: Advancing Engineering Design Guidance for Constructed Salt Marshes with High Fidelity Modeling and Long-Term Monitoring

Objective

The objective of this project is to test a novel modeling approach to quantify how well existing salt marshes buffer flooding, wave energy, and runoff increase coastal resilience to stressors, such as buffer flooding, reduce wave energy, and prevent erosion and runoff caused by natural hazards. The project team will use lessons learned from evaluation of existing sites to develop recommendations for an initial salt marsh design framework based on desired marsh performance. The specific technical objectives are to (1) validate and calibrate the innovative salt marsh design model to be completed for at least one long-established reference/benchmark site and two recent restoration sites, (2) evaluate wave attenuation and habitat performance at the marsh sites under historic conditions, (3) evaluate wave attenuation and habitat performance at the marsh sites under a range of scenarios, and (4) use lessons learned to develop initial recommendations for a framework linking modeling, field and lab research, monitoring, and design evolution. 

Project Benefits

This project provides an innovative spatially distributed salt marsh model that directly couples hydrodynamics, waves, morphology, and vegetation growth processes with marsh accretion and compaction—capabilities not currently integrated within existing salt marsh models. The model is intended to evaluate existing salt marsh habitat and wave attenuation performance under current and future natural hazard scenarios at specific sites, while also supporting the development of an initial salt marsh design framework. By improving understanding of how marsh characteristics influence performance metrics such as wave attenuation, habitat function, and erosion reduction, the model could help quantify benefits to adjacent infrastructure, including levees and other upland assets. Success will be measured by the model’s ability to reasonably reproduce observed marsh behavior, evaluate performance across multiple hazard scenarios, and identify clear relationships between marsh characteristics and performance objectives. Ultimately, the effort aims to inform more reliable and cost-effective salt marsh restoration and construction practices by integrating modeling, field and laboratory research, and monitoring into a unified design framework. This could expand the use of salt marshes as effective nature-based wave attenuation features across coastal military installations while delivering additional long-term benefits such as flood risk reduction, habitat creation, recreation, and reduced post-construction corrective costs. Anticipated project completion - 2026.

Project Website: ESTCP Project NH24-8072