DOI Project #SA024; Hurricane Sandy; Storm Surge and Marsh Vegetation Modeling

This is an announcement for issuing a single source financial assistance award to The University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina. This announcement is for notification purposes only. The intent of the award is to parameterize the coupled marsh and hydrodynamic models MEM and ADCIRC for estuaries in the Northeast affected by Hurricane Sandy as part of The Department of the Interior (DOI) Project #24, Decision Support for Hurricane Sandy Restoration and Future Conservation to Increase Resiliency of Tidal Wetland Habitats and Species in the Face of Storms and Sea Level Rise. The coupled model will forecast the abatement of storm surge afforded by coastal wetlands with and without acceleration in rising sea level, and with and without wetland restoration. The model will be applied to Plum Island Sound, MA in the first year and elsewhere in Sandy-affected states (Virginia-Maine) during the second year, with choices dictated by availability of data and a priority ranking by project partners. This project was previously vetted and approved for funding by the Department of the Interior. The appropriation for this project is the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriation Act of 2013, Public Law 113-2. Criteria for funding was based on the project¿s ability to yield the greatest return on investment by taking advantage of existing science and regional planning tools for resiliency and by working with states, cities, communities, and partners who contribute to the goals of restoring and rebuilding national wildlife refuges and other federal public assets; and to increase resiliency and the capacity of coastal habitat and infrastructure and to withstand future storms and to minimize the damage incurred This announcement is for notification purposes only. This project is authorized by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, Public Law 113-2.