SUSTAINABLE COASTAL SOLUTIONS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Engineer
- Senior Coastal Engineer
Mr. Ruthven is a coastal engineer specializing in nearshore coastal dynamics, design and rehabilitation of coastal structures, innovative design and use of soft solutions in the nearshore regions, and numerical modeling. He is experienced in hydrodynamic modeling, wave and sediment modeling, inlet processes, hydrographic analysis, coastal mitigation and nature-based stabilization, and the design and rehabilitation of shore protection structures. Mr. Ruthven also has extensive experience in ecosystem restoration projects typically involve a balance between maximizing restoration area, influencing overall water quality, preventing upland flooding, and achieving long-term sustainability
Mr. Ruthven has been conducting the monitoring of the DNSI shoreline since 2005 as part of the restoration project to enhance and protect wildlife habitat and nesting habitat for coastal waterbirds of high conservation Priority. The monitoring involves cross-shore profile measurements along the eastern 2,400 feet of the island to document the erosion of the island and loss of Piping Plover habitat. The western end of the island is being monitored to focus on management of sediment migrating toward the west end of the barrier beach system and the impacts to the navigational channel. Mr. Ruthven has also developed the Pre- and Post-Construction monitoring protocols as well as supporting the engineering and permitting associated with backpassing dredged material from the western end of the island and using the material to maintain the integrity of the barrier beach/dune system adjacent to the eastern end. The restoration of the eastern end of the island will restore and protect essential shorebird and wildlife habitat.
Job Titles:
- Principal Coastal Engineer
Mr. Ramsey is founder and Principal Coastal Engineer at Coastal Solutions. He has served as Project Manager and/or Principal Investigator for coastal embayment restoration projects, regional shoreline management plans, beach nourishment and coastal structure designs, estuarine water quality/flushing studies, geotechnical engineering, hydrodynamic and sediment transport evaluations, and environmental studies required for permitting of coastal projects. He has co-authored several papers related to littoral processes analysis and has employed innovative numerical methods to develop alternative solutions for complex coastal engineering problems. Mr. Ramsey is well-versed in modern analytical and numerical techniques for evaluating coastal, estuarine, and salt marsh processes. In addition, he is responsible for oversight of engineering services at Coastal Solutions.
Mr. Ramsey served as project manager for a comprehensive analysis of flooding and sea level rise was completed for Nantucket Island Resorts, in order to make property management decisions in the next 20 to 40 years based on future risk-based decision making based on coastal flooding and sea-level rise scenarios over the next 40 years. The assessment evaluated most of downtown Nantucket and the infrastructure surround Nantucket Harbor and lead to the development of adaptation strategies and designs while assigning priority levels to allow science and data driven implementation of the adaptations.
Mr. Ramsey served as project manager for a for a comprehensive study of Vineyard Haven Harbor shoreline to develop an understanding of coastal processes, storm flooding, and sea level rise over the next 30-to-50 years to support a detailed analysis of potential shoreline management strategies and adaptations to provide resiliency for the shoreline and community infrastructure over the next 50 years. The quantitative assessment of both the risks and potential mitigation strategies required an evaluation of tidal, wave, and sediment transport dynamics within the harbor system, including the Lagoon Pond shoreline in the vicinity of Beach Road, to determine potential storm damage related to infrastructure along the coastline and a quantitative assessment of severe storms as it relates to both tidal flooding (storm surge "pathways") and wave overtopping/damage along the historic district referred to as the "Harbor/Lagoon Pond/SSA Triangle" to provide the Town a "roadmap" that the Town can utilize to proactively plan for projects that will improve the resiliency of the harbor area.
Mr. Ramsey served as project manager for a quantitative analysis of town-wide coastal processes to acquire an understanding of alongshore sediment transport along the Scituate coast and a set of prioritization criteria were developed to determine the coastal resiliency of each shoreline section. A range of appropriate shore protection and coastal management strategies were evaluated for each section based on the efficacy of providing shore protection, the anticipated environmental impacts, and the overall cost of construction and maintenance over a 50-year period. As a part of the project, public working sessions were conducted to inform the public regarding both the process and the findings of the planning effort. Mr. Ramsey completed this project as an employee of Applied Coastal.
Mr. Ramsey served as project manager for a comprehensive study of the entire eastern Nantucket Sound facing coast of the Town of Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard was performed in order to help quantify erosion rates and develop possible management solutions to help maintain public beach recreational resources. Sediment transport potential was computed for entire Town shoreline, and the southern half of the shoreline was modeled using a one-line shoreline change model developed in-house. Inputs to the model included average wave conditions computed using the 2-D wave model SWAN. Beach fill scenarios in the range between 12,000 and 56,000 cubic yards were simulated for different sections of the coast. These scenarios included options to reconfigure existing groins along the shoreline in order to improve their utility. Subsequent services included assessment of jetty improvements at the harbor entrance to enhance navigation safety. Mr. Ramsey completed this project as an employee of Applied Coastal.
Mr. Ramsey served as project manager and lead coastal engineer for the evaluation of appropriate design wave climate studies (including wave forces, storm wave overtopping rates, and wave run-up), as well as further design guidance needed to assure appropriate construction methodology and mitigation. Projects included shore protection design for Squantum Point, seawall repairs at Rocky Beach and Short Beach (Revere/Winthrop), emergency revetment design for Winthrop Beach, revetment re-design along the Lynn Harbor side of the Nahant Causeway, re-design of the Point Allerton revetment (Hull), and re-design of Georges Island shore protection. Typical projects included numerical wave modeling of extremal conditions to develop appropriate engineering design parameters. Utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, wave overtopping, run-up, and forces can be determined to formulate an appropriate shore protection design. Mr. Ramsey's involvement often included techniques designed to minimize wave reflection and/or downdrift impacts. As an example, a cobble berm was designed at Point Allerton to reduce wave reflection and maintain the revetment foundation. The work was performed for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation under contracts with Bourne Consulting Engineering, Vollmer Associates, and Parsons Brinckerhoff as an employee of Applied Coastal.
Job Titles:
- Engineer
- Coastal Engineer
Mr. Larner is a coastal engineer at Sustainable Coastal Solutions, Inc. specializing in the modeling of coastal processes. His past modeling work includes the application of state-of-the-art wave, hydrodynamic, and sediment transport models to address a variety of coastal engineering projects. Mr. Larner has developed several two-dimensional sediment transport and hydrodynamics models that were critical to engineering alternative analyses.
Mr. Larner served as project engineer for a comprehensive study of the south facing coast of Falmouth, in the vicinity of Eel River and Washburn Island, to develop a detailed analysis of potential shoreline management strategies to improve the resilience and natural function of the barrier beach system and to address ongoing erosion issues along this shoreline. Mr. Larner developed, translated, and integrated GIS data layers and digitized new data using a variety of software to evaluate historical shoreline change and barrier beach evolution to establish an understanding of local long term coastal processes. A detailed hydrodynamic modeling analysis was performed using the Delft3D integrated flow and wave model to determine existing flow conditions within the inlet to identify shoreline areas vulnerable to excessive hydraulic stress and to be used as a proxy to evaluate potential channel widening alternatives to restore historical tidal exchange and circulation of the embayment system through Eel River Inlet.
Job Titles:
- Engineer
- Senior Coastal Engineer
Mr. Kelley is a senior coastal engineer specializing in the measurement and modeling of coastal processes. His past modeling work includes the application of state-of-the-art wave, hydrodynamic, and sediment transport models in a broad range of coastal engineering and analysis projects. This experience includes the determination of coastal structure design criteria, the design of beach nourishments, and the analyses of estuarine circulation and water quality. Mr. Kelley is also skilled in the techniques and equipment used to make measurements in the coastal environment, including tides, currents, and bathymetry.