Storm Surge Barriers to Protect New York City

Papers from a conference, Against the Deluge: Storm Surge Barriers to Protect New York City, held in Brooklyn, New York, March 30-31, 2009. Conference sponsored by the Infrastructure Group of the Metropolitan Section of ASCE; Environmental Sciences Section of the New York Academy of Sciences; Department of Civil Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of New York University. Publication sponsored by the Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute of ASCE.

This report contains 16 papers exploring the development of storm surge barriers to protect New York City and nearby New Jersey from the effects of a future deluge. Although the main focus is mitigating the effects of a hurricane, rising sea levels may require protection for the city from what are now minor surges. These papers form a foundation for the scientific and engineering research necessary to evaluate the barrier concept and explore options for its design and execution.

Topics include:

• modeling, simulation, and estimated effects of wind and storm surges
• hydrologic feasibility
• regulatory issues
• ecological and climate issues
• geotechnical issues
• navigability
• and design concepts for barriers at the East River, Verrazano Narrows, Arthur Kill, and Outer Harbor Gateway

This collection is must-reading for coastal engineers, navigation engineers, emergency planners, and government officials in the New York City area, as well as other vulnerable coastal areas.