“TH E M OR E THAT YO U CAN EDUCATE A ND HELP PEOP L E TO UNDERSTAND, T HE MORE LIKELY THEY A R E TO B E WI L L I NG TO CHANGE.” KATE BRODIE ’02
c hu yn/isto ckphoto
our coasts and communities to be resilient to these changes?” To help communities respond, Brodie and her colleagues are currently focused on enhancing a natural dune system. Using sophisticated remote-sensing techniques, they are increasing their understanding of what happens during a storm: how dunes naturally evolve, how much they erode, how fast they recover, and what is the role of various types of vegetation at trapping sand and growing a dune. With a better understanding, says Brodie,“we can try to work with nature in the face of this approaching sea level and see what we can do to try to reshape and provide accommodation for that to take place. We can then guide our local communities: How wide does your beach have to be to enable dune growth? How tall a dune do you want for your particular beach? What types of vegetation should you be planting on it? Those are some of the questions that the ERDC is really trying to answer.” Much of Brodie’s early research was focused on developing the tools and techniques for gathering information. But the technology has become so advanced, she says, that the sensors can now be mounted “just about anywhere.” They are even using drones to capture information. Helping coastal residents understand the need to adapt can sometimes be a challenge, she says.“One of the things that we struggle with in general with coastal development is that we as humans want to build our house here and put
“FOR MA N Y O F O U R LOW-LYI N G A R E AS S O M E O F T H E S E 100- TO 200-Y E A R EV EN TS A R E GOING TO BECOME M U CH M O RE CO M M O N,” SAYS KATE BRODIE ’02.
our road here, and we expect our beach to be this wide and this far away. We have these very rigid expectations of how the landscape should be, and we build around that landscape assuming it’s not going to change. “But coastal systems are some of the most dynamic landscapes in the world. I walk my dog down to the beach every day; it looks different every single day. The beach is constantly changing in response to the changing waves, winds, tides, currents. We know those
processes are going to change as our climate changes, and so we have to adapt.” Although Brodie’s job as a research oceanographer is to develop the technology and systems that will help protect these coastal communities, she welcomes the opportunity to speak directly to people about the agency’s work.“When we’re out on the beaches collecting data, people will often stop to ask what we’re doing,” she says. “Every time I get one of those opportunities, I see it as a chance to educate the pub-
lic about what we’re learning, why we’re doing this research, and how it might help them. “I have found, as with most things, that the more you can help people understand, the more likely they are to be willing to change. That’s what I have to fundamentally believe in and hope: that the power of information and education will help people evolve toward taking a more adaptive approach to what they want to get out of their coastal resources and what they’re looking for.”
Spring 2021
25