Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Autority

ICM-Wetlands, Vegetation, and Soils Model Improvement

Author(s): MELISSA M. BAUSTIAN, DENISE REED, JENNEKE VISSER, SCOTT DUKE-SYLVESTER, GREGG SNEDDEN, HONGQING WANG, KRISTIN DEMARCO, MADELINE FOSTER-MARTINEZ, LEIGH ANNE SHARP, TOMMY MCGINNIS, ELIZABETH JARRELL

As part of the model improvement effort for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan, the wetland processes captured by the morphology and vegetation models used during previous master plans were reevaluated to assess how Integrated Compartment Model (ICM) subroutines could be improved. This process considered technical reviews, comments, and suggested improvements provided by model developers, advisory groups, and other experts during previous master plan cycles. The availability of new data and information that could be used to make model improvements was also considered. In many cases, the team considered and tested multiple options or approaches. As a result of this effort, recommended improvements are provided here.