By Emma Fass, Summer Science Writing Intern
The ocean has produced complex emotions for Yongqian Yang, he says, ever since he was a child growing up on the coast of China. “Her mystery and charm deeply attracted me,” he says. “On the other hand, her horrible power scared me each time after extreme events.” Now, a 2015 Virginia Sea Grant graduate research fellow, Yang hopes to find a way to reduce the destruction through research on living shorelines.
“Thinking of the coastal hazards I witnessed in my hometown since childhood,” says Yang, “I chose vegetated fluid dynamics for my PhD topic to study the potential of vegetation in protecting coastlines from extreme impact.”
Yang’s research will look at how vegetation along coastlines affects wave patterns. While areas that have continuous vegetation reduce wave impact, areas with scattered vegetation can deflect and focus wave energy on particular areas. With the Virginia Sea Grant funding, he hopes to develop a model that will aid in the planning of living shorelines, which stabilize a shoreline with soft, natural plants and materials, as opposed to a hard structure like rock revetment.
Yang notes that this research is coming at a time when it is much needed, “with the projected increase in extreme weather events from global climate change and the rising population at the coast.” The Chesapeake Bay alone has almost 7000 miles of shoreline in Virginia, making erosion and wave impact integral issues of many coastal communities.
Yang intends to share his findings and collaborate with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to reach end users interested in such living shorelines. He will participate in VIMS-hosted workshops on wetland and shore management and add his research findings to the VIMS living shoreline website.
Yang received his bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and ocean engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China in 2012. He is currently a PhD candidate at Virginia Tech. After graduation and several years of advanced work experience, he hopes to return to China to use what he has learned in his own community.
