Relative role and extent of marine and groundwater inundation on a dune‐dominated barrier island under sea‐level rise scenarios

Climate change and sea‐level rise will have severe impacts on coastal water resources around the world. However, whereas the influence of marine inundation is well documented in the literature, the impact of groundwater inundation on coastal communities is not well known. Here, core analysis, groundwater monitoring, and ground penetrating radar are utilized to assess the groundwater regime of the surficial aquifer on Bogue Banks Barrier Island (USA). Then, geospatial techniques are used to assess the relative roles and extents of groundwater and marine inundation on the dune‐dominated barrier island under sea‐level rise scenarios of 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 m above current conditions by 2100. Additionally, the effects of rising water tables on onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) are modelled using the projected sea‐level rise scenarios. The results indicate that the surficial aquifer comprising fine to medium sands responds quickly to precipitation. Water‐level measurements reveal varying thicknesses of the vadose zone (>3 to 0 m) and several groundwater mounds with radial flow patterns. Results from projected sea‐level rise scenarios suggest that owing to aquifer properties and morphology of the island, groundwater inundation may occur at the same rate as marine inundation. Furthermore, the area inundated by groundwater may be as significant as that affected by marine inundation. The results also show that the proportion of land in the study area where OWTS may be perpetually compromised by rising water tables under worst case scenarios may range from ~43 to ~54% over an 86‐year‐period. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.