Beach Changes Along Eastern Bogue Banks, North Carolina, Resulting front the 1996 Hurricane Season

Authors

  • Todd S. Roessler
  • John T. Wells

Keywords:

Beach erosion, hurricanes, longshore currents.

Abstract

Thirteen permanent beach transects established prior to the 1996 hurricane season were used to evaluate the effects of two hurricanes on erosion and accretion rates along eastern Bogue Banks, North Carolina. Monthly monitoring for nearly two years showed that erosion patterns exhibited considerable variability and were highly influenced by the hurricanes. Whereas severely eroded sections of beach, up to 20.4 m (53.2 m3/m), had not recovered 1.5 yr after the hurricanes, the areas that accreted immediately following the two storms, up to 17.7 m (12.6 m3/m), remained stable. Application of a numerical model, REF/DIF 1 v. 2.51, was used to test the effects of offshore bathymetry on beach response to the hurricanes. Model results showed that predicted gradients in longshore current velocities correlated well with erosion rates during the two storms.

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Published

2001-10-27

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 4 (2001): Journal of Coastal Research

Section

Articles

License

Authorization for personal use is granted by the Coastal Education and Research Foundation [CERF]. By submitting a manuscript, the authors agree that the copyright for their article is transferred to the publisher if the article is accepted for publication. Assignment of copyright is not required, however, from authors who work for organizations which do not permit such assignment, The copyright covers the exclusive rights to reprduce and distribute the article, inclduing reprints, photographic reproductions, microform, or any other reproductions of a similar nature, and translations.