Book Description

Sand volume changes above mean sea level (MSL) and shoreline position changes at MSL were obtained from 4400 beach profiles acquired over a 10-year period along three New Jersey barrier islands. The results provide insight into the behavioral characteristics of sandy ocean beaches. Storm changes were highly variable between islands, and between profile lines on the same island. Often changes on profile lines less than 0.8 km apart were opposite in sign, suggesting a closer profile line spacing is required to obtain an accurate picture of storm changes. On two islands a definite seasonal change was found when 10-year data were averaged. The maximum sand volume and most seaward shoreline position occurred in August and the least in the January-April period. A year-to-year comparison of surveys would be best using data collected from January through April because changes from month to month were least then. Large variations in beach changes were measured from one year to the next, and on one of the three islands 10-year data did not appear sufficient to establish a long term trend in beach behavior. (Author).