215 research outputs found
Atlantic shelf sand ridge study : physical oceanography and sediment dynamics data report
This report describes and presents the hydrodynamic meaurements made during the Atlantic Shelf Sand Ridge Study at and
near Peahala Ridge, offshore of Long Beach Island, New Jersey, in Spring 1985. The intent of this phase of the study was to
examine the physical oceanographic and fluid mechanical processes in the vicinity of Peahala Ridge, one of the large shore-oblique
sand ridges common in the area, and from this to identify those processes responsible for sand transport near the ridge with particular
reference to its generation, maintenance and migration. The field measurement program was carried out from March to May
1985 by scientists and staff of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. It included measurements of currents, temperature, waves,
pressure and near-bed velocity profiles. This phase was part of a larger oil industry study that included extensive geological and
geophysical measurements of Peahala Ridge and other ridge-and-swale areas of the mid-Atlantic continental shelf.Funding was provided by the Cities Services Oil and Gas Corporation under agreement as of April 25, 1985 and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Coastal Research Center
Beach changes and management options for Nauset Barrier Beach and Orleans Town Beach, Cape Cod, MA : report to the Town of Orleans
The present study investigated the shoreline and dune changes occurrng along Nauset Barrier Beach system during the
past sixty years, based on examination of aerial photographs, charts, and other data sources.
Significant changes have occurred to the barrier beach and dune systems of Nauset during the fifteeen intervening years
since the last major study of the system. The barrier and shoreline in general has continued to retreat, and nearly all the
dunes along South Spit have eroded away during storms, so the new profile of the South Spit is extremely low lying and
storm waves overtop it frequently. Overwash has resulted in closing off South Channel which separates the Spit from New
Island. Dunes near Aspinet Road have been eroded away, causing increased flooding of Aspinet Road.
Extensive previous research performed on erosion rates are consistent with the present rates. However, present data from
this report include more up-to-date photographs, and include specific attention to dune retreat and recent tidal inlet
migration and number of inlets. Such decadal updates on the behavior of Nauset Barrier Beach and the adjacent Orleans
Town Beach can provide valuable timely information for assessing management practices for this region.Funding was provided by the Town of Orleans and the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Recent evolution of an active barrier beach complex : Popponesset Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Popponesset Spit, the barrier beach sheltering Popponesset Bay on Cape
Cod, Massachusetts, has experienced large changes in its
location and shape over the past thirty years. Concern by the public
over loss of this barrier beach and the associated recreational and wildlife
resources, as well as its storm-protection function, resulted in a number of
studies involving local, state and federal officials. The purpose of these
studies was to identify causes and future trends (Benoit and Donahoe, 1979)
and to identify engineering solutions to this instability (U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, 1972; Camp, Dresser and McKee, 1981). For various reasons, these
studies were incomplete and stated some conclusions which were generally
misleading or incorrect. The purpose of the present study was to provide a
thorough reexamination of the geological problem at Popponesset Spit, to
dispel the misconceptions and to more rigorously document the large-scale
changes. The impetus for our concern over the beach was a desire to
contribute to an effective, rational management and utilization strategy for
this coastal region.Prepared for the Board of Seiectmen of the Town of Mashpee, Commonweaith, MA and for the Department of Commerce, NOAA Office of Sea Grant under Grant NA 80AA-0-00077
Proceedings of a Workshop on Coastal Zone Research in Massachusetts : (November 27-28, 1978)
A workshop on Coastal Zone Research held on 27 and 28
November, 1978, at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
brought together fifty researchers actively studying physical
processes in the Massachusetts coastal zone (Appendix 1).
Presentations were given by nearly half of the participants to
acquaint other researchers with their past, present, and future
research interests. Summaries of the presentations are
included in Appendix 3. Although the scope of the workshop was
narrow, emphasizing only selected aspects of coastal zone
research, it represented an important attempt to assess our
knowledge of physical processes in the nearshore, and to
encourage cooperation and communication between scientists.
Two sets of recommendations evolved from the workshop.
The first set recommends ways to facilitate scientist - user
communication, and provide more rapid dissemination of coastal
research results. The second set describes areas of future
research in the Massachusetts coastal zone. Neither of the two
sets of recommendations is comprehensive: they reflect primarily
the opinions and judgements of the workshop participants.
Because of the interest expressed by the participants,
the workshop will be held on an annual basis until the need for
such meetings disappears. Future workshops may have specific
goals, e.g. preparation of coastal erosion maps or historical
shoreline change maps. Future meetings may also have more
state, federal, and local governmental participants in an
effort to foster scientist - user communications.
The workshop was co-sponsored by the Woods Hole Sea Grant
Program and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The Woods
Hole Sea Grant Program has offered to co-sponsor future Workshops
on Coastal zone Research as part of their continued interest
in the Massachusetts coastal zone.Prepared for the Department of Commerce, NOAA
Office of Sea Grant under Grant 04-8-M01-149
and the Institution's Marine Policy and Ocean
Management Program
Field evaluation of Sea Data directional wave gage : (Model 635-9)
A directional wave gage consisting of a two-axis electromagnetic
current meter and a pressure sensor, developed by Sea Data
Corporation, with modifications specified by the author, was
successfully deployed during the joint NOAA/U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Coastal Engineering Research Center's Atlantic Remote
Sensing Land/Ocean Experiment (ARSLOE) during November, 1980. Data
recovery rate was 100%, and instrument function was verified through
comparison with a four-element pressure sensor array at the same
location, an X-band imaging radar, and with surface meteorological
observations charting developing local wave fields. The instrument
was proven to be a viable alternative for point measurements of
directional wave fields and for estimating the first five fourier
coefficients in a directional wave model.Prepared for the Department of Commerce, NOAA
Office of Sea Grant under Grants NA79AA -D- 00102
and NA80AA-D-00077 and for the U.S. Army Research
Office, Contract DAAG29-81-K-0004
U.S. west coast relative sea levels from tide gauges [abstract]
EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT):
Examining secular changes in relative sea level along the U.S. west coast, we have identified strong tectonic signals. Tectonism exists not only on a coherent plate-wide scale (assuming a rigid plate approximation), but also on a sub-plate scale. In fact, differential tectonism between exotic or suspect geological terrain explains much of the spatial patterns of west coast tide-gauge data. Peltier's isostatic model appears not to explain the spatial pattern, implying glacio-isostatic adjustment is not the dominant contribution to the low-frequency signals. Eustatic effects cannot be identified unambiguously.
These studies suggest several major questions/observations with regard to relative sea-level studies ..
Beach changes at Nauset Inlet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1670-1981
A historical study of barrier beach and inlet changes for the Nauset Inlet
region, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was performed to document patterns of beach
and inlet change as a preliminary to designing and carrying out ffeld studies
of inlet sediment transport. 120 historical charts from 1670 and 125 sets of
aerial photographs from 1938 formed the basis for this study. Specific
aspects of barrier beach and inlet change addressed include onshore barrier
beach movement, longshore tidal inlet migration, and longshore sand bypassing
past the inlet. In an effort to correlate forcing events with barrier changes,
an exhaustive study of the local storm climate was performed. Detailed
treatment of the specific mechanisms responsible for Nauset Inlet migration
episodes in a direction opposite the dominant littoral drift are treated in a
companion paper by Aubrey, Speer, and Ruder (1982). Documentation of the data
base available for the Nauset Area is presented herein as appendices.Prepared for NOAA, 0ffice of Sea Gnant under Grant NA 80-AA-D-
00077 (R/B-21) and for the U.S. Army Research 0ffice under Grant
DAAG29-81-K-0004
Development, characteristics, and effects of the new Chatham Harbor inlet
A new tidal inlet into Chatham Harbor, Massachusetts, has developed from a breach in the
barrier beach, Nauset Beach, that forms the outer shoreline of southeastern Cape Cod. Increased
tidal range and wave energy resulting from the new inlet produced acute coastal erosion and
channel shoaling within Chatham Harbor, with significant impacts on the fishing and boating
industries, and on private and public propeny and interests. Study results are consistent with the
hypothesis that the Nauset-Monomoy barrier beach system undergoes a long-term cycle of
geomorphological change, and that a new cycle was initiated with the formation of this new inlet.
Based on this new understanding, future changes in the system can be foreseen and provided to
coastal resource managers.Funding was provided by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Environmental
Management, Division of Waterways; the Town of Chatham; Woods Hole Sea Grant Program;
Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(New England Division and Coastal Engineering Research Center);
Town of Orleans; and Friends of Pleasant Bay
Sedimentation study, Environmental Monitoring and Operations Guidance System (EMOGS), Kings Bay, Georgia and Florida : Phase III--FY 1989
Repeated side-scan sonar and multi-frequency bathymetric surveys, accompanied by accurate, high resolution, and repeatable
navigation, were conducted in the vicinity of a tidal inlet to define the length and time scales associated with bedforms and channel
shoaling in a structured tidal inlet. The study site, St. Mary's entrance channel along the Georgia/Florida border (Fig. I), has a
dredged channel approximately 46-52 feet in depth, bordered by a large ebb tidal delta. The tidal inlet serves Cumberland Sound,
Kings Bay, and associated waterways, providing a large discharge of water from the inlet that creates bedforms and channel
shoaling, given the abundance of sand-sized sediment in the vicinity. The jettied inlet produces flows tht are predominately
tidally-driven, whereas farther offshore the driving forces consist predominately of waves and storm-generated flows. In the
channel reaches (Table 1) between these two areas, combined wave-steady flows are present, creating a myriad of scales of
bedforms and shoaling patterns. This study was designed to elucidate the time and space scales of these variable bedforms and
shoaling patterns, emphasizing the difference in these scales between the three different flow regimes. The results provide an
important data base for quantifying shoaling processes and mechanisms in tidal inlet channels.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
under Sea Grant No. NA860A-D-SG090
Sedimentation study, Environmental Monitoring and Operations Guidance System (EMOGS), Kings Bay, Georgia and Florida, 1988-1990 : final report
Repeated side-scan sonar and multi-frequency bathymetric surveys, accompanied by accurate, high resolution, and repeatable
navigation, were conducted in the vicinity of a tidal inlet to define the length and time scales associated with bedforms and channel
shoaling in a structured tidal inlet. The study site, St. Marys entrance channel along the Georgia/Florida border (Fig. 1), has a
dredged channel approximately 46-52 feet in depth at a datum of mean low water (MLW), bordered by a large ebb tidal delta. The
tidal inlet serves Cumberland Sound, Kings Bay, and associated waterways, providing a large discharge of water from the inlet that
creates bedforms and channel shoaling, given the abundance of sand-size sediment in the vicinity. The jettied inlet produces flows
that are predominantly tidally-driven, whereas farther offshore the driving forces consist predominantly of waves and
storm-generated flows. In the channel reaches (Table 1) between these two areas, combined wave/steady flows are present, creating
a myriad of scales of bedforms and shoaling patterns, emphasizing the difference in these scales between the three different flow
regimes. The results provide an important data base for quantifying shoaling processes and mechanisms in tidal inlet channels.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's Sea Grant Program through Grant NA860-A-D-090
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