Marine Science Faculty Publications
Inner Shelf Morphologic Controls on the Dynamics of the Beach and Bar System, Fire Island, New York
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2011
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814355537_0078
Abstract
The mechanism of sediment exchange between offshore sand ridges and the beach at Fire Island, New York is largely unknown. However, recent evidence from repeat nearshore bathymetry surveys, coupled with the complex but consistent bar morphology and patterns of shoreline change demonstrate that there is a feedback occurring between the regional geologic framework and modern processes. Analysis of bathymetric survey data provides direct confirmation that the offshore ridges are connected to the shoreface and are spatially persistent. The fixed nature of the nearshore morphology is further supported by time series camera data that indicate persistent bars with breaks that re-form in the same locations. A long-term time series of shoreline change shows distinct zones of erosion and accretion that are pervasive over time scales greater than a half-century, and their length-scales are similar to the spacing of the offshore ridge-trough system. The first-order geologic framework is responsible for the existence and locations of the ridges and troughs, which then influence the morphodynamics of the beach and bar system.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Inner Shelf Morphologic Controls on the Dynamics of the Beach and Bar System, Fire Island, New York, in J. D. Rosati, P. Wang & T. M. Roberts (Eds.), The Proceedings of the Coastal Sediments 2011, World Scientific Publishing, p. 1034-1047
Scholar Commons Citation
Hapke, Cheryl; Schwab, William; Gayes, Paul; Mccoy, Clay; Viso, Richard; and Lentz, Erika, "Inner Shelf Morphologic Controls on the Dynamics of the Beach and Bar System, Fire Island, New York" (2011). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 2506.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2506
