COASTAL EROSION AND REMEDIAL MEASURES ALONG THE GULF ISLANDS NATIONAL SEASHORE

Within the Gulf Islands National Seashore along the Northern Gulf of Mexico, late Holocene barrier and beach ridge deposits characterize the coast. Tectonically stable and less responsive to recent rises in eustatic sea level, these deposits are storm dominated. The high incidence of frontal passages along the northern Gulf when coupled with a recent clustering of tropical cyclones, play a critical role in the short-term (centuries) evolution and morphological maintenance of these depositional systems. Several years of monitoring hydrodynamics and morphological conditions at two sites, Santa Rosa Island (Florida) and West Ship Island (Mississippi), have provided a unique data set and considerable insight into the role storms play on the dynamics of these systems. An overview of these data and our improved understanding of the short-term evolution of these coasts are presented. Application of this knowledge to designing and implementing a beach restoration program at West Ship Island, the site of Fort Massachusetts, are also presented along with a longer-term prognosis of coastal erosion issues for both Florida and Mississippi parks.