THE STUDY OF SHORT-TERM SHORELINE CHANGE AND IT'S LONG-TERM EFFECT AT SANDBRIDGE BEACH, VIRGINIA

Sandbridge Beach is a coastal community of Virginia Beach, Virginia, six miles north of the North Carolina state border. The study area is eight miles in length from it’s northern border with the Dam Neck Naval Weapons Training Center to it’s southern border with the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. All but the southern most quarter mile have been developed for both single family and vacation homes. Sandbridge is locally considered to be the northern most extent of the Outer Banks. Predominant longshore drift direction is to the south. The city of Virginia Beach has jurisdiction over the public lands at Sandbridge Beach.

Hard stabilization of the beach in the early 1980’s featured the construction of bulkheads. These structures caused extensive narrowing of the beach. Many of the bulkheads and some homes have since been destroyed or damaged as the result of storm surge from hurricanes or nor’easters. Beginning in the early 1990’s some property owners removed bulkheads; others still remain. As a result, the beach today is an inconsistent blend of hard stabilization and scheduled beach nourishment. Wider sections of beach occur in front of homes lacking hard stabilization.

The result of the inconsistent use of hard and soft stabilization from property to property is a pronounced scalloped coastline. The scheduled beach nourishment (the next in the summer of 2002) will utilize offshore shoals as a source for needed “beach quality” sand.

This study was designed to characterize selected beach sediment samples from low tide to the dunes to define the sediment in residence in both summer and winter. The resulting short-term data will be used to predict long-term effects along Sandbridge Beach.