DEVELOPING A STATE-OF-KNOWLEDGE REPORT FOR THE GEORGIA BIGHT AS PART OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA-GEORGIA COASTAL EROSION STUDY (PHASE II): INITIAL FINDINGS

The South Carolina-Georgia Coastal Erosion Study (2000-2003) is a USGS cooperative program administered through the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium. The goals of the Georgia portion of the program are (1) to determine the historical rates of shoreline change in Georgia and southernmost South Carolina, and (2) to generate a State-of-Knowledge report for the Georgia Bight that synthesizes existing knowledge and identifies data gaps in our understanding of regional coastal processes. Project results will be used as tools in coastal management and to help guide future coastal geologic research on the Georgia Bight. The State-of-Knowledge component of the study focuses on the 225 km of coastline within the Phase II Southern Study Region (St. Marys Entrance, GA – St. Helena Sound, SC). Our approach involves (1) compilation, analysis, and categorization of data on coastal processes and change, coastal and inner shelf shallow stratigraphic frameworks, and coastal engineering; and (2) generation of a paper and online/digital State-of-Knowledge Report.

Coastal research on the apex of the Georgia Bight expanded rapidly beginning in the 1960s, peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, and experienced a decline during the 1990s. Research themes are generally related to (I) inlet process studies associated with coastal/urban development and navigation enhancements at ebb-dominated inlets for commercial, recreational, and military purposes, (II) sedimentologic and shallow stratigraphic studies focused on documentation and development of Holocene passive-margin transgressive stratigraphic models, (III) inner shelf stratigraphic studies designed to quantify hydrocarbon, water, and industrial mineral resources, (IV) coastal management and geo-engineering studies associated with coastal erosion and beach stabilization on developed barrier islands and coastal state/federal parks, and most recently, (V) coastal environmental research focused on nutrient and pollutant cycling and the influence of shallow subsurface heterogeneity on the hydrology of coastal systems. Unlike most barrier systems elsewhere in the US, shallow Quaternary frameworks, the role of antecedent topography, historical shoreline change patterns, and regional sediment transport numbers are not well understood for over half of the islands at the apex of the Georgia Bight.