MODERN AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SEAWALL BEACH: PHIPPSBURG, MAINE

Sea level rise, seasonal weather patterns and storms have dramatic effects on barrier beach systems and can cause shifts in the shoreline location and erosion. Seawall Beach, in Phippsburg, Maine is an undeveloped barrier beach system, making it a premier location to study the dynamics of barrier systems. The barrier is bordered by two small tidal inlet systems that have shown significant migrations causing loss to recreational beaches northeast and southwest of the barrier. By correlating changes in beach morphology and trends in sedimentation with weather data, it is possible to determine how the system behaves in various hydrodynamic conditions. The westward shift of the Sprague River has caused sustained erosion of small pocket beaches on adjacent Cape Small. This study focuses on the changing morphology of western Seawall Beach and the adjacent Sprague River inlet from summer 2008 to winter 2009. Additionally, it attempts to characterize the dynamics between the southwestern sediment spit extending from the dune and the southwestern tidal inlet, the Sprague River, with respect to different hydrodynamic conditions. Topographic profiles, activation rod analysis and time-lapse photography are used to study modern dynamics whereas historic and aerial photographs as well as topographic maps are utilized to study historic changes in the beach system.