INVESTIGATING NEARSHORE PROCESSES AT CAPE HATTERAS, NC

Understanding the processes responsible for coastal change is important for managing both our natural and economic coastal resources. The USGS Carolinas Coastal Change Processes Project (http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/cccp/) is investigating the interactions between onshore, nearshore, and offshore sediment transport processes driving coastal change in the Carolinas using geophysical surveys, oceanographic studies, shoreline change analysis, and predictive models. In the coastal zone, storms are one of the primary driving forces resulting in coastal change. Understanding the processes that drive coastal change and understanding how factors such as the underlying geologic framework modify coastal evolution will increase our capability to predict impacts of storms on coastal systems.

In spring 2009 we conducted a set of field observations in the offshore region around Diamond Shoals; and in February 2010 we plan a large nearshore field experiment in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to measure waves and currents in the surfzone. We will deploy oceanographic equipment at 12 sites, radar systems, dye tracers, mount a camera atop the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and conduct topographic and bathymetric surveys. The experiment is focusing on how storms drive coastal circulation, how the interaction between the coastline orientation and wave directions drives nearshore flows, how alongshore transport processes deliver sediment to the tip of Cape Hatteras, and investigate the sediment convergence processes that maintain Diamond Shoals. Preliminary results from both experiments will be presented. An understanding of these processes will increase our capability to better understand the complex interactions that occur within and drive changes in our coastal systems.