IMPACTS OF SYNOPTIC WEATHER SYSTEMS ON SHORELINE STABILITY ALONG SOUTH CAROLINA COAST

Previous studies has identified three types of storms on South Carolina Coast, cold fronts, warm fronts, and tropical storms. Based on the 10-year climatological analysis, an approach is taken to evaluate the storm-induced alongshore sediment transport trend. Three surf zones along the curved coastline are chosen to address the possible alongshore variance. The final results show that, 1) At all three sites, frontal events induce bi-directional alongshore drift as the wind direction reverses, while tropical storms generate southwestward alongshore transport; 2) With respect to the wind direction, southwesterly wind favors much more the alongshore drift at the north sites than that at the south or middle site, while northeasterly wind favors the alongshore drift at the south and north sites much more than that at the middle site; 3) Reversal of the wind direction during the frontal events can induce shift of the alongshore drift concentrated zone in the cross-shore direction, especially at the south and middle sites; 4) The curved coastline shelters the middle site from storm-induced erosion, while the south and north sites experience more sediment transport. Given the prevailing of southwesterly wind during fair weather conditions, in a long-term sense the north and middle sites may be relatively more stable than the south site.