USING FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES, SEDIMENTOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICAL DATA TO ASSESS THE IMPACTS OF HURRICANE FLORENCE ON INNER SHELF AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS: BOGUE BANKS AND BEAR ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA

In mid-September of 2018, Hurricane Florence made landfall in coastal North Carolina, approximately 50 km south of Bear Island (Hammocks Beach State Park) and Bogue Banks with sustained winds of 50 to 90 mph and a storm surge of approximately 2 m along the ocean shorelines. High energy conditions were experienced over a period of four days as a result of the very slow forward motion of the storm. Significant erosion occurred on the ocean shoreline of Bear Island, with up to 40 m of ocean shoreline recession in many places. This study investigates the change in foraminiferal assemblages and sedimentological characteristics within Bogue Banks and Bear Island subenvironments (e.g. foreshore, beach, inlet, shoreface) following the impacts of Hurricane Florence. Pre-storm data are being compared to post-storm data to evaluate change. Eighteen sediment samples were collected at various subenvironments where pre-storm data are available, including the shoreface, ebb-tide delta, inlet throat, flood-tide delta, dunes, beach, overwash, and the offshore bar. Seismic data and multibeam bathymetry data are being collected on the inner continental shelf and shoreface to analyze changes to the stratigraphic and bathymetric characteristics, and sand resources. This investigation will advance the knowledge of intense storm impacts on coastal systems at the scale of depositional subenvironments, and the potential for preservation and recognition of specific environmental facies and storm deposits in the stratigraphic record.