TESTING A STRATIGRAPHIC MODEL OF BOGUE INLET, NC, USING GEOPHYSICAL, HYDRODYNAMIC, AND SEDIMENTOLOGICAL ANALYSES

Tidal inlets and their associated environments are essential for the existence, stabilization, and evolution of barrier island systems through time. The morphological and hydrodynamic processes of the ebb- and flood-tidal deltas, inlet channel, and tidal prism transport sand throughout the complex to drive evolution in response to highly energetic events. Understanding these morphodynamic changes in response to the increase in magnitude and frequency of storms is critical for understanding the future of coastal systems with barrier islands and associated ecosystems. Coastal planning, and adaptation to these events can affect mainland shoreline erosion rates, ecosystem changes, and navigational safety with far-reaching impacts to natural systems and coastal communities. This study will test the findings of Pearson et al. (this session), where a stratigraphic model of a migrating ebb-tidal delta at Bogue Inlet, North Carolina, was derived using DEMs from semiannual bathymetric surveys between 2005 and 2022. Bogue Inlet is a microtidal inlet on the Atlantic coast of the United States and is regularly exposed to hurricanes and nor-easters due to its geographical location. The model will be tested by first conducting volumetric GIS analysis, then using high-resolution geophysics (CHIRP subbottom data), hydrodynamic modeling, and sedimentological data. Data will be analyzed to understand the variance in flow response to morphologic changes and to relate to hydrodynamic controls on delta morphology as well as energetic events. The preliminary research being presented will consist of the volumetric changes to the ebb-tidal delta between 2005- 2022, looking at Bogue inlet’s morphological variation through time, and relating the variation to long-term coastal oceanographic processes and high-energy events.