CHANGES IN RATES OF SHORE RETREAT, 

 LAKE MICHIGAN, 1967-76 



by 

 Edward B. Hands 



INTRODUCTION 



1 . Purpose . 



Since 1967 the Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC) has moni- 

 tored beach profile development associated with a recent episode of sus- 

 tained rising water levels on the Great Lakes. Ten profile stations 

 were initially surveyed in 1967 by the U.S. Lake Survey (now a part of 

 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-NOAA) for a littoral 

 transport investigation at Pentwater Harbor, Michigan. Subsequently, 

 the number of stations was expanded to encompass a 55-kilometer stretch 

 of shore between Summit and Meinert Parks on the eastern shore of Lake 

 Michigan (Fig. 1); 34 stations were surveyed by CERC at various 1-week 

 to 4-year intervals between 1967 and 1976 to, determine the nature of 

 the long-term beach changes. This period of data collection overlaps 

 a period of above-average precipitation in the Great Lakes Basin when 

 the mean annual elevation of Lake Michigan rose 0.8 meter between 1967 

 and 1973. This report presents a summary of the changes in rates of 

 shore retreat associated with this long-term increase in lake levels. 



Figure 1. Location of study area, 



