ABSTRACT 



Observations of sand levels at pipes placed at 50-foot intervals 

 from dune to low tide terrace along two profile lines on each of five 

 Atlantic Coast beaches proved to be a feasible substitute method of sur- 

 veying beach profiles. For 1-week intervals during January, February, 

 and March 1968, the maximum changes in sand level at any pipe on the 

 five beaches was 5.7 feet of erosion and 4.7 feet of accretion. Changes 

 in sand level were more likely at pipes located in the beach face than 

 at pipes located below mean sea level. When significant erosion occurred 

 between successive surveys on any profile, there was a tendency for the 

 maximum decrease in sand level to occur at locations high on the earlier 

 of the two surveys. Pipe profile data showed that beach steepness and 

 fluctuations in sand level usually decrease in a north-to-south direction 

 for the five beaches studied (from Westhampton Beach, N. Y. , through 

 Ludlam Island, N. J.), in a way that appears related to decreases in 

 wave height and the sediment size on the same beaches. Five appendixes 

 to this paper contain the pipe profile data obtained during the 1968-69 

 winter, both in tables and in four types of graphs. A sixth appendix 

 contains the daily visual wave observations obtained at seven Atlantic 

 Coast beaches, including the five beaches with pipe profiles, during the 

 same time. 



FOREWORD 



This study was made possible by the cooperation of the Philadelphia 

 and New York Districts, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the volunteered 

 observations, often made under unpleasant weather conditions, of Messrs. 

 Neil Ackerson, Robert Badger, Joseph Benedetto, William Daniels, Peter 

 Kief, Howard Wright, F. W. Zimmer and U. S. Coast Guard personnel at the 

 Merrimack River and Watch Hill stations. Mr. Joseph M. Caldwell, Technical 

 Director, CERC, suggested the use of the pipe profiles. 



The following public and private groups contributed to this study: 

 First and Third Districts of the U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) , Suffolk County, 

 (N. Y.) Department of Public Works, Long Island (N. Y.) State Park Com- 

 mission, the firm of Fernandez, Jorlett, Kief, and Tracy of Ship Bottom, 

 N. J., City Engineer's Office, Atlantic City, N. J., and the City of 

 Sea Isle City, N. J. 



On the beaches with pipe profiles , the wave observers were the same 

 as the pipe-profile observers. Observations at the Watch Hill Coast 

 Guard Station were under the supervision of Mr. William Clark, keeper. 

 Most of the observations on Plum Island were made by personnel of the 

 Merrimack River Coast Guard Station, Mr. Donahue and Mr. Mead, Officers 

 in Charge. Other observations on Plum Island were made by members of 

 the Department of Geology of the University of Massachusetts under the 

 direction of Professor Miles 0. Hayes. 



