thirds on the island's western side. The bays, from north to south, are 
Barnegat Bay, Manhawkin Bay, and Little Egg Harbor. No major rivers contrib- 
ute to the bay waters. These are connected to the ocean through Barnegat 
Inlet at the north end and Beach Haven Inlet at the south end. Both inlets 
are areas of active sediment transport. The island has an east-southeast ex- 
posure of 32 kilometers of nearly straight sand beach consisting of quartz 
sand with median diameter of 0.35 millimeter (Ramsey and Galvin, 1977). Tides 
are semidiurnal with the normal range varying from 0.88 to 1.52 meters at 
neap and spring tides, respectively. Tide data from the recording station at 
Atlantic City have been nearly continuous since 1911. An analysis of water 
levels at Atlantic City from 1912 to 1953 indicates a rise in sea level at an 
average rate of 42.7 centimeters per 100 years. The trend appears to continue 
during the period 1954-65 (U.S. Army Engineer District, Philadelphia, 1974). 
The beach area from the Barnegat lighthouse to the Brigantine National Wildlife 
Refuge is heavily structured with 110 groins, 83 of which have been built or 
rebuilt during the period 1962-73 (Everts and Czerniak, 1977). "Critical" ero- 
sion is said to exist along this stretch of beach (U.S. Army Engineer District, 
Philadelphia, 1974). The net sediment transport is toward the south (Caldwell, 
1966). The island is narrow and of generally low elevation with a nearly con- 
tinuous sand dune (5 to 8 meters above MLW) extending along the ocean front. Most 
development has taken place landward of the dune, but some houses have been built 
directly on the dune crest. Plantings of American beachgrass, drift fences, and 
limited boardwalk beach access sites have been established to help preserve the 
remaining undeveloped dunes (Fig. 2). Though the beaches and dunes are active, 
the basic shape has varied little over the years from 1955 to 1965 (U.S. Army 
Engineer District, Philadelphia, 1974). The dune slope is about 1:5 while the 
beach berm, from the base of the dune to MLW,slopes about 1:15. The foreshore 
slope increases somewhat during the winter to 1:12 (Birkemeier, 1979). The 
only access to the mainland is provided by U.S. Highway 72, along a 10-kilo- 
meter causeway. Because it is relatively low lying and heavily populated, Long 
Beach Island may suffer extensive physical and economic damage during storms. 
2. Littoral Processes. 
The New Jersey barrier beaches have been periodically surveyed since 1840. 
Analyses of the beach profile data as well as measurements of nearshore bathym- 
etry and contours of the 1.83-, 3.66-, and 5.49-meter isobaths are presented in 
Beach Erosion Board (1958) and U.S. Army Engineer District, Philadelphia (1974) 
along with a summary of the general location of the high water shoreline from 
1840 to 1965. The studies indicate that the beaches at Long Beach Island have 
undergone periods of erosion and accretion that varied in magnitude and con- 
clude that recession has been the general trend along the entire island. 
Barnegat Inlet, at the northern end of the island, is stabilized by a pair of 
converging stone jetties which were in various stages of construction from 1926 
to 1942 (Fig. 3). Though sediment transport is still extremely active in the 
inlet, the jetties have stopped the southerly migration of this end of the 
island, which averaged 10 meters per year during the period 1840 to 1936. The 
history of jetty construction and the problems associated with inlet stabiliza- 
tion have been reviewed by Caccese and Spies (1977). The stone jetties are the 
site of a large ebb tidal delta asymmetric toward the south. A large sand wedge, 
which has accumulated along the north jetty at the south end of Island Beach 
State Park, provides evidence of net southerly transport. Waves refracting 
around the ebb tidal delta cause a local area of northerly transport under most 
conditions immediately south of the south jetty. Winds from the east and southeast 
