erosion, especially in the area from the berm seaward and including 

 the swash zone. Profile line 9 at Sandbridge was erosional (-16.4 

 cubic meters per linear meter) from the base of the dune to swash. 

 After the hurricane at profile line 3 in the heart of the commerical 

 area of Virginia Beach, there was essentially no "beach" at this 

 location. With the abnormally high tide and strong easterly winds, 

 heavy surf reached to the seawall at midtide, removing the beach. 

 Ponding occurred at profile line 15 and behind a fairly high berm 

 at profile line 1. There were wind shadows behind the front dune at 

 profile line 12. Most beaches had at least partially recovered by 

 the time of the next profiling (9 July) . Only profile line 18 con- 

 tinued in an erosional state. Total recovery had occurred at all 

 locations by August. 



The 2 to 3 September storm was not as erosional as Hurricane Amy. 

 However, all but three locations (1, 5, and 15) showed some degree 

 of erosion, and perhaps even more significant, recovery at most sites 

 was very slow. Many locations still had not fully recovered by early 

 November. Only profile lines 2, 8, 11, 12, and 16 showed any 

 recovery later in September at the next surveying trip. Here again 

 most of the beach loss occurred in the berm area. 



The 23 to 25 November 1975 storm was certainly the most destructive 

 in terms of beach loss and prolonged recovery time for the entire 

 study area. Only profile line 4 in Virginia Beach showed any accre- 

 tion. A slight amount of beach loss near the berm occurred, but there 

 was a significant amount of accretion on the lower beach face 

 extending to the swash zone. All other locations showed a signifi- 

 cant amount of erosion, many from the base of the foredune seaward to 

 below the berm. The storm high tide line at False Cape and Back Bay 

 was observed to have reached the front line of dunes, and the high 

 water tide appeared to have penetrated through the dunes at profile 

 line 10 (Sandbridge). Ponding was observed at profile lines 1, 10, 

 and 15. Again, profile line 3 in Virginia Beach was dramatically 

 affected. With the aid of sand pumping, the beach normally slopes 

 gradually from the bulkhead to the waterline, but as a result of the 

 storm, sand was removed by high water within about 0.5 meter hori- 

 zontally of the boardwalk. The result was a 1-meter vertical scarp 

 less than 0.7 meter from the boardwalk, and a concave-shaped profile. 



Recovery from this storm was also very prolonged. Only profile 

 lines 16 and 18 showed any signs of recovery in December. Profile 

 lines 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, and 17 continued to lose sand into December and 

 did not begin to recover until January or February. 



60 



