to calculate the exponential decay constant for the sorting and slope 

 adjustment losses. Table 12 contains all relevant data for the 1965 and 

 1971 beach fills that could be confidently extracted from the excursion 

 distance plots. 



Table 12. 1965 to 1971 beach-fill data, Carolina Beach. 



Beach fill 



Avg exponential decay count (k) 



Avg 



initial 



fill 



excursion 



(m) 



Avg 

 long-term 

 excursion 



(m/yr) 



MLW 



MSL 



MHW 



Avg 



1965 

 1971 



0.83 



0.98 



0.70 



0.84 



0.83 



— — — — — 



25 

 45 



-2.2 

 -4.2 



(c) Masonboro, Kure, and Fort Fisher Beaches . Because of insuffi- 

 cient and nonconsistent temporal distribution of excursion distance 

 data, beach response in terms of long-term erosional-accretional rates, 

 beach fills, and storm events cannot be described for Masonboro, Kure, 

 or Fort Fisher Beaches. Therefore, only a brief statement concerning 

 the relative difference in excursion distance between the first and 

 final data points can be made; however, because of seasonal variation 

 and possible poststorm excursions, even this may be misleading. 



From 1966 to 1973, the erosional loss at Masonboro Beach was 

 generally 10 to 30 meters. However, two profiles (MB2 and MB5), which 

 are located in the vicinity of the only significant change in beach 

 angle along Masonboro Beach, show losses of 80 to 100 meters. The 

 excursion differences for most profiles fall within the possible range 

 of seasonal or poststorm excursion ranges and, consequently, the actual 

 long-term loss on Masonboro Beach may not be reflected by the above 

 values . 



The availability of excursion distance data for Kure Beach and Fort 

 Fisher Beach is even less than that for Masonboro Beach, with data 

 collected only from late 1969 to early 1973. Differences in excursion 

 positions between those dates for both beaches vary from +5 to 

 -20 meters, but again, estimated seasonal variation from two profiles oi 

 10 to 15 meters makes any conclusion on the long-term response of these 

 beaGhes impossible. 



61 



