BEACH CHANGES AT ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY (1962-73) 



by 

 Dennis P. MaCann 



I. INTRODUCTION 



Beach changes observed during repetitive surveys at Atlantic City, New 

 Jersey, conducted by or for the Corps of Engineers in a 11-year study of seven 

 profile lines from October 1962 to May 1973, are analyzed as part of the U.S. 

 Army Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC) Beach Evaluation Program (BEP) 

 (formerly known as the Pilot Program for Improving Coastal Storm Warnings or 

 Storm Warning Program). The BEP's objective is to measure beach and dune 

 changes due to erosion and accretion at selected localities and relate these 

 changes to the coastal processes producing them. The BEP was a direct outcome 

 of investigations into the effects of the Great East Coast Storm of 1962 (see 

 U.S. Congress, 1962). 



Although this report meets the objective of the BEP, the program encoun- 

 tered many difficulties, including relatively few documented storms in the 

 study area from 1962 to 1973 (the duration of the study), the difficulty in 

 obtaining surveys immediately before and after the storms which did occur, and 

 the difficulty and expense of obtaining continuous wave data. However, numer- 

 ous data were collected of related wave, tide, and beach conditions, thus 

 providing a substantial base for a long-term study of beach response having 

 useful engineering applications. 



This report presents both quantitative and qualitative analyses of beach 

 profile changes and supporting data obtained at Atlantic City, and describes 

 the survey procedures used and accuracy obtained. The three categories of 

 beach profile changes analyzed are: (a) short-term changes, including storm- 

 induced changes and other changes between surveys; (b) long-term changes, 

 including seasonal and yearly changes; and (c) artificial effects, which 

 include the effects of manmade structures such as groins and jetties as well 

 as beach fill placed during the study period. The mean sea level (MSL) shore- 

 line position and the volumes of sand stored on the beach above the MSL datum 

 are the two principal variables analyzed. Observed wave conditions and cli- 

 matic conditions are used to explain apparent trends in beach changes. 



II. STUDY AREA 



1. Location. 



Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island, a barrier island off the 

 Atlantic coast of southern New Jersey, 161 kilometers south of New York City 

 (Fig. 1). The island is bounded on the south by Great Egg Harbor Inlet, and 

 on the north by Absecon Inlet, and has a straight coastline oriented 64° east 

 of north. Lakes Bay is the main body of water separating the island from the 

 mainland. 



Absecon Island is situated in an open section of coastline, partially 

 sheltered by Long Island and Cape Cod from waves out of the north and north- 

 east and by the Outer Banks of North Carolina from waves out of the south- 

 southeast (Fig. 1). Bathymetry off the coast of Absecon Island is shown in 



