In his report on the behavior of beach fill at Virginia Beach, 

 Watts (1959, Figures 4A, 4B) presents twenty-five profiles in the 

 region of those described above. Watts calculated net volume changes 

 from repetitive profiles using the end-area method (for profiles that 

 intersected at about the 20- to 25-foot depth). He concluded (1959, p. 5) 

 that of some 1,563,000 cubic yards of material placed between Rudee Inlet 

 and 46th Street (Figure 1) during the period September 1946 - June 1952, 

 some 1,313,000 cubic yards had been lost. His data indicated (1959, p. 7) 

 that as a result of beach nourishment, the width of the beach above mean 

 high water datum in 1958 was about equal to that of September 1946 in the 

 study area. 



Inasmuch as data were lacking on short-term beach changes in the 

 area, the authors initiated the program of beach profiling described below. 



FIELD MEASUREMENTS 



61st Street Transect 



A profile line (transect) was established at 61st Street (Figure 1) 

 on 4 November 1956, after two to three weeks of predominantly northeast 

 winds. Strong surf action had exposed a stratum of peat and rooted cypress 

 stumps on the foreshore by the date of this first profile. Profile measure- 

 ments along the transect were made by standard leveling techniques, using 

 a U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey bench mark for vertical control. The 

 transect was resurveyed each week through 8 March 1958, and then once a 

 month until September 1958. A final survey was made after the great storm 

 of 7-8 March 1962. 



Accuracy of the altitudinal determinations was of the order of ± 0.05 

 foot, but because determinations were made at 10-foot intervals, local 

 irregularities of the beach profile were obscured. 



15th and 3rd Street Pier Transects 



Control for repeated daily profiles along piers at 15th and 3rd 

 Streets was accomplished by surveying stations at 25-foot intervals along 

 the lengths of the piers. Level lines were carried from bench marks on 

 land, and the altitudes of the stations were determined relative to mean 

 sea level. Field assistants, using calibrated sounding lines, occupied 

 the stations at 15th Street once each day at the time of low tide (as 

 predicted in tide tables), and every fifth day at the 3rd Street pier, 

 during the period 11 June - 5 July 1963. The pier stations were also 

 occupied on 25 March and 10 April 1963. 



