SIZE ANALYSIS OF SAND SAMPLES FROM SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY BEACHES 



by 

 Michael D. Ramsey and Cyril J. Galvin, Jr. 



I. INTRODUCTION 



1. Purpose . 



This report presents data on the spatial and temporal variations in 

 mean sand size along and across Atlantic coast beaches in southern New 

 Jersey. The report documents sand-size characteristics of three New Jersey 

 beaches (Long Beach Island, Atlantic City, and Ludlam Island) which will 

 be subjects of detailed locality reports for the U.S. Army Coastal Engi- 

 neering Research Center (CERC) Beach Evaluation Program (BEP) . However, 

 the analysis of the data in this report serves at least three other coastal 

 engineering uses : 



(a) In showing the naturally occurring sand-size variation 

 by profile location, position on profile, and month, the data 

 help estimate how representative are the sand samples usually 

 obtained for coastal engineering studies, 



(b) The data on variation across the profile with the month 

 of the year can help in the design of beach fills for these 

 localities. 



(c) The spatial and temporal distribution of sand sizes on 

 this significant section of the New Jersey coast can help in 

 interpreting the long-term history of coastal processes acting 

 on this shore. 



2. Background . 



The beaches sampled for this study include (from north to south) : 

 Island Beach, Long Beach Island, Brigantine, Atlantic City, and Ludlam 

 Island, a shoreline distance of about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the 

 northernmost sampling locality on Island Beach to the southernmost sam- 

 pling locality on Ludlam Island (Fig. 1). The positions of the sampled 

 profile lines are in Figures 2 to 7. 



Two sets of samples are involved: Sample set A, 469 samples from 

 Long Beach Island, Atlantic City, and Ludlam Island collected between 

 January 1968 and March 1969; and sample set B, 319 samples from all five 

 localities, mostly collected in 1971, 1972, and 1973. Sample set B was 

 collected to answer questions which developed from an analysis of sample 

 set A (Ramsey and Galvin, 1971, pp. 46 and 47). 



Most of the sand samples were collected by personnel of the U.S. Army 

 Engineer District, Philadelphia, as part of the beach surveys for the BEP. 



