SAND RESOURCES ON THE INNER CONTINENTAL 

 SHELF OF THE CAPE FEAR REGION, NORTH CAROLINA 



hy 

 EdLiiard P. Meisburger 



I. INTRODUCTION 



The construction, improvement, and periodic maintenance of beaches 

 and dunes by placement of suitable sand along the shoreline is an important 

 means of counteracting coastal erosion and of enhancing recreational 

 facilities (U.S. Army^ Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research 

 Center, 1975). In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to 

 obtain large volumes of suitable sand from lagoons and inland sources for 

 this purpose because of economic and ecological factors. Accordingly, the 

 Coastal Engineering Research Center CCERC] initiated an Inner Continental 

 Shelf Sediment and Structure C.ICONS) study to locate offshore sand resources 

 suitable for beach fill. This report, part of that effort, deals with the 

 location and physical characteristics of offshore sand resources near 

 Cape Fear, North Carolina. 



The study area includes a zone adjacent to the shore about 14 nautical 

 miles (26 kilometers) wide, extending from the South Carolina border 

 through Long Bay, Frying Pan Shoals, and Onslow Bay to Cape Lookout (Fig. 

 1). More detailed coverage of the area is given in Figures 2, 3, and 4. 

 Data consist of 512 statute miles (824 kilometers) of reflection profiles 

 and 124 cores ranging from 2 to 20 feet (0.6 to 6.1 meters) in length. 

 These data are supplemented by pertinent scientific and technical litera- 

 ture and National Ocean Survey (NOS) hydrographic data. 



This report is primarily the result of a reconnaissance effort; 

 seismic line spacing and core density, even in grid areas, are not suitably 

 detailed for reliable delineation of borrow sites. Consequently, further 

 study of promising locales is needed before selection or use in project 

 design and construction. A separate report, largely from the same data 

 base used here, covers general aspects of inner shelf geology in the Cape 

 Fear region (Meisburger, in preparation, 1977). That report is aimed at 

 providing a background for better understanding of the character, disposi- 

 tion, and origin of the inner shelf sediment bodies. It contains visual 

 logs of all cores taken during the study and size data for those core 

 samples composed essentially of sand. 



II. POTENTIAL BORROW AREAS 



1. Sand Requirements . 



The suitability of sand for beach nourishment is largely dependent on 

 grain-size characteristics (Krumbein and James, 1974; James, 1975). Size 

 characteristics of beach sand within the region covered by this report have 

 been obtained from unpublished size data held by CERC and the U.S. Army 

 Engineer District, Wilmington (U.S. Army Engineer District, Wilmington, 



