CONTENTS 



Page 



PREFACE 1 



LIST OF TABLES 4 



LIST OF FIGURES 4 



CONVERSION FACTORS, INCH-POUND TO METRIC (SI) 



UNITS OF MEASUREMENT 8 



PART I: INTRODUCTION 9 



PART II: STUDY AREA 12 



Geographical Setting 12 



Historic Inlets 16 



Inlet location 16 



Accuracy of inlet location 25 



Continental Shelf 26 



Tides, Winds, and Waves 29 



Tides and other sea level fluctuations 29 



Wind conditions 32 



Waves 32 



Coastal Storms 36 



Coastal Structures 38 



PART III: DATA REDUCTION 44 



Data Sources 44 



Shoreline Definition 44 



Methods Used to Revise the 1980 Mean High Water Line 50 



Data Reduction Procedures 51 



Quality Control and Potential Errors 52 



PART IV: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 55 



Analysis Methodology 55 



Shoreline Change Rates 58 



Listing of shoreline change rates 58 



Ocean shoreline change rates 62 



Sound shoreline change rates 71 



Oregon Inlet 71 



Cape Hatteras and Cape Henry 78 



Variation in shoreline change rates with time 78 



Changes in island width and position 84 



PART V: PREDICTION OF FUTURE SHORELINE CHANGES 92 



Temporal Predictions 92 



Spatial Predictions 92 



Barrier island migration and narrowing 93 



Alongshore sediment transport reversal 96 



Sound shoreline change 97 



Inlets and shore erosion 99 



Capes and shoreline change 102 



Shoreface-connected ridges and shoreline change 103 



