CONTENTS 



Page 



PREFACE 7 



CONVERSION FACTORS , US CUSTOMARY TO METRIC (SI) 19 



I INTRODUCTION 20 



1 . Purpose and Scope 20 



2. Research Approach 20 



3 . Previous Studies 21 



4. Site Description 22 



1 1 OVERWASH AND AEOLIAN TRANSPORT 27 



1 . Introduction 27 



2. Overwash Hydraulics 2? 



3. Deposition 38 



4. Aeolian Reworking 47 



1 1 1 VEGETATIVE RESPONSE TO OVERWASH 5? 



1. Introduction 59 



2 . Base-Line Data 61 



3. Community Response to Overwash 70 



4. Species Response to Overwash Burial 91 



5. Colonization of Washovers 120 



IV BARRIER EVOLUTION 149 



1 . Introduction 149 



2 . Geologic Trends 149 



3. Historic Changes: Qualitative 153 



4. Historic Changes: Quantitative Ib4 



5. Vegetative-Physiographic Transects 1S5 



V DISCUSSION 213 



1. Migrational Processes 213 



2. Vegetative Response to Overwash 215 



3. Barrier Migration Model 218 



4. Engineering Implications 221 



LITERATURE CITED 223 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 232 



TABLES 



1 Dates of overwash events at Nauset Spit-Eastham between January 



1976 and January 1980 30 



2 Overwash surge measurements taken on 16 March 1976 31 



3 Overwash surge measurements of maximum instantaneous velocity for 



the 6 Feuruary 1978 northeaster recorded from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.... 35 



4 Species list for Nauset Spit-Eastharn, 1977 and 1978 60 



