generally became finer in the offshore direction and had only coarse material 

 after storm events or when Station 7 was at the highly turbulent step region. 



65. One of the interesting findings of this study was the low variabil- 

 ity in the nearshore group during the study period. Contrasted with the 

 higher variability in the beach and bar/trough groups responding to changes in 

 the wave energy levels, the nearshore group sediment distribution remained 

 relatively constant over the 18 -month study. Only a slight coarsening was 

 observed in the sediment distribution after storm events. This low variabil- 

 ity in sediment distribution change is concurrent with low variability in 

 profile elevation changes seaward of the 450-m distance from the baseline. 

 This portion of the profile was not under the influence of the wave regime, 

 being seaward of the breaker zone. There are few forcing functions to cause 

 transport of this seaward fining sediment. The study period was, however, 

 lacking any major storm events. Howd and Birkemeier (1987) in a longer period 

 of study did observe a small change in the second bar around 400 m seaward of 

 the baseline with limited change up to a depth of -7 m. It is suspected that 

 the present study, with significant measured changes only out to a depth of 



-4 m, has not sampled the total effects of storms on the change in this near- 

 shore area. 



66. The unique combination of accurate long profiles, detailed sediment 

 sampling over all regions of the cross -shore profile, and frequent records of 

 wave processes has provided a better understanding of the long-term process- 

 induced response of ocean beaches . The wave records indicate that the higher 

 wave energy events tend to erode the foreshore area and deposit sediment in 

 the nearshore region (and in the alongshore direction) . The sediments that 

 remain on the profile after the storm are coarser than before the storm. This 

 trend was found to be true in the beach and nearshore group and to a lesser 

 extent in the nearshore group. In the absence of a high frequency of large 

 wave events , the bar tends to migrate inshore with a corresponding accretion 

 on the foreshore. The sediments across the profile trend to finer grain- size 

 distributions with finer means and better sorting. The frequency of occur- 

 rence of high wave events is the leading cause of beach response, and controls 

 or supersedes any seasonal cycle of erosion/deposition. The longer the period 

 of low wave events, the more accretional the profile becomes, with a fining of 

 grain-size distributions. 



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