heights in excess of 2 m can be expected to occur 7 percent of the time or 
600 hr per year. 
13. Wave periods generally vary between 6 and 12 sec. The annual mean 
peak spectral period is 8.5 sec with a standard deviation of 2.9 sec. Wave 
periods tend to be longest during the fall and shortest during the summer. 
Nearshore Currents 
14. Surface current speed and direction at the FRF are influenced by 
Winds, waves, and, indirectly, bottom topography. The extent of the respec- 
tive influence varies daily. However, winds tend to dominate the currents at 
the seaward end of the pier, while waves dominate within the surf zone. The 
effect of the bottom topography is such that, under certain conditions (e.g., 
near shore-normal wave angles), rip currents develop which interrupt the gen- 
eral flow of the alongshore current. A trough located under the seaward half 
of the pier is a preferred location for such currents. Longshore currents 
tend to be directed southward during the fall and winter and northward during 
the spring and summer. 
Tides and Water Levels 
15. Ocean tides at the FRF occur in the usual semidiurnal pattern with 
a range of 1.0 m. Highest water levels generally are associated with strong 
and persistent onshore winds and high waves. Storm surges have resulted in a 
maximum 1.5-m water level (NGVD). Water levels in Currituck Sound are wind- 
dominated rather than tidal, being low when winds are northeasterly and high 
When they are southwesterly. 
Bathymetry 
16. Nearshore bathymetry at the FRF is characterized by regular shore- 
parallel contours, a moderate slope, and a single bar with a second, smaller, 
nearshore bar occasionally appearing. This pattern is interrupted in the im- 
mediate vicinity of the pier where a trough runs under much of the pier ending 
in a scour hole (with depths up to 3.0 m greater than the adjacent bottom) at 
the pier end. 
