SAND RESOURCES ON THE INNER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

 OFF THE CENTRAL NEW JERSEY COAST 



by 



Edward P. Meisburger and S. Jeffress Williams 



I. INTRODUCTION 



The construction, improvement, and periodic maintenance of beaches and 

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

 means of counteracting coastal erosion and of enhancing recreational facil- 

 ities (U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research Center, 

 1977^). In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to obtain 

 large volumes of suitable sand from lagoons and land-based sources for this 

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

 Engineering Research Center (CERC) initiated an Inner Continental Shelf Sedi- 

 ment and Structure (ICONS) study to locate offshore sand resources suitable 

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

 location and physical characteristics of offshore sand deposits on the inner 

 shelf adjacent to the central New Jersey coast. It is the third report in 

 the CERC series on sand resources off the New Jersey coast. 



The study area is a 1800-square kilometer zone, 13 to 22 kilometers wide, 

 adjacent to the shore which extends from Avalon north to 7.5 kilometers north 

 of Barnegat Inlet (39°00' N. to SS^SCG' N.) (Fig. 1). Survey data collected 

 by CERC from the Barnegat Inlet and Little Egg Inlet regions consist of 953 

 trackline kilometers of seismic reflection profile and 67 sediment vibracores 

 ranging from 0.34 to 3.75 meters long (Figs. 2 and 3). The data from the 

 Ocean City region (Fig. 4) were collected by a private contractor with the 

 U.S. Army Engineer District, Philadelphia. CERC collected and analyzed 180 

 kilometers of seismic and side-scan sonar data and 30 cores from 2 to 6 

 meters long and averaging 4.2 meters. These data were supplemented by 

 National Ocean Survey (NOS) hydrographic data and pertinent scientific and 

 technical literature. 



Parts of this report dealing with the Barnegat and Little Egg Harbor 

 survey areas are primarily the result of a reconnaissance effort; seismic 

 line spacing and core density are not suitably detailed for reliable delinea- 

 tion of borrow sites. Consequently, further study of promising locales in 

 these areas is needed before selection or use in project design and construc- 

 tion. The Ocean City survey was designed to evaluate sand availability for 

 a specific beach-fill project and therefore may be considered final. 



II. SETTING 



The inner shelf off central New Jersey is a topographically and geologi- 

 cally complex region (Figs. 5, 6, and 7). The principal topographic elements 



^U.S. ARMY, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, COASTAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER, Shore 

 Protection Manual, 3d ed.. Vols. I, II, and III, Stock No. 008-022-00113-1, 

 U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1977, 1,262 pp. 



