Researcher studies Fort Fisher geology 



Tom Moorefield has become a familiar figure- 

 around Fort Fisher this summer. Nearly every morn- 

 ing, he rolls into the visitor center parking lot in a 15- 

 year-old van, affectionately dubbed the "Gray 

 Ghost." Attired in his usual garb of tennis shoes, 

 shorts and a t-shirt, he heads for the beach. 



But unlike most visitors to Fort Fisher, Moore- 

 field is not off for a day of seaside rambling. 

 He's there to observe the natural geologic processes 

 in the life of the beach and to collect sediment sam- 

 ples. 



"I may see that part of this rock is uncovered or 

 that sand has moved in a new direction on a certain 

 section of the beach," he said. 



A graduate student in geology at East Carolina Uni- 

 versity, Moorefield has Sea Grant mini-grant 

 funding to study the geology of Fort Fisher and the 

 surrounding estuaries and marshes. He hopes to 

 come up with an explanation that might shed some 

 light on the severe erosion problems of this historic 

 site. When the research is completed next fall, he 

 plans to draw up environmental and geologic maps of 

 the area. 



Moorefield is no stranger to the Fort Fisher area or 

 to the problems of beach erosion. As a child he spent 

 summers at his family's cottage on nearby Caro- 

 lina Beach. He remembers well when Fort 

 Fisher beach offered a much wider expanse of sand. 

 In those days, he and his father whiled away many 

 hours fishing from the coquina rock outcroppings. 



So far Moorefield has a theory about the erosion at 

 Fort Fisher. He is the first to admit that it is an un- 

 orthodox one. He believes that the layers of coquina 

 rock which make this unique among North Carolina's 

 beaches are the culprits in the erosion process. Many 

 scientists, on the other hand, contend that the out- 

 croppings have protected the beach from more rapid 

 erosion, just as a sand bar might. 



But there are other factors that Moorefield believes 

 might be influencing the erosion of Fort Fisher. The 



fact that the fort with its massive mounds built of 

 sand and sod stretched a mile along the beach might 

 have also contributed to the erosion. The capricious 

 New Inlet, a mile and a half south of Fort Fisher, has 

 opened and closed several times in the past 200 years, 

 causing shifting sand and currents. 



Not all of Moorefield's work is confined to the 

 shore. With the help of a team of divers from the Fort 

 Fisher Marine Preservation Lab, he has located sub- 

 merged outcroppings of coquina rock running about 

 1000 feet to the south of the visible exposure. Other 

 large outcroppings of coquina have been found in 

 Snow's Cut and between the cut and Fort Fisher. 

 That may indicate that there is a long linear deposit 

 of coquina, he noted. 



Moorefield points out that there are two possible 

 origins of the coquina rock. The sediment could have 

 been a beach deposit during the Pliestocene period or 

 part of a shoal, similar to Frying Pan Shoals that now 

 lies off the Fort Fisher coast. Moorefield favors the 

 latter theory. The coquina, he explained, is a mixture 

 of sand, pebbles and shells which were stirred up by 

 the high energy level near the shoal. When sea level 

 receeded, ground water probably dissolved the shells, 

 which formed a cement to bind the elements 

 together. 



Moorefield's completed study and maps could 

 provide a sound base of geology for planning erosion 

 control of Fort Fisher. 



The University of North Carolina Sea Grant College 

 Newsletter is published monthly by the University of 

 North Carolina Sea Grant College Program, 1235 

 Burlington Laboratories, Yarborough Drive, North 

 Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. 27607. Vol. 4, 

 No. 8, August, 1977. Dr. B. J. Copeland, director. Writ- 

 ten and edited by Mary Day Mordecai and Virginia 

 Worthington. Second-class postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. 

 27611. 



University of North Carolina 

 Sea Grant College Program 

 1235 Burlington Laboratories 

 North Carolina State University 

 Raleigh, N.C. 27607 



Second-class postage paid at Raleigh 

 N.C. 27611 



