Erosion News and Information
This page has been created to host information related to the ongoing erosion study within the Town of Duck. Carolina Dunes is a subdivision that will likely receive special attention during the study due to recent increases in the erosion rate along our shorefront. This page will be kept up to date with documents and information related to the erosion study the Town of Duck conducts.
Outer Banks Beach Erosion & Nourishment Information
The Town of Nags Head has experienced severe beach ersosion and went through a long process to plan and fund a beach nourishment project. The beach nourishment effort recently started.Click here to view the Nags Head Town website, which contains background and useful information about beach nourishment that may apply to Carolina Dunes at some point.
Documents
| Published | Document | |
|---|---|---|
| 2011-09-28 | Hurricane Irene Observations from Army Pier |
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| 2011-08-09 | Carolina Dunes Historical Shorelines 1849-1997 |
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| 2011-08-09 | Carolina Dunes Erosion Trends 1925-2010 |
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| 2011-08-09 | Carolina Dunes Projected Erosion Patterns Assuming High Erosion Rates |
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| 2011-08-09 | Carolina Dunes Projected Erosion Patterns Assuming Medium Erosion Rates |
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| 2011-08-08 | Spencer Rogers Book - The Dune Book |
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News
January 2012: Status Update for Town of Duck Beach Erosion Project.
The first phase of this project, which is the 'data gathering' phase, will be completed by the staff at the Army Pier and will be presented to the Town Council at it's annual council retreat on February 15-16. The two final phases, which are a 'data modeling' phase and a 'identify alternatives' phase have not yet begun. The two final phases are projected to cost more than than planned in the budget for the Town's current fiscal year, so these two phases will extend into the next fiscal year for the Town.As a reminder, the final phase of the Town's project ends with identifying beach repair or nourishment alternatives. The project does not include any actual repair or nourishment work. There would have to be a subsequent project planned and funded for that.
November 2011: Updated Carolina Dunes Beach Picture from Army Pier Camera
Carolina Dunes is approximate 1 mile north of the Army Pier. In July, a picture was posted on this website that was taken from the Pier. It demonstrated a very thin beach in Carolina Dunes.Thanks to Mother Nature, the width of the beach may have improved, although the tide condition was not known in either picture. Nevertheless, it appears the beach may have normalized some and may now be wider along the stretch of beach that parallels Buffell Head. That would be good news.
August 2011: Hurricane Irene Footage
Hurricane Irene passed directly over the Outer Banks in August and we have captured some videos shot during and immediately after the storm.
August 2011: Hurricane Irene Damage Along NC 12
Click here to view pictures taken by NCDOT.July 2011: Special Erosion Webpage Created
We have a created a webpage specifically dedicated to erosion concerns in Carolina Dunes. Please bookmark this page and return frequently to pick up additional news and information!
July 2011: CDA Conference Call to Discuss Erosion Issues
The Association conducted a community conference call on July 20th to review recent erosion issues on the northern half of the Carolina Dunes beaches.Click here to view a summary of the conference call.
July 2011: Carolina Dunes Beach Picture from Army Pier Camera
Carolina Dunes is approximate 1 mile north of the Army Pier. Note the area of beach that is very thin. This area roughly corresponds to Carolina Dunes.
July 2011: Severe Beach Erosion Alert in Carolina Dunes
Here's a summary update that was received from the Town of Duck:
The erosion is severe and runs roughly from the middle ocean access walkway (at the end of Canvasback Dr) to the northern Carolina Dunes boundary.
There's almost no beach left in the erosion area.
Most private steps in the erosion area have been damaged and have been closed (ie, yellow ribbon placed at the top of the steps) by the Town.
All vacationing owners/guests/renters, especially in the northern half of Carolina Dunes, have been adversely impacted. All must walk south to the middle or southern community walkways to get to the beach. Both of these access points are currently usable. As a result of all of this, the beaches in the southern area are now quite crowded. I suspect some vacationing guests/renters will complain about inconvenience(s) when they check out. Owners (in conjunction with your rental management company) may want to consider some customer accommodation discount to settle severe complaints and to encourage renters to return to your place in the future.
Here's a link to additional pictures taken a couple of days ago. They were taken walking from the southern community walkway to the northern Carolina Dunes boundary. Click here to view pictures.
This erosion event may have have resulted from:
-Very high tides
-Wind and wave action out of the northeast
-Lack of an off-shore sandbar in the erosion area
Mother nature may:
-Bring sand back onto the beach when tides and wind direction changes
-Rebuild an off-shore sandbar
-Balance the beach out over time
-Rebuild the dune
According to Town officials:
-There have been occasional severe summer erosion events in the past. For example, Sandlerling experienced a similar erosion event several years ago. Mother nature does tend to balance the beach and can off-set erosion over time.
-All damaged steps should be repaired when possible, and all owners should do what they can to prevent people from using the damaged steps until they are repaired.
-Town permits to repair steps can be issued quickly to avoid repair delays.
-Owners may want to consider trucking in sand to shore up the ocean side of their individual dune, and the Town is willing to work with management at the Army Pier to see if they might allow, on a one-time basis, beach access for sand equipment to bring sand in to facilitate this. However, NC state law only allows beach fill projects between Nov 15th and May 1st, so nothing could be done on this until next November.
-The Town has funding and is currently planning a beach erosion study. It will likely take a year to complete and will include:
---Probably hiring staff from the Army Pier to study and gather data on erosion and on the ocean floor in Duck.
---Hiring a company to develop/modify computer models that would use the data gathered by staff at the Army Pier to project future erosion trends in Duck.
---Hiring a company to develop erosion mitigation projects specific to projected future erosion in Duck.
---Funding (which is likely to be expensive) and execution of mitigation projects would be separate and require new initiatives.
CDA will:
-Repair the northern community access walkway so it is usable. A repair vendor has already been contacted.
-Continue to work with and communicate with the Town and the Army Pier on erosion issues.
-Conduct a community conference call, if owners (particularly ocean front owners) would like to have one to discuss erosion issues and explore other ideas on individual erosion mitigation. Please reply to this email if you would like to participate in a conference call on this.
March 2011: Town of Duck Investigating Beach Erosion
The Town of Duck recognizes the importance of the beaches to the overall community, and they are now planning to investigate erosion control alternatives. The Town conducted a public meeting on March 23rd. The next step involves allocating money to formally identify and investigate erosion control alternatives. The Town Council will discuss this during upcoming council meetings.Click here to download the March 23rd presentation slides in PDF format.
Click here to download a spreadsheet with potential negative financial impacts associated with several eroision scenarios. The bottom line is, ocean front properties account for over 27 percent of the property values in Duck, and many ocean front properties are already at risk or will be at risk within 10-30 years.
Click here to download a Duck master map that segments the Town beaches into six segments.
Click here to download the 1st series of maps. These maps present historical shoreline data.
Click here to download the 2nd series of maps. These maps present short term shoreline data.
Click here to download the 3rd series of maps. These maps demonstrate possible impact of low level of future eroison.
Click here to download the 4th series of maps. These maps demonstrate possible impact of medium level of future eroison.
Click here to download the 5th series of maps. These maps demonstrate possible impact of high level of future erosion.
Click here to download a map of Duck's main erosion hot spot, which is in Carolina Dunes. Ocean front homes in Carolina Dunes are already at high risk due to eroison.
This will be a discussion topic at the Association annual meeting on April 23rd, and the Association will work with Town officials as the Town investigates erosion control alternatives.
December 2010: Town of Duck Public Hearing Regarding Sandbags
The Town of Duck Town Council is considering an ordinance to prohibit the use of sandbags to protect oceanfront structures from erosion. The Town Council will hold a public hearing at 7 pm on January 5, 2011 at the Town of Duck Administrative offices.As part of the public outreach associated with this hearing, the Town has a fact sheet regarding sandbags and is sending a draft copy of the ordinance to all oceanfront property owners. These items are also available on the Town's website (www.townofduck.com/publicnotices.htm).
Property owner comments regarding this matter are welcome and encouraged. Town staff reports will be available on Town website approximately five days in advance of the hearing.
March 2009: Estimated Erosion Lines in Carolina Dunes for Selected Periods of Time 1925-2007
Researchers from the US Army Pier and the State of North Carolina have been studying beach erosion and have estimated the location of the dune line in Carolina Dunes for five different periods of time, 1925-1946, 1970-1988, 1996, 1997 and 2007. These dune lines are represented as five colored lines on an arial map.Click here to download the arial map in PDF format.
February 2009: Spencer Rogers, Coastal Construction and Erosion Specialist
The Association contacted Spencer Rogers in an attempt to find an individual who may be able to provide some level of assistance regarding beach erosion to Carolina Dunes owners.For more than 30 years, Spencer has helped private property owners, builders, designers, and governmental agencies to develop hurricane-resistant construction methods, understand shoreline erosion alternatives and implement marine construction techniques. He serves on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science, and as adjunct faculty in the department of engineering at North Carolina State University.
Spencer has also co-authored and edited the latest edition of the FEMA Coastal Construction Manual, and co-authored The Dune Book, a guidebook on dune species, planning, and best management practices along developed shorelines. His research has been published in numerous scholarly journals, including the Journal of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, and the Journal of Marine Education. He also is a regular speaker at conferences about coastal engineering and hazards, including the annual Solutions to Coastal Disasters.
Click here to download a copy of The Dune Book in PDF format.
January 2009: Dr Jesse McNinch, Beach Erosion Information from US Army Pier in Duck
Dr Jesse McNinch, from the US Army Pier in Duck, has been researching beach erosion on the Outer Banks for many years. He has agreed to join us at the CDA annual membership meeting on April 11th at 2 PM to discuss causes and effects of erosion.Dr McNinch has investigated shoreline behavior (erosional hotspots) and its relationship to underlying geology. Exposure of non-sandy substrates in the surf zone may lead to changes in nearshore bar behavior and, ultimately, elevated beach erosion and accretion at specific locations. He has been researching the role underlying geology plays in sediment distribution across the nearshore, bar development and migration, and shoreline response to storms in order to predict long-term beach behavior and improve shoreline management. Some of his projects include examination of physical and sedimentary processes on cape-associated shoals and a conceptual model for the development of cuspate forelands as well as small-scale sedimentary processes (e.g. scour, burial) around artifacts. His research approach often involves field observations, coupled with a modeling component, to challenge or test hypotheses. His training and expertise lie in observational techniques such as current and wave measurements, remote sensing, and surface and sub-bottom mapping.
Dr McNinch provided us with two informative articles that he has published in the Journal of Marine Geology that describe beach erosion, particularly in the Kitty Hawk area. The erosion issues at play in Kitty Hawk and the general erosion concepts in these two articles also apply to erosion that is occuring in Carolina Dunes.
Click here to download article #1 in PDF format.
Click here to download article #2 in PDF format.
Dr McNinch will provide additional material later that will be specific to erosion on the Duck beaches.
September 2008: Beach Erosion May Be Tied to Ancient River
According to the Town of Duck, an Army researcher recently doing sand/soil samples north of the Army pier inadvertently discovered sediment believed to be from an ancient river along the Carolina Dunes beaches. At this point, the researcher thinks that about 4,000 years ago (before the OBX barrier islands existed) there was a a river that flowed from the NC mainland and emptied into the ocean here. As a result, the sediment on the ocean floor in this location is different from normal ocean sediment, and some of the sediment has mounded perpendicular to the beach rather than parallel to it. At this point, the researcher thinks this may be the cause for larger-than-usual ocean waves in Carolina Dunes, which is what has then led to more beach erosion.As an historical perspective, the normal average long-term beach erosion is around 2 feet per year. In Carolina Dunes, the average is now up to 3 feet per year.
The researcher has also discovered two larger ancient river basins that flowed into the ocean in the Kill Devil Hills and South Nags Head areas. Both of these areas have also had higher-than-average erosion levels in recent years.
Beach Picture Taken in 2002
Beach Picture Taken in 2008
