The_Beaches_Are_Moving

The Beaches Are Moving The North Carolina barrier islands are a major part of the North Carolina coast. Here, the only constant is change. Dunes get blown around, beaches shrink and grow, and islands move landward. The recreational beach is like the “tip of an iceberg” stretching from the first dunes to an ocean depth of about 30 feet. That’s about one mile out to sea. The weather plays a huge role in the way sand gets moved and distributed. In fair weather the net movement of sand is onshore. Underwater sandbars work their way up the incline towards the recreational beach and sand is deposited there. In stormy weather the net movement of sand is offshore. Battering waves erode sand and bring it out to sea, flattening the beach. Sand cliffs and beach scarps are a sure sign of erosion. This beach/storm response is a mechanism for survival. “A way to bend without breaking,” said host and geologist Orrin H. Pilkey. Ocean waves strike the beach at an angle. This is called long shore movement. The net flow of sand by the long shore movement in North Carolina is sand, beach, islands, sea, shore, north, stabilization, hard, carolina, built, side, out, ocean, movement, even, barrier, years, weather, way, waves, wall, structures, rose, recreational, oceanfront, net, long, homes, first, dunes, beaches, about, year, walls, using