scholarly journals RESPONSE OF OREGON INLET TO PEA ISLAND BREACHING

2018 ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Liliana Velasquez-Montoya ◽  
Elizabeth J. Sciaudone ◽  
Margery F. Overton
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Barrier Islands ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Tidal Prism ◽  
Outer Banks ◽  
Hurricane Irene ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Pamlico Sound ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Island System

This study aims to assess the effects of a new inlet on the hydrodynamics of a semi-permanent tidal inlet and the back-barrier sound. Research on dual-inlet interactions is motivated by the increased vulnerability of barrier islands to breaching during hurricanes, phenomenon that can have important consequences on the hydrodynamics and morphology of a barrier island system with pre-existing inlets. This particular study takes place in the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina, where Oregon Inlet is the main inlet connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound. During Hurricane Irene in 2011, Pea Island – the island south of Oregon Inlet – was breached creating a new inlet that remained open until 2013. Dual-inlet interactions between Oregon Inlet and the new inlet in Pea Island are analyzed by means of numerical modeling experiments. Changes in flow velocities, water levels, and the tidal prism of Oregon Inlet due to the new inlet are computed for different wave and water level conditions. In addition to the actual inlet that opened in 2011, the effects of idealized inlets with different geometries and location are also included in this study. Results indicate that the original breach in Pea Island did not modify the dynamics of Oregon Inlet. Instead, its effects were restricted to a 5 km radius that extended mostly into the sound. The relative small size of the breach and its distance from Oregon Inlet are the two main factors that prevented dual-inlet interaction. Exploration of idealized breaching scenarios in Pea Island suggests that inlet spacing and breaching geometry play a major role in multiple inlet stability theory.

Scale-dependent movements and protection of female blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus)

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 858-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Medici ◽  
Thomas G Wolcott ◽  
Donna L Wolcott
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Callinectes Sapidus ◽  
Barrier Islands ◽  
Mature Female ◽  
Outer Banks ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Temporary Protection ◽  
Pamlico Sound

Little is known about the migration of female crabs (Callinectes sapidus) to spawning grounds, or how effectively they are protected by North Carolina's “spawning sanctuaries.” To investigate migration, we tagged and released a total of 2700 mature female crabs in the fall of 2001 and the summer and fall of 2002 in the three tributaries of Pamlico Sound. Tag returns indicate that females begin migration during September to November and that they probably do not complete it until the next spring. To assess site fidelity and protection of females by spawning sanctuaries, 398 tagged adult females were released in or near sanctuaries at Ocracoke and Hatteras inlets. Most recaptures occurred near the barrier islands (Outer Banks), suggesting that mobility declines once females reach euhaline waters, but recapture data also showed that crabs move over scales larger than sanctuaries and derive only temporary protection by entering sanctuaries. Ovigerous females fitted with ultrasonic pingers were tracked after release inside the boundary of Ocracoke spawning sanctuary. Crabs with orange (new) egg masses meandered over small areas, but those with eggs approaching hatching moved directly seaward. Apparently spawning sanctuaries must be large to be effective; where this is not practical (as in North Carolina), other strategies should be considered.

Rapid Holocene coastal change revealed by high-resolution micropaleontological analysis, Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA

2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candace Grand Pre ◽  
Stephen J. Culver ◽  
David J. Mallinson ◽  
Kathleen M. Farrell ◽  
D. Reide Corbett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Planktonic Foraminifera ◽  
Coastal Change ◽  
Outer Banks ◽  
Pamlico Sound ◽  
High Resolution Analysis ◽  
Marine Influence

AbstractForaminiferal analyses of 404 contiguous samples, supported by diatom, lithologic, geochronologic and seismic data, reveal both rapid and gradual Holocene paleoenvironmental changes in an 8.21-m vibracore taken from southern Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Data record initial flooding of a latest Pleistocene river drainage and the formation of an estuary 9000 yr ago. Estuarine conditions were punctuated by two intervals of marine influence from approximately 4100 to 3700 and 1150 to 500 cal yr BP. Foraminiferal assemblages in the muddy sand facies that accumulated during these intervals contain many well-preserved benthic foraminiferal species, which occur today in open marine settings as deep as the mid shelf, and significant numbers of well-preserved planktonic foraminifera, some typical of Gulf Stream waters. We postulate that these marine-influenced units resulted from temporary destruction of the southern Outer Banks barrier islands by hurricanes. The second increase in marine influence is coeval with increased rate of sea-level rise and a peak in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity during the Medieval Climate Anomaly. This high-resolution analysis demonstrates the range of environmental variability and the rapidity of coastal change that can result from the interplay of changing climate, sea level and geomorphology in an estuarine setting.

Category change and risk perception: Hurricane Irene and coastal North Carolina

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 467 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Pace, MA ◽  
Burrell Montz, PhD
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Outcome Measure ◽  
Outer Banks ◽  
Hurricane Irene ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
False Sense ◽  
Beaufort County ◽  
Extent Of Damage

Objective: This research explores variations in risk perception with location and changes in the intensity of a hurricane (Hurricane Irene in 2011). Design: Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 601 year-round residents of two counties in coastal North Carolina. Within each county, areas were chosen based on their risk with respect to wind or storm surge; an equal number of surveys were sent to each area. A 31 percent return rate was achieved.Setting: Dare County on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Beaufort County on the Inner Banks were chosen as study areas because of the nature and extent of damage incurred from Hurricane Irene.Main Outcome Measure: Because Hurricane Irene was downgraded before it made landfall in North Carolina, it was anticipated that residents would perceive themselves to be at less risk to hurricane-related hazards with differences related to location on the Atlantic Ocean or on the Sound.Results: Little difference was found between the Inner and Outer Banks locations such that all reported the change in intensity influenced their perceptions by reducing the sense of risk. This varied somewhat, but not significantly, by hazard area.Conclusions: The downgrading of Hurricane Irene created a false sense of security. Residents of the study area believed themselves to be at low risk and were unlikely to evacuate, despite warnings. The long duration of the event, however, led to significant damages, surprising many, and suggesting the need to emphasize impacts in messaging, no matter the storm intensity.

Geological characteristics and spatial distribution of paleo-inlet channels beneath the outer banks barrier islands, North Carolina, USA

2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Mallinson ◽  
Curtis W. Smith ◽  
Stephen J. Culver ◽  
Stanley R. Riggs ◽  
Dorothea Ames
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Barrier Islands ◽  
Outer Banks ◽  
Geological Characteristics
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