Disturbance of beach sediment by off-road vehicles
- Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, MS (United States)
- Univ. of Maryland, College Park (United States)
A three-year investigation was undertaken to examine the effects of off-road vehicles (ORVs) on the beach at Fire Island, New York. Within the National Seashore over 45,000 vehicle trips per year are concentrated in the zone seaward of the dune toe. The experimental approach was adopted in order to assess the environmental effects of ORVs. Specially developed instrumentation was used to measure the direct displacement of sand by vehicles traversing the beach. Direct displacement data were reduced graphically and analyzed by stepwise linear regression. The results of 89 field experiments (788 cases) showed that slope, sand compaction, and number of vehicle passes in the same track were the principal factors controlling the measured net seaward displacement of sand. The data suggest the ORV use levels within the National Seashore could be contributing to the overall erosion rate by delivering large quantities of sand to the swash zone (maximum of 119,300 m{sup 3}/year). However, with proper management downslope movement of sand could be reduced by an order of magnitude. While vehicular passage over the open beach displaces sand seaward, it is not know is such activity actually increases the amount of erosion, measured as net loss to the beach face.
- OSTI ID:
- 5885275
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Geology and Water Sciences; (United States), Journal Name: Environmental Geology and Water Sciences; (United States) Vol. 9:3; ISSN 0177-5146; ISSN EGWSE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
New beach ridge type: severely limited fetch, very shallow water
Interaction of swash and sediment on the backshore in the presence and absence of barriers
Related Subjects
540210* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Basic Studies-- (1990-)
COASTAL REGIONS
CONTROL
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
EROSION
FEDERAL REGION II
LAND POLLUTION CONTROL
LAND USE
NEW YORK
NORTH AMERICA
POLLUTION CONTROL
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
ROADS
SHORES
SOIL CONSERVATION
USA