Catastrophic erosion events on a littoral drift shore: development of washover fields and rates of shoreline retreat on the Atlantic side of Jupiter Island, Florida
Parts of the eastern shore of Jupiter Island have retreated more than 140m since 1930. Although many of the low profile, dissipative beaches along the Atlantic coast of the Florida peninsula are in a critical state of erosion, the highest rates of shoreline retreat tend to occur less than 2-3 km downdrift from engineering structures used to stabilize tidal inlets. Compared to other eroding shorelines, Jupiter Island is unusual because 2/3 (20 km) of the eastern shore that extends downdrift of the St. Lucie inlet is severely affected. Decadal shoreline retreats in excess of 25m along this section have been punctuated by documented catastrophic episodes in 1960, 1965, and 1984. Because of the lack of hurricane impact for the past two decades, these accelerated erosional events have been associated with the passage of meteorological fronts or interior high pressure systems that bring about strong onshore northeasterly winds. During periods of extreme storm activity (high waves and wind surge), deep overwash penetration occurs. The 1984 Thanksgiving Day storm, for example, caused extensive shoreline erosion when, in the study area, approximately 6.25 million m/sup 3/ of sediment were shifted 100m inland from the foreshore and near-offshore bars. Some of the larger overwash fans were more than 1m in thickness and extended 150m inland. Possible causes of the catastrophic erosion that occurs along this coastal stretch are being investigated in relation to interactions between littoral drift systems, storm surge, sediment cells, bottom configuration, and engineering structures.
- Research Organization:
- Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Ft. Lauderdale (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6199133
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8510489-
- Journal Information:
- Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States), Vol. 17; Conference: 98. annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Orlando, FL, USA, 28 Oct 1985
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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