Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Shoreface response and recovery to Hurricane Sandy: Fire Island, NY

January 1, 2015

The shoreface of Fire Island was extensively modified by Hurricane Sandy and subsequent storms in the following winter months. The changes were evaluated using various morphometrics of the shoreface from four bathymetric surveys, one prior to Hurricane Sandy, and three over the course of twenty months following Sandy. The datasets show that the nearshore bar system moved offshore to deeper water depths following Hurricane Sandy with volume lost from the subaerial beach and surfzone. Following the offshore shift, the nearshore bar system increased in size, the trough deepened, and there has been gradual landward movement of the nearshore bar. The steepening of the upper shoreface, landward translation of the profile, and loss of sediment is indicative of barrier island transgression.

Publication Year 2015
Title Shoreface response and recovery to Hurricane Sandy: Fire Island, NY
DOI 10.1142/9789814689977_0012
Authors Timothy R. Nelson, Cheryl J. Hapke
Publication Type Conference Paper
Publication Subtype Conference Paper
Index ID 70159862
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center