Document Type
Report
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
11-2012
Abstract
Through time, Chesapeake Bay’s shoreline has evolved, and determining the rates and patterns of shore change provides the basis to know how a particular coast has changed through time and how it might proceed in the future. Along Chesapeake Bay’s estuarine shores, winds, waves, tides and currents shape and modify coastlines by eroding, transporting and depositing sediments.
The purpose of this report is to document how the shore zone of six Virginia localities, Accomack, Gloucester, York, Newport News, Norfolk, and Poquoson, have evolved since 1937/38 (Figure 1). Aerial imagery was taken for most of the Bay region beginning then and can be used to assess the geomorphic nature of shore change. Aerial photos show how the coast has changed, how beaches, dunes, bars, and spits have grown or decayed, how barriers have breached, how inlets have changed course, and how one shore type has displaced another or has not changed at all. Shore change is a natural process but, quite often, the impacts of man, through shore hardening or inlet stabilization, come to dominate a given shore reach. In addition to documenting historical shorelines, the change in shore positions along the rivers and larger creeks will be quantified in this report. The shorelines of very irregular coasts, small creeks around inlets, and other complicated areas will be shown but not quantified.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21220/V5213G
Keywords
Shoreline Evolution, Aerial Photography, GIS, End Point Rate Calculation
Funding
This project was funded by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program at the Department of Environmental Quality through Grant #NA09NOS4190163 of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, or any of its subagencies.
Recommended Citation
Milligan, D. A., Wilcox, C., Cox, M. C., & Hardaway, C. (2012) Shoreline Evolution Update: 1937/38-2009 End Point Rate Calculations Counties of Accomack, Gloucester, and York Cities of Newport News, Norfolk, and Poquoson. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary. https://doi.org/10.21220/V5213G
AppendixB_Gloucester-lr.pdf (21222 kB)
AppendixC_Newport News-lr.pdf (7962 kB)
AppendixD_Norfolk-lr.pdf (2778 kB)
AppendixE_Poqoson-lr.pdf (6214 kB)
AppendixF_York-lr.pdf (3558 kB)
Included in
Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Sustainability Commons, Water Resource Management Commons
