The Value of Created Dunes to address Coastal Hazards in Chesapeake Bay: Hurricane Isabel Impacts

Authors

C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceFollow
Donna A. Milligan, Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceFollow
Travis R. Comer, Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceFollow

Document Type

Report

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Publication Date

11-2004

Abstract

Perhaps the most important function of a created dune, from some perspectives, is coastal protection. Since the initiation of this subtask within the overall Chesapeake Bay Dune Monitoring and Management Analysis project, Hurricane Isabel impacted the coastal plain of Virginia and significantly altered almost all Bay shorelines to one degree or another. This is particularly true of shorelines facing north, east, and south since the winds shifted as the storm passed. The original task scope has changed slightly as a result of Isabel’s passage since it was such a significant storm event and provided an opportunity to show how dunes created under different conditions responded to the storm.

Isabel impacted several of our monitoring sites, part of our ongoing dune research since 2000 (Figure 1). Three of those sites (MA3, NL42, and NL59) have “created dunes” resulting from different anthropogenic activities. The purpose of this data report is to evaluate these sites from a coastal hazard perspective and determine how they performed during Hurricane Isabel and how they have recovered.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21220/V57M7D

Keywords

Sand Dune Conservation, Shore Protection, Virginia, Hurricane Isabel

Funding

This project was funded by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Coastal Resources Management Program through Grant #NA17OZ2355 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended.

Recommended Citation

Hardaway, C., Milligan, D. A., & Comer, T. R. (2004) The Value of Created Dunes to address Coastal Hazards in Chesapeake Bay: Hurricane Isabel Impacts. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary. https://doi.org/10.21220/V57M7D