MAGNITUDE OF SUBAERIAL BEACH DISTURBANCE DURING NORTHEAST STORMS

Analysis of simultaneous measurements of inshore processes and changes in beach profiles over a nine-month period on the Outer Banks of Nort h Carolina shows a relationship between storm magnitude and the vertic al and horizontal erosion of a subaerial beach. The maximum cut during any tidal cycle was 70 cm, which occurred in the middle of the profil e. The majority of the erosion occurring during the first 6 hours Of t he storms and approximately 50 percent of the sand lost during the sto rms was recovered within the first 12 hours following the storms. wave height and steepness and the pre-storm beach configuration determined the extent of the vertical erosion. There is a downward limit to vert ical erosion, and once this level is reached the maximum changes becom e horizontal.