RESPONSE OF OREGON INLET TO PEA ISLAND BREACHING
ICCE 2018 Cover Image
PDF

How to Cite

Velasquez-Montoya, L., Sciaudone, E. J., & Overton, M. F. (2018). RESPONSE OF OREGON INLET TO PEA ISLAND BREACHING. Coastal Engineering Proceedings, 1(36), papers.82. https://doi.org/10.9753/icce.v36.papers.82

Abstract

This study aims to assess the effects of a new inlet on the hydrodynamics of a semi-permanent tidal inlet and the back-barrier sound. Research on dual-inlet interactions is motivated by the increased vulnerability of barrier islands to breaching during hurricanes, phenomenon that can have important consequences on the hydrodynamics and morphology of a barrier island system with pre-existing inlets. This particular study takes place in the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina, where Oregon Inlet is the main inlet connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound. During Hurricane Irene in 2011, Pea Island - the island south of Oregon Inlet - was breached creating a new inlet that remained open until 2013. Dual-inlet interactions between Oregon Inlet and the new inlet in Pea Island are analyzed by means of numerical modeling experiments. Changes in flow velocities, water levels, and the tidal prism of Oregon Inlet due to the new inlet are computed for different wave and water level conditions. In addition to the actual inlet that opened in 2011, the effects of idealized inlets with different geometries and location are also included in this study. Results indicate that the original breach in Pea Island did not modify the dynamics of Oregon Inlet. Instead, its effects were restricted to a 5 km radius that extended mostly into the sound. The relative small size of the breach and its distance from Oregon Inlet are the two main factors that prevented dual-inlet interaction. Exploration of idealized breaching scenarios in Pea Island suggests that inlet spacing and breaching geometry play a major role in multiple inlet stability theory.
https://doi.org/10.9753/icce.v36.papers.82
PDF

References

Birkemeier, W., Dolan, R., Fisher, N., 1984. Evolution of a barrier island: 1930-1980. Shore and Beach, 52, 2-12.

Blanton, B., Madry, S., Galluppi, K., Gamiel, K., Lander, H., Reed, M., Stillwell, L., Blanchard-Montgomery, M., 2008. Report for the State of North Carolina floodplain mapping project: coastal flood analysis system. Topographic/bathymetric data.

Booij, N., Ris, R.C., Holthuijsen, L.H., 1999. A third-generation wave model for coastal regions: 1 model description and validation. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, 7649-7666.

Deltares, 2014a. Delft3D - FLOW. Simulation of multi-dimensional hydrodynamic flows and transport phenomena, including sediments. User Manual. Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands.

Farinha-Fabiao, J. P., Gomez-Rodrigues, M. F., Fortunato, A. B., Quintela de Brito Jabob, J. M., and Francisco-Cravo, A. M., 2016. Water exchanges between a multi-inlet lagoon and the ocean: the role of forcing mechanisms. Ocean Dynamics, 66(2), 173-194.

Fisher, J.J., 1962. Geomorphic expression of former inlets along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. University of North Carolina.

Friedrichs, C. T., Aubrey, D. G., Giese, G. S., and Speer, P. E., 1993. Hydrodynamical modeling of a multiple-inlet estuary/barrier system: insight into tidal inlet formation and stability. Formation and Evolution of Multiple Tidal Inlets, D. G. Aubrey and G. S. Giese, eds., American Geophysical Union, 95-112.

Hayes, M. O., and FitzGerald, D. M., 2013. Origin, evolution, and classification of tidal inlets. Journal of Coastal Research, 6(69), 14-33.

Jarrett, J. T., 1976. Tidal Prism - Inlet Area Relationships. General Investigation of Tidal Inlets (GITI) report 3.

Joyner, B.P., Overton, M.F., Fisher, J.S., 1998. Post-stabilization morphology of Oregon Inlet, NC, in: the 26th International Conference in Coastal Engineering. Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 3124-3137.

van de Kreeke, J., 1990. Can multiple tidal inlets be stable? Estuarine, Coastal and Shelft Science Journal, 30, 261-273.

van de Kreeke, J., Brouwer, R. L., Zitman, T. J., and Schuttelaars, H. M., 2008. The effect of a topographic high on the morphological stability of a two-inlet bay system. Coastal Engineering, 55(4), 319-332.

Kurum, O., Overton, M., and Mitasova, H., 2012. Land cover and sediment layers as controls of inlet breaching. In: Proceedings of the 33rd International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Santander, Spain, 1-9.

Kurum, O., 2013. Improved post-storm model predictions of barrier island response to extreme events by including land cover effects on sediment transport capacity. North Carolina State University.

Leendertse, J. J., 1967. Aspects of a computational model for long- period water-wave propagation. Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, California.

Lesser, G.R., Roelvink, J.A., van Kester, J.A.T.M., Stelling, G.S., 2004. Development and validation of a three-dimensional morphological model. Coastal Engineering, 51, 883-915.

Luettich, R.A., Westerink, J.J., Scheffner, N.W., 1992. ADCIRC: an advanced three-dimensional circulation model for shelves coasts and estuaries, report 1: theory and methodology of ADCIRC-2DDI and ADCIRC-3DL. Dredging Research Program Technical Report DRP-92-6. Vicksburg, MS.

Mallinson, D. J., Smith, C. W., Culver, S. J., Riggs, S. R., and Ames, D., 2010. Geological characteristics and spatial distribution of paleo-inlet channels beneath the Outer Banks barrier islands , North Carolina , USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 88(2), 175-189.

Nichols, C.R., Pietrafesa, L.J., 1997. Oregon Inlet: hydrodynamics, volumetric flux and implications for larval fish transport. Raleigh, NC

Overton, M. F., and Fisher, J. S., 2004. Hurricane Isabel and NC12 hotspots. Shore & Beach, 72(2), 30-35.

Pacheco, A., Ferreira, O., Williams, J. J., Garel, E., Vila-Concejo, A., and Dias, J. A., 2010. Hydrodynamics and equilibrium of a multiple-inlet system. Marine Geology, 274, 32-42.

Roelvink, D., Reniers, A., van Dongeren, A., van Thiel de Vries, J., McCall, R., and Lescinski, J., 2009. Modelling storm impacts on beaches , dunes and barrier islands. Coastal Engineering, 56, 1133-1152.

Roos, P.C., Schuttelaars, H.M., Brouwer, R.L., 2013. Observations of barrier island length explained using an exploratory morphodynamic model. Geophysical Research Letters, 40, 4338-4343.

Safak, I., Warner, J. C., and List, J. H., 2016. Barrier island breach evolution: Alongshore transport and bay-ocean pressure gradient interactions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 121, 8720-8730.

Salles, P., Voulgaris, G., and Aubrey, D. G., 2005. Contribution of nonlinear mechanisms in the persistence of multiple tidal inlet systems. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 65, 475-491.

Sciaudone, E. J., Velasquez-Montoya, L., Smyre, E. A., and Overton, M. F. 2016. Spatial and temporal variability in dune field: Pea Island, North Carolina. Shore & Beach, 84(2), 49-58.

Stutz, M. L., and Pilkey, O. H., 2011. Open-Ocean barrier islands: global influence of climatic, oceanographic, and depositional settings. Journal of Coastal Research, 27(2), 207-222.

Velasquez, L., Sciaudone, E.J., Mitasova, H., Overton, M.F., 2015. Multi-temporal geospatial analysis of the evolution and closing of pea island breach, NC. In: Proceedings of Coastal Sediments 2015, San Diego, California.

Velasquez-Montoya, L., and Overton, M. F., 2017. Impacts of Seasonal Forcings on the Hydrodynamics of Oregon Inlet, NC. In: Proceedings of Coastal Dynamics, Helsingør, Denmark.

Velasquez-Montoya, L., Sciaudone, E. J., Mitasova, H., and Overton, M. F., 2018. Observation and modeling of the evolution of an ephemeral storm-induced inlet: Pea Island Breach, North Carolina, USA. Continental Shelf Research, 156, 55-69.

Authors retain copyright and grant the Proceedings right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this Proceedings.