Quantifying Rapid Changes in Coastal Topography using Modern Mapping Techniques and Geographic Information System

Research Article| January 01, 2004 Quantifying Rapid Changes in Coastal Topography using Modern Mapping Techniques and Geographic Information System HELENA MITASOVA; HELENA MITASOVA 1Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar THOMAS G. DRAKE; THOMAS G. DRAKE 1Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar DAVID BERNSTEIN; DAVID BERNSTEIN 2Center for Marine and Wetland Studies, Coastal Carolina University, 1270 Atlantic Avenue, Conway, SC 29526 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar RUSSELL S. HARMON RUSSELL S. HARMON 3Army Research Office, Army Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information HELENA MITASOVA 1Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 THOMAS G. DRAKE 1Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 DAVID BERNSTEIN 2Center for Marine and Wetland Studies, Coastal Carolina University, 1270 Atlantic Avenue, Conway, SC 29526 RUSSELL S. HARMON 3Army Research Office, Army Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Publisher: Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1558-9161 Print ISSN: 1078-7275 Copyright © 2004 Geological Society of America Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (2004) 10 (1): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.2113/10.1.1 Article history First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation HELENA MITASOVA, THOMAS G. DRAKE, DAVID BERNSTEIN, RUSSELL S. HARMON; Quantifying Rapid Changes in Coastal Topography using Modern Mapping Techniques and Geographic Information System. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience 2004;; 10 (1): 1–11. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/10.1.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyEnvironmental & Engineering Geoscience Search Advanced Search Abstract Innovative methodology based on a combination of real-time kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK-GPS), light detection and ranging (lidar), and open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) was developed to gain a better understanding of rapid changes in coastal topography. Improved spatial interpolation techniques were implemented to produce detailed topographic surfaces from lidar and RTK-GPS data. The methodology is demonstrated for two North Carolina areas: Jockey's Ridge State Park and Bald Head Island. The Jockey's Ridge study quantifies recent dune movement and identifies areas of elevation loss and rapid horizontal migration that threaten existing infrastructure. The Bald Head Island study examines pre- and post-nourishment beach evolution. The dynamics of beach topography, its geometric properties, and estimates of both eroded and deposited sand volumes were determined by combining lidar elevation data (1997–2000) with quarterly RTK-GPS measurements. Spatio-temporal analysis confirms the relative stability of the central 'pivot point' beach section and reveals that the beach changed its shape from convex west of the pivot point to concave east of the pivot point during the period of 1997 to 1998 and reversed shapes during year 2000. The pivot point also divides the beach into two sections that exhibit markedly different responses to nourishment. Although the entire length of nourished beach retreated, the analysis reveals that in the western section, all nourished sand off-shore was lost, whereas in the eastern section, significant sand volume was pushed up onto the beach, creating potential for recovery. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.