thumbnail

Erosional patterns of the Isles Dernieres, Louisiana, in relation to meteorological influences

Journal of Coastal Research
By: , and 

Links

  • The Publications Warehouse does not have links to digital versions of this publication at this time
  • Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core

Abstract

Over the past 100 years, the Isles Dernieres, a low-lying barrier-island chain along the central Louisiana coast, has eroded extensively. This erosion has resulted in more than 1 km of northward beach-face retreat and the loss of 71% of the total island area. The primary causes for the erosion are wind and wave attack, diminished sand supply, and relative sea-level rise. Five years of detailed topographic surveys show that a beach on the central Isles Dernieres changed significantly in both shape and sediment volume; however, the pattern of change was not the same each year. In contrast to the relatively slow erosion caused by cold fronts, hurricane Gilbert, a category 5 hurricane that passed about 800 km south of the Isles Dernieres in September 1988, produced differential beach-face retreat of about 9 m at mean sea level and 40 m at an elevation of 0.5 m. Most of the sediment eroded from the beach face was deposited on the backshore, which resulted in only a small loss of sediment from the beach and a noteworthy decrease in beach-face slope. During the two years following hurricane Gilbert, the mean-sea-level contour remained stationary while the beach face slowly returned to its pre-Gilbert shape. "Cold-front' magnitude of retreat is expected to continue until another large hurricane alters the erosional pattern. -from Authors
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Erosional patterns of the Isles Dernieres, Louisiana, in relation to meteorological influences
Series title Journal of Coastal Research
Volume 9
Issue 1
Year Published 1993
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Journal of Coastal Research
First page 112
Last page 115
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details