A hydrographic investigation of a mixed-energy inlet : Rich Inlet, North Carolina

UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Adam Clair Knierim (Creator)

Institution

The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )

Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/

Advisor

William Cleary

Abstract: Management issues related to tidal inlets and their associated environmental impacts have become a primary focus for coastal research in North Carolina. Research needs stem from a variety of issues relating to the targeting of tidal inlets for sand resources for beach fill. Rich Inlet, located approximately 55km northeast of Cape Fear, is one such inlet marked for modification. Detailed hydrographic data for Rich Inlet, as well as for most North Carolina inlets, is extremely limited and in most cases is non-existent. This study provides physical and hydraulic data that are currently being used to formulate an inlet management plan and a baseline for long-term monitoring. Rich Inlet is a large wave-influenced transitional system that separates Figure Eight Island, a privately developed barrier to the south, from Hutaff Island to the north. A variety of data indicated that the inlet is a flood dominant system. Data from ADCP throat surveys recorded greater maximum flood (~1.17m/s) than ebb (~1.05m/s) current velocities. A water-level meter placed adjacent to the inlet throat recorded longer ebb (6.78hr) than flood (5.63hr) durations. Tidal prism ranged from 9.4-21.22 x 106 m3. An estimated ebb-tidal delta volume of 6.7 x 106 m3 was determined using the average tidal prism. Future inlet modification can have a significant impact on the aforementioned parameters. Alteration of the inlet could potentially lead to an increase in tidal prism and as a consequence an increase in the retention capacity of the ebb-tidal delta. Changes in the extent of the ebb-tidal delta will have a negative impact on adjacent oceanfront shorelines.

A hydrographic investigation of a mixed-energy inlet : Rich Inlet, North Carolina
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Created on 1/1/2009
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Additional Information

Publication

Thesis

A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science

Language: English

Date: 2009

Keywords

Hydrographic surveying, Inlets--North Carolina--Rich

Subjects

Hydrographic surveying

Inlets -- North Carolina -- Rich

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