# 1. INTRODUCTION 

## The seam where continent meets ocean is a line of constant change, where with every roll of the waves, every pulse of the tides the past manifestly gives way to the future. There is a sense of time and of growth and decay, life mingling with death. It is an unsheltered place, without pretense. The hint of forces beyond control, of days before and after the human span, spell out a message ultimately important, ultimately learned.

> **David Leveson (1973)**

# 

**1.1. THE COASTAL DILEMMA**

The history of development in coastal North Carolina is unlike other
human endeavors due to the high-energy and dynamic character of the
coastal system. The evolutionary formation of the North Carolina coastal
system has taken place during the past 10,000 years and continues today
as a work in progress. More importantly, change is the only constant
within the coastal system and this change happens at rates that defy
conventional human perception and development patterns on more stable
and inland terrains.

In 1975, Bellis et al. used the demise of Batt's Island in Albemarle
Sound to demonstrate ongoing estuarine shoreline erosion in direct
response to the intimately coupled processes of wave action and rising
sea level. This island, which occurred about 0.75 miles offshore of
Drummond Point at the entrance to Yeopim River, first appeared on the
1657 Comberford map (Cumming, 1938) as Hariots Island. The island
subsequently became the home of Captain Nathaniel Batts, the first
Virginian to settle in the Albemarle region and the Governor of
"Roan-oak". The island is referred to as Batts Grave on the 1733 Moseley
and 1770 Collet maps (Cumming, 1966) (Figs. 1-1-1A, 1B). In 1749 the
island consisted of 40 acres occupied by houses and orchards (Powell,
1968). Bellis et al. (1975) estimated that the island was about 10 acres
in size on a 1849 U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey bathymetric survey map.
By the early 1970s a lone cypress skeleton marked the total demise of
the island (Fig. 1-1-1C) and by the early 1990s only a red buoy marker
reflected the presence of shallow shoals (Fig. 1-1-1D).

Native Americans inhabited North Carolina prior to 10,000 years ago.
However, today little record of their occupancy of the coastal zone
exists. Even the record of the first European settlement on the north
end of Roanoke Island in 1584-85 has been obliterated by the dynamic
processes of shoreline recession. The processes of change continue to
take their toll today as every nor'easter and hurricane place their mark
upon the shifting sands of time. If the rapid rates of coastal evolution
presently taking place within our coastal system continue, no great
remnants from our present coastal civilization will survive into
antiquity. This is our coastal heritage.

[\*\*\* FIGURE 1-1-1 HERE \*\*\*]{.mark}

[BAT'S GRAVE]{.mark}

Geologists are generally perceived as dealing only with millions of
years of geologic time. Yes, when considering earth history, geologists
do think in terms of millions, and even billions of years. However, when
considering modern earth processes such as earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, and riverine floods the time scales shift to hours, days,
years, decades, and centuries. Likewise, in considering high-energy
coastal systems, geologic time is synonymous with time as experienced
during a trip to the beach, a unique winter, an individual life span, or
even a few generations. Thus, modern coastal processes result in
geologic events that range in human time frames from individual storm
events to the rise and fall of specific civilizations. At this scale,
*geologic time is human time*!

**1.2. THE ESTUARINE SHORELINE**

Wherever calm, flat estuarine water intersects the irregular land
surface, there is a shoreline. However, rarely is the estuarine water
surface horizontal. Rather it fluctuates slightly in response to both
astronomical and wind tides and severely during storm tides. These
changes in water level cause the shoreline to move up and down and
produce a shore zone that extends over some area determined by the
geometry of the adjacent land surface. If the land is dominated by low
slopes, such as occur in the outer portions of coastal North Carolina,
the shore zone tends to be very broad forming vast areas of marsh and
swamp forest. Wherever the land has steeper slopes, such as dominate the
inner portions of the North Carolina coastal zone, the shore zone is
narrow and characterized by sediment and rock banks.

In addition, the shore zone is an environment of highly variable
physical energy conditions ranging from dead calm water to the extreme
wave and storm-tide conditions associated with major storm events. As a
result, the shore zone is like a great energy transfer station where
physical energy of waves, tides, and currents in the water is
transferred to the land through work processes that accomplish the
erosion, transport, and deposition of sediments. The amount work
accomplished within an estuarine shore zone depends upon the topography
and composition (i.e., shoreline type), as well as the source, amount,
and duration of energy expended. Each new input of energy (i.e., storm
event) causes shorelines to change and evolve through time. This is the
function of a shoreline----to absorb the physical energy occurring at
the contact between sea and land. Thus, storm events that input major
amounts of energy can result in significant shoreline modification.
Whereas, little happens on calm summer days.

Sand beaches are not only important habitats for specific types of
organisims, but they are extremely efficient energy absorbing sponges of
wave energy. A sand beach will form on a given shoreline if three
general conditions are met. There must be adequate wave energy, a low
sloping ramp for the beach to perch upon at the shoreline, and an
adequate supply of sand available for waves to build a beach. Most sand
for mainland estuarine shoreline beaches within North Carolina is
derived directly from the erosion of the adjacent sediment bank. If no
sand exists in the sediment bank, there is no sand beach. Or, if the
eroding sediment bank is hardened, the sand beach often
disappears\--unless there are cooperative neighbors that won't modifiy
their eroding banks.

Wherever water level and associated waves intersect the land, waves will
erode a shoreline that consists of a wave-cut cliff and a wave-cut
terrace eroded directly into the sediment or rock that comprises the
shoreline. If the material is unconsolidated sand and wave energy is
high, the recession rates will be severe. Whereas, if the shoreline
material is hard rock, the erosion rates will be slow or negligible.

As energy input, character of land, or sea level change through time,
the shoreline responds with dramatic evolutionary changes. Herein lies
the dilemma. Rates of change along the North Carolina estuarine
shorelines occur in time frames of days and years, in severe contrast to
the expectations of permanence and economic values placed upon
waterfront properties. Raleigh style approaches to development are not
possible in a high-energy coastal system. For long-term success for both
society and the estuarine ecosystem, use and development of coastal
resources must recognize and be done in harmony with the energy and
processes of the natural system.

**1.3. CONCLUSION**

Thus, shoreline erosion is an ongoing natural process within the North
Carolina estuarine system resulting from the short- and long-term
coastal evolution. While various methods are available to combat erosion
and land loss, none are permanent solutions, and all have significant
environmental trade offs. Recognizing and understanding the complex
causes and dynamic processes involved in shoreline erosion is the first
step towards minimizing the impact of erosion and managing our shoreline
resources and economic investments. Ultimately, to both preserve our
coastal estuarine resources and maximize human utilization, long-term
management solutions to the problems of estuarine shoreline erosion
problems must be in harmony with the dynamics of the total coastal
system.