Virginia Coastal Program: 2002 Coastal Grant Project Description and Final Summary
Project Task:
FY2002 Task 91
Grantee:
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Project Title:
Chesapeake Bay Dune Systems: Ongoing Monitoring and Management Analysis
Project Description as Proposed:
This is the final effort of our analysis of dune resources and management in Virginia's portion of Chesapeake Bay. This is Year 4 of the overall research plan which will focus on five tasks but also will include results obtained during Years 1 through 3. These tasks are:1) Development of a physical/prediction model of shoreline change for selected dunes/dune field2) Completion of management and policy analyses with respect to important dune system components excluded from the Act (primary and secondary dunes) 3) Final year of the Bay-wide monitoring4) Analysis of the values of created dunes/dune fields as a component of shoreline management5) Completion of development and distribution of four locality-specific dune resource inventories.
Federal Funding:
$110,000
Project Contact:
Scott Hardaway, 804.684.7277; hardaway@vims.edu
Project Status:
Grant Closed
Final Product Received:
Project Summary Provided by Grantee:
This
project was a continuation of our analysis of dune resources and
management in Virginia's portion of Chesapeake Bay. This was Year
4 of the overall research plan and focused on five tasks.
Development of a physical/prediction model of shoreline change for
selected dunes/dune fields: In order to determine future trends
of dunes and beaches along the Chesapeake Bay's coast, one must
understand how they evolved in terms of their coastal geomorphology.
In that light, a shoreline evolution report has been developed for
Northampton County. High-level aerial photography taken in 1938,
1949, 1989, 1994, and 2002 were rectified, and the shorelines were
May 16, 2006ulated. These
were put into perspective with the underlying geology and general
coastal geomorphic change of the reach as well as the location of
dune sites identified in Hardaway et al. (2000), Chesapeake Bay
Dunes: Evolution and Status. The results show the utility of using
a time series of historical imagery to portray the nature of shore
change particularly beaches and dunes. Near future trends can be
more comfortably portrayed. The analysis and methods are being applied
to 9 more localities. The reports will be available in Adobe Acrobat
format.
Completion of management and policy analyses: CZM coastal policy
team is developing a land acquisition strategy policy based on guidelines
developed in the "Analysis of Shoreline Development Risk for
Secondary Dune Systems in Tidewater Virginia with Associated Management
Recommendations" by Lyle Varnell and C. Scott Hardaway, 2000.
Also, a strategy to incorporate all non-jurisdictional localities
into the Dune Act is being developed.
Virginia Bay-wide dune monitoring program: Nine dune sites in five
localities have been monitored semi-annually since 2001. These data
have been input to a profile analysis program, and the cross-sections
plotted. Change at the monitoring sites have been documented by
this method. Before the passage of Hurricane Isabel in September
2003, all sites showed signs of foredune growth and accretion. The
impact of Hurricane Isabel on the dune monitoring sites was documented
and presented at the DEQ Coastal Program Conference in December
2003 and at the 2004 Geological Society Meeting. We have entered
the final year of monitoring.
Analysis of the values of created dunes/dune fields as a component
of shoreline management: Utilizing dune data obtained from monitoring
as well as the original project site visits, an analysis of created
dunes shows their value as a shoreline management strategy in terms
of coastal hazard protection. During Hurricane Isabel, the dunes
at MA3 were destroyed, but little damage occurred to the upland
structures. The impacts of Hurricane Isabel on natural and man-created
dunes and beaches was presented in a seminar at the VIMS' annual
Wetlands Symposium in July 2004.
Creation of dune resource inventories: Locality reports were completed
for Lancaster County, Northampton County, Accomack County and the
City of Norfolk. The intent of these reports was to provide the
user with information on the status of dunes in each locality. Since
much of the data was collected several years ago and the beach and
dune systems may have changed, the reports were intended only as
a resource for coastal zone managers and homeowners and not for
use in determining legal jurisdictional limits. These reports included
aerial photo location of the sites, tables describing the site characteristics
and dune system classification, and inventory sheets for each site.
Each inventory sheet included a typical profile of the site, photos,
and general information and remarks. The reports had a limited printed
distribution due to cost of printing; however, they also are available
in Adobe Acrobat format.
Form C end
Disclaimer: This project summary provides the federal dollars initially awarded to the grantee. Due to underexpenditure or reprogramming of grant funds, this figure may change. For more information on the allocation of coastal grant funds, please contact Laura McKay, Virginia Coastal Program Manager, at 804.698.4323 or email: Laura.McKay@deq.virginia.gov
A more detailed Scope of Work for this project is available. Please direct your request for a copy to Virginia.Witmer@deq.virginia.gov
