Norbert P Psuty

Shoreline Change Monitoring at Fire Island National Seashore 2008-2009 Annual Report Norbert P Psuty

This annual report documents the collection of shoreline position data and describes the short- term variation that has occurred during the period from Spring 2008 to Spring 2009 in the Fire Island barrier island, including elements of the Fire Island National Seashore, as called for in the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network?s protocol on shoreline monitoring (Psuty, et al., 2010). The changes in shoreline position are generally descriptive of the seasonal contrasts (lower energetics in the summer period versus higher energetics in the winter period) that support sediment accumulation during summer and erosion during the winter. However, there are many natural variables and cultural events that affect the gains and losses of sediment and the displacements of the beach. The 1D shoreline surveys were conducted in March 2008, October 2008, and March 2009. They incorporate changes caused by a major beach nourishment project in many of the communities and a county project to place sediment dredged from Moriches Inlet along a portion of Smith Point County Park. As a result, most of the communities had a net positive shoreline displacement (mean of 3.2 m) and some of the County Park had a net positive shoreline displacement for the year. However, most of the NPS land and the State Park had a net inland displacement, -3.61 m and -14.87 m, respectively. The mean shoreline position change for the annual period, Spring 2008 to Spring 2009, for the entire island was an inland displacement, - 3.66 m.