Q14
Instructions: You now know a lot more about how hurricanes impact barrier islands than
99% of the rest of the public. However, to answer this question, you may want to
examine the 30 years of change at Cape Code and read the information at this NASA
website:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/cape_cod.php
For this essay, you will play the role of a staffer to a senator from Arizona. A bill has
been submitted to his committee the prevent people from rebuilding on barrier islands.
The idea of the bill is that if nature removed the land, it no longer exists. The property is
gone, so the people who owned that property no longer have that property. It is now
ocean and belongs to all of the U.S. citizens. Your senator truly has no idea on how to
vote on the bill in committee. He has asked you to research the issue and explain your
views.
The senator does not like to read a lot. He usually likes issues explained in 3 paragraphs.
However, the senator HATES to read fluff (words for the sake of words). The senator
also HATES it when the writing is poor (bad spelling, incorrect punctuation, and
everything your middle school teacher would correct).
Your task is to write at least 3 beefy paragraphs that explain your
personal position on the bill. You must include the evidence you have
analyzed in this lab. The paragraphs should address (a) the evidence
you have analyzed in this lab; (b) the readings you have completed on
barrier islands; and (c) your own thoughts about rebuilding in
locations that are periodically put in danger by natural hazards
Material
Q1
This cliff face eroded by the general process called __________, resulting from _________________. The resultant landform viewed 2 weeks after the big erosion event is called a ____________.
Select the answer that best fills in the blank.
erosion; weathering; mass wasting
Q2
View this videoof the collapse of a Mexican highway:
Watch the mass wasting event at La Conchita in California:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4KWxglDL3o .
Then, watch the mass wasting event showed at the 25 second mark in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yobc-sgv0xY .
and at the 30 second mark in this video:
What is the name of the mass wasting process?
Debris flow
Q3
Certainly, coastal erosion processes of played an important role. However, all of this was set in motion by mineral weathering (rock decay) along the rock _________. Select the answer that best fills in the blank.
You might want to review this material:
Wind erosion.
Q4 Examine the sequence of stills showing the erosion of the coastline at Normandy in France.
The mass wasting process that led to this cliff collapse is called ______________. A similar process can be seen in the failure of some of the blocks in this video from a different location.
Rock avalanche
GPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 1
Lab Title Hold off on buying that beach cottage
Lab Summary Some coastlines change a lot. Others change very little. This lab
tasks you with developing a better understanding of coastal change
and its interface with society by examining several case studies.
Reason to select
this lab
Many students enjoy visiting beaches. However, few ASU students
comprehend that beaches are incredibly dynamic places of
geomorphic change. If this sounds like you, I bet you’d find this lab
interesting.
Prerequisite lab There are no prerequisite labs.
Background
lecture
The weathering lecture and this mass wasting lecture presents ways
that the cliffs associated with coasts undergo landsliding. You might
want to review this lecture to answer some of the questions:
http://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/breeze/Publish211MassWasting/index.htm
logon: landforms
password: rock
The Coastal Landforms presentation explains the processes of
moving sediment around beaches and the issues of beach erosion.
http://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/breeze/Publish211Coasts/index.htm
logon: landforms
password: rock
Supplementary
readings
These readings will help you in answering the questions about
mass wasting associated with coastal landsliding:
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/hazards/landslides/topples.html
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/hazards/landslides/rotationalSlides.html
Coastal Erosion
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/environment-book/coastalerosionE.html
Coastal Erosion on Cape Cod.
http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/staffpages/boldale/capecod/index.html
Coastal Management Suffolk Coast:
http://www.suffolkcoastal.gov.uk/yourdistrict/planning/coastal-management/
Dauphin Island and Hurricane Katrina:
https://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/labs/coastal/DauphinIsland_BarrierExample.pdf
logon: landforms
password: rock
Computer
programs used in
this lab
You will be using the topographic map ‘tab’ in Acme Mapper:
http://mapper.acme.comGPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 2
Why this lab
meets the SQ
general studies
criteria
This lab illustrates how even math skills can be used in science. This
lab also deals with uncertainties in measurement.
How this lab
meets Science &
Society
Requirement
Coastlines represent a constant battle between society and the
science associated with coastal geomorphology. People build where
they should not, and this creates conflicts society and science
explored in this lab.
Sequence of Questions this Lab
The questions in the quiz associated with this lab are organized into three general sorts of
tasks.
Part 1: Observe some of the processes associated with erosion of coastal cliffs.
Rocky coastlines with massive cliffs are made unstable by the action of storm
waves undermining the cliff faces. As you know from the mass wasting lecture, this
undermining keeps the slope steep and that promotes mass wasting. The questions
associated with this task explores the influence of mass wasting and even the rock decay
(rock weathering) that sets the stage for the erosion of cliffs.
Part 2. Analyze rates of change along sandy coasts.
Coasts that are dominated by sand can change and do change rapidly in
association with major storm events. The questions in this task have you measure rates of
change in settings where information is both available and fairly easy for you to interpret.
Part 3. Analyze change to barrier islands from hurricanes
The interface between the science of coastal geomorphology and the society that
loves to live in dangerous coastal situation is rarely truly understood by those who live in
such settings. The questions in this task ask you to analyze the impact of hurricanes on
coastal barrier islands – landforms that are made and destroyed by hurricanes.GPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 3
Part 1: OBSERVE SOME OF THE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED
WITH EROSION OF COASTAL CLIFFS
Question 1: Watch this video of coastal erosion in Cornwall, UK.
and the location 2 weeks later:
A similar landform can be seen after the event in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjBvJYCEyGk .
Question: This cliff face eroded by the general process called
__________, resulting from _________________. The resultant
landform viewed 2 weeks after the big erosion event is called a
____________.
Select the answer that best fills in the blank.
Also, read this comment of the event by the Geoenvironmental Engineer who filmed it:
Question 2: View this video of the collapse of a Mexican highway:
Watch the mass wasting event at La Conchita in California:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4KWxglDL3o .
Then, watch the mass wasting event showed at the 25 second mark in this
video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yobc-sgv0xY .
and at the 30 second mark in this video:
What is the name of the mass wasting process?
Additional Information: If you want more background information, you can look at
this report of the U.S. Geological Survey about landslide hazards at La Conchita:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1067/508of05-1067.htmlGPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 4
Question 3: Please examine the photographs of coastal change in
Portland, U.K. in this newspaper story:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2534511/UK-weather-50ft-waves-hit-coast-1-6inches-rain-fall-sodden-ground-today.html
Certainly, coastal erosion processes of played an important role.
However, all of this was set in motion by mineral weathering (rock
decay) along the rock _________. Select the answer that best fills in the
blank.
You might want to review this material:
http://thebritishgeographer.weebly.com/coastal-processes.html
and
http://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/geography/coasts/revise-it/coastal-erosion-features
Question 4: Examine the sequence of stills showing the erosion of the
coastline at Normandy in France.
The mass wasting process that led to this cliff collapse is called
______________. A similar process can be seen in the failure of some of
the blocks in this video from a different location.
Question 5: Please take a look at this NBC video:
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51354960#56299401
Or, read this blog about the event:
Whidbey Island is a beautiful place to live in Washington State. The cliff
faces, however, often experience ___________. What is the best answer
that finishes this sentence?GPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 5
Part 2: ANALYZE RATES OF CHANGE ALONG SANDY COASTS
Background information and resources on this task:
Start by clicking on the link below to this newspaper article about erosion around
Suffolk, England:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1331226/Cliff-erosion-near-Southwold-Suffolk-leaves-homes-brink-crumbling-sea.html
A project tried to capture the loss of coastline in the area by lining up flags
imaged every day until the flags disappeared . Please read the background information at
the bottom of the website:
http://www.ifever.org.uk/camera/
Then, watch a few minutes of the 6:40 movie on the website. The flags are 1 meter apart,
and you will see the stormy conditions that lead to coastal erosion.
You will be analyzing “still” shots. You may find it easiest to download this file
to your own computer:
https://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/labs/coastal/LinesofDefenceStills.pdf
Or, you can look at individual photographs at this website:
http://www.ifever.org.uk/camera/livedata/
There is another resource to give you even more background about the coastal
erosion in this area. It is a scientific paper about the erosion in this area:
https://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/labs/coastal/Suffolk_Cliff_Recession.pdf
Example of what you will be doing:
You will estimate the rate of erosion over a year period by interpreting the
flags. Using this file, I examined only the orange flags that spell SPEED:
https://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/labs/coastal/LinesofDefenceStills.pdf
The S flags closest to the bluff on January 15 (05-01-15) is 1 meters from the
bluff face. I did not see any change until March 9 (05-03-09) when the S flag eroded.
That means 1 meters of erosion occurred. Another flag (P) disappeared by 05-03-13.
Then, two more flags (EE) disappeared by 05-04-09. All of the flags disappeared by 05-
05-23. Thus, by March 23rd, Six meters of erosion took place: 1 meter before S and then,
5 more meters represented by S.P.E.E.D. flags.
When I put these data in table form, it looks like this:
Photo Date Days Orange
Flags lost (in meters)
05-01-15 0 0
05-01-26 11 0
05-02-21 37 0
05-02-24 40 0
05-03-04 48 0
05-03-09 53 S
05-03-13 57 PGPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 6
05-04-09 85 E-E
05-05-23 128 D lost
05-06-26 162 No data
05-08-08 205 No data
05-08-20 218 No data
05-09-09 237 No data
Thus, in 128 days, 6 meters of erosion occurred.
To translate this information into years, I use the following equation:
Rate of erosion per year = (365/128) *6
By multiplying the 6 meters of erosion by the ratio of (365/128), I assume that the rate of
erosion for the entire 365 days would be the same as the observed 128 days.
The erosion rate for the SPEED orange flags would be 17.1 meters/year, or
rounded to 17m/year.
You will be doing this for the red (SUBMISSION) and blue (advancing) flags.
NOTE: When the flags disappear entirely, you are not able to calculate the rate of
erosion. So just stop making observations. You do calculate the rate of erosion by a
simple formula:
Erosion Rate (meter/year) = (365/days of observation)*meters eroded
You are welcome to use this table.
Photo Date Days Red
(SUBMISSION)
Blue
(ADVANCING)
05-01-15 0 0 0
05-01-26 11 0 0
05-02-21 37 0 0
05-02-24 40
05-03-04 48
05-03-13 53
05-04-09 82
05-05-23 128
05-06-26 162
05-07-12 178
05-08-08 205
05-08-20 218
05-09-09 237GPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 7
Question 6: What is the annual rate of erosion of the red
(SUBMISSION) flags?
Question 7: What is the annual rate of erosion of the blue
(ADVANCING) flags?
Question 8: Considering the erosion rate of the orange flags (17 m/year),
the red flags (SUBMISSION), and the blue flags (ADVANCING), what
is the average of these three erosion rates? Round to the nearest
meters/year.GPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 8
Part 3: ANALYZE CHANGE TO BARRIER ISLANDS FROM
HURRICANES
BACKGROUND TO THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS: The next group of
questions relates to changes to barrier islands from hurricanes. Coastal geomorphologists
generally think that barrier islands came into existence through processes associated with
hurricane storm waves. Hurricane waves brought sand into these barrier positions. Then,
on the flip side, hurricane waves also destroy and change barrier islands. In brief, barrier
islands are transient landforms. The next set of questions examine barrier islands and how
they change, as well as how this change influences the people who build and live on
them.
Start by reading these articles about Barrier Islands and their interaction with the
storm ways of hurricanes:
http://serc.carleton.edu/hazards/hurricanes/barrier_islands.html
and
http://www.livescience.com/15771-barrier-islands-survive-storms.html
Then read this newspaper article about the increase of insurance for barrier islands
in North Carolina:
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20130305/ARTICLES/130209831
You will be examining repeat photography before-and-after hurricanes. The
general idea is to examine the photographs and estimate the amount of beach erosion that
you can observe.
Question 9: Estimate the length, width and area of the breach of the
New Jersey barrier island at Mantoloking Bridge.
Background to this question: Superstorm Sandy greatly altered barrier islands along the
shoreline of New Jersey and New York. This video shows damage around the
Mantoloking Bridge that connects the mainland of New Jersey to the barrier island
serviced by Highway 35:
Then, examine the images on this website and read the explanation:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79622
THIS QUESTION: Estimate the width of the breach across the barrier island of
Route 35 in New Jersey as seen in the imagery? You will need to take measurements at
several places using the scale bar. Try to estimate the average width of the breach.GPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 9
Question 10: Hurricane Irene and Hatteras Island
Hurricane Irene created multiple breaches across Hatteras Island in North Carolina in
2011. Please read the brief story on this website and examime the close-up image:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=51960
What is correct in the story is that hurricanes often re-open old breaches. However, do
not rely on the width discussed in the story to answer the question. You will need to use
your own eyes in examining this image to obtain the correct answer.
Question: What is the width of the larger breach across Hatteras Island? Make your
estimate where Highway 12 has been destroyed. Use the scale bar at the website:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=51960
Question 11: Estimate the area of the breach in Dauphin Island created by the
storm surge of Hurricane Katrina.
Background: Dauphin Island that stands at the mouth of Mobile Bay, Alabama.
When Hurricane Katrina ran across the island, Dauphin Island experienced extensive
overwash from the storm surge that eroded extensive areas of the island. While overwash
is pretty typical for barrier islands that are constantly changed by hurricanes, this is tough
for people who made the foolish decision to build on these temporary landforms.
The next few questions will deal with Dauphin Island and its encounter with Hurricane
Katrina.
Instructions: Download and examine the higher resolution image:
https://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/labs/coastal/DauphinNASACompile.jpg
A low resolution view is below. You will start by using the 500 meter scale bar in the
close-up aerial photo to estimate the size of the original breach, prior to Katrina. You can
see that the original pre-Katrina breach was pretty small. Remember that area is length
times width and the value is square meters (m2).GPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 10
Then, you will estimate the area of the Katrina breach. You will start by measuring the
area of Dauphin Island that was present before Katrina. Again, you are estimating length
times width.
Lastly, you subtract the original breach (that is pretty small) from the area of the Katrina
breach. This value will be used in the next question.
Question 12: How many homes would have been lost if a breach of the
area measured in the previous question took place in the urbanized area
with houses?
Use the topographic map and scale bar (lower right corner). You may have an
easier time if you download and print out the topographic map.
https://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/labs/coastal/KatrinaDauph_Topo.jpg
First, You start with the area of the breach that you calculated in the previous question.
Second, take the square root of that area calculation. This will give you the length and
width of a square. Third, draw that square (either using your computer or manually byGPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 11
hand on the right side of this map of the community around Oro Point. Fourth, count (or
estimate) the number of houses (small purple squares) inside that “box”.
Note: a higher resolution topographic map can be found here:
https://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/labs/coastal/KatrinaDauph_Topo.jpg
Question 13: The Oro Point area of Dauphin Island got lucky. How
many meters of beach erosion actually occurred in this area from
multiple Hurricanes?
Instructions. You will use this website:
http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/katrina/photo-comparisons/dauphin.html
or this backup file for you to download if the website is not working
https://www.asu.edu/courses/gph211/labs/coastal/DauphinIslandUSGSBackup.pdf
‘
Focus on Location 1. First look at the aerial photograph that shows the scale bar so you
can figure out the width of the beach at location 1. Second, study carefully the oblique
aerial photographs from 2001, 2004 and 2005. The yellow arrows will help you relocate
specific homes. This question is asked you to estimate the horizontal (meters) loss of
the beach from Hurricanes Lili Ivan, and Katrina.GPH 211 Lab Buying a beach cottage? Hold off! 12
Question 14: Should people be allowed to rebuild on barrier islands?
Instructions: You now know a lot more about how hurricanes impact barrier islands than
99% of the rest of the public. However, to answer this question, you may want to
examine the 30 years of change at Cape Code and read the information at this NASA
website:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/cape_cod.php
For this essay, you will play the role of a staffer to a senator from Arizona. A bill has
been submitted to his committee the prevent people from rebuilding on barrier islands.
The idea of the bill is that if nature removed the land, it no longer exists. The property is
gone, so the people who owned that property no longer have that property. It is now
ocean and belongs to all of the U.S. citizens. Your senator truly has no idea on how to
vote on the bill in committee. He has asked you to research the issue and explain your
views.
The senator does not like to read a lot. He usually likes issues explained in 3 paragraphs.
However, the senator HATES to read fluff (words for the sake of words). The senator
also HATES it when the writing is poor (bad spelling, incorrect punctuation, and
everything your middle school teacher would correct).
Your task is to write at least 3 beefy paragraphs that explain your
personal position on the bill. You must include the evidence you have
analyzed in this lab. The paragraphs should address (a) the evidence
you have analyzed in this lab; (b) the readings you have completed on
barrier islands; and (c) your own thoughts about rebuilding in
locations that are periodically put in danger by natural hazards
