Generalized Monitoring of SEASCAPE (Trade Name) Installation at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, North Carolina

摘要

This report documents a monitoring program to assess the effectiveness of SEASCAPE, an artificial seaweed, for temporarily stabilizing the shoreline fronting the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The monitoring program consisted of aerial photography, beach profile surveys, reconnaissance dives, and ground photography. Although consideration accretion ocurred during the monitoring period, the accumulation was the result of a general build up of the beach which averaged 25 ft over the 6.1-mile study area. There was no conclusive evidence to link the buildup to the 5,000 ft of SEASCAPE which was deployed in October and November, 1982. Moreover, it was not possible to attribute burial of the SEASCAPE to the action of the artificial seaweed versus burial by normal wave-driven migration of sand. The units themselves were found to deteriorate and to fragment with whole units and parts of units washing up on the beach. Keywords: Evaluation and hydrodynamics of offshore structures; Seascape(Artificial seaweed), Lighthouse protection, Sediment transport; Coastal engineering.