41st street looking
north..the large back dune is part of the 1st attempt in the
70's. The fence is to 1. protect the dunes from humans, and 2.
collect blowing sand.Sand Dunes
In an attempt to save the shoreline, some beachfront towns have finally realized that to provide a natural barrier between the homes and the ocean would be more successful than fixed, non-moving objects like wooden bulkheads or rocks. Our east coast was protected (and in a few areas still is) by barrier islands with sand dunes as the 1st front against the assaulting waves. Sand would be collected in the dunes and then lost from the dunes during storms. Ocean City, NJ has attempted to build a line of dunes along their eroding beachfront. While it is meeting with opposition of beachfront owners as blocking their view of the ocean, they have already paid for themselves for each Northeaster they held the ocean back or for each hurricane swell that they dissipated the force of the powerful waves. In the early 1970's, a successful attempt was made to start dunes building up on the south end of Ocean City. By using Christmas trees to collect sand, large mounds of sand collected throughout the windy winter and dune grass was planted on these mounds in the spring. They continued to grow in most areas (except where the grass was pulled out by home owners behind the growing dunes), and were boosted along during the 90's when the beach was replenished.
Here are some photos taken during the summer of 1999 along the south end of Ocean City, NJ.
41st street looking
north..the large back dune is part of the 1st attempt in the
70's. The fence is to 1. protect the dunes from humans, and 2.
collect blowing sand.
42nd St.-a view from a
home on the beach.
45th St. Access to the
beach is provided in these areas to prevent walking over the
dunes.
48th St. Behind the
dunes is a gap to walk between the homes and dunes. Burried under
the sand is a bulkhead about 10' deep with rocks in front (built
in 1962 after the Ash Wednesday Storm).
55th St. North and South...mound but
no dune grass yet.
59th St. Pier and Beach and what the island use to be like.
And even though the
island only went to 59th street, her is 60th St! Will it continue
through what was a State Park?
Dune rebuilding in
Jacksonville, FL (Atlantic Beach)
The star of the show, Dune Grass!
See how the sand
collects around the grass.
© 2001 TKWEBS