File:Coast watch (1979) (20659028175).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_0 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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Text Appearing Before Image:
V May, 1980 AUG 2 6 1980 N. C. Doc. COASrtaUCH NORTH CAROLINA STATE LIBRARY Photo by J. Foster Scott
Text Appearing After Image:
Bare, shifting dunes threaten the abandoned Pennys Hill Coast Guard Station Dunes: Where the sea and the land mix it up Sometimes North Carolina's coast seems like a battleground where people and regulations butt heads almost as regularly as the surf and shoreline. Many of the major skirmishes have been fought over dunes. Property own- ers have been denied building permits over them, off-road vehicles have been barred from them, and millions of dollars have been spent to maintain them. What is a dune? It is a lot more than a pile of sand. Dunes store sand from the ocean, provide housing for ghost crabs, offer nesting grounds for log- gerhead turtles and waterbirds, and serve as a last hold for beach grasses and sea oats. And, dunes are a flexible buffer between land and waves. The clash between dunes and the ocean occurs along a line of scrimmage defended by the primary dunes. Primary dunes, the first large sand ridge back from the beach, are capable of holding off the waves of most storms. In front of the primary dunes are often smaller sand mounds called frontal dunes. These dunes offer less protection from the ocean. Usually the interplay between the ocean and the dunes is equal. Each gives and takes a little. But oc- casionally, a team of waves and wind, often from a strong storm, comes along that breaks the defense, topples the dunes and rushes landward. Sometimes, this defensive breakdown occurs because of holes in the dune line. People cut away at the dunes and its vegetation with their feet, their vehicles and their construc- tion. These holes may allow the ocean to pierce the dune defense on the next high tide or during the next storm. The result can be flooding and erosion behind the dune line. Continued on next page

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