File:Coast watch (1979) (20473817519).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_12 (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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Masonboro Inlet Shallotte Inlet from 1938 to 1996 from 1949 to 1996
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SEA SCIENCE mid-1990s, but Hurricanes Bertha and Fran reopened the inlet to a width of 53 meters in 1996. Just two years later, the inlet was closed again. Hurricanes Bertha and Fran left their marks on other southern inlets as well, including Carolina Beach Inlet and New Inlet. Other storms have sent great amounts of water cresting over the oceanside dunes, but have not actually cut new inlets. Such was the case with Hurricane Dennis, which battered the Outer Banks earlier this year, wreaking havoc for Hatteras Island residents and tourists and forcing state officials to consider new options for N.C. 12. Throughout history, inlets have served as gateways to commerce and adventure. In more recent decades, inlets' mercurial natures have become the bane of developers and property owners who have built dream homes or resorts along the fragile barrier islands. The best-known example has been Mason Inlet's migration toward the Shell Island Resort near the tip of Wrightsville Beach. "Mason Inlet moved over 365 feet in a year, averaging over one foot per day," says Spencer Rogers, North Carolina Sea Grant's coastal construc- tion and erosion specialist. "Others have moved over 1,000 feet in a single year." The inlets reflect nature's volatile side. While tidal currents constantly attempt to deepen an inlet's channel, ocean waves transport sand into the inlet, filling it again. Inlets change as the balance between these forces shifts. "Inlets are the most dynamic coastal features," Rogers says. □ To order a copy of Shifting Shorelines: A Pictorial Adas of North Carolina Inlets, send a check for $15 to North Carolina Sea Grant, NC State University, Box 8605, Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. Ask for publication UNC- SG-99-04. COASTWATCH 25

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