A TRIP TO THE SHORE IN HURRICANE SEASON

Here are some views of Hurricane Floyd (and Gert) from last year:

• Sept 14. Note which way the storm is spinning (clockwise or coutner-clockwise?) and remind yourself why.
• Sept 15.
• Sept 16. Notice the eye of the storm hitting the coast of North Carolina!

Large storms and hurricanes like last year's Floyd, Gert, and Bonnie (from 1998) have significant impact on the sedimentary systems of beaches. The analysis of Floyd's damage has not yet been completed, but an interesting study of Bonnie is on the web. Bonnie, although a smaller storm, arrived in North Carolina about the same place that Floyd landed. Visit the review of Hurricane Bonnie's impact on costal North Carolina by the U.S. Geological Survey, and answer the following questions:

Click on South Section to get a photo an maps of Old Topsail Inlet. Examine the Change Map and note areas of erosion and deposition.

1. What major feature was present before Hurricane Bonnie but not after the hurricane?

2. Look at the graph for Profile 2 across the South Section (click "Profile 2"). What was the maximum thickness of beach removed by Hurricane Bonnie? Where did the sand go?

   Go to the North Section to see Bonnie's impact on a developed beach. (Do you think these houses are still there, after Floyd?) Examine the Change Map and note similarities and differences between the north and south sections.

3. Estimate the volume of sand removed between Profile 1 and Profile 3 of the North Section. Describe how you arrived at your answer. Be sure to include units!

You may also wish to visit this page: "Natural Disasters - Forecasting Hurricane Occurrence, Economic and Life Losses" by the U.S. Geological Survey for a discussion of the increasing economic impact of natural disasters in the United States.

See the Geology help pages for problem solving tips and unit conversions.