Abstract submission to: ASBPA 2013 National Coastal Conference, South Padre Island, TX,
October 22-25, 2013 (abstracts@asbpa.org)
Title: Hurricane Sandy: Beach-Dune Performance at New Jersey Beach Profile Network Sites
Authors: Daniel A. Barone, Stewart C. Farrell, Kimberly K. McKenna Coastal Research Center,
The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, 30 Wilson Ave., Port Republic, NJ 08241
daniel.barone@stockton.edu
ABSTRACT
The Coastal Research Center at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (CRC) initiated a
post-storm survey and assessment of the New Jersey shoreline in response to Hurricane Sandy
which made landfall in Atlantic County on October 29, 2012. The CRC has monitored shoreline,
trends for over 25 years at 105 locations for the New Jersey Beach Profile Network (NJBPN) and
the database provided clear evidence on how the beaches performed during the storm. Wave and
storm surge elevations attributed extensive beach and dune erosion along New Jersey’s Atlantic
shoreline, with beach-dune erosion and damages to developed areas generally increasing north of
landfall. Measurements of wave run-up ranged from 14.5 feet (NAVD88) at Atlantic City in
Atlantic County to 24.6 feet (NAVD88) in Long Branch in Monmouth County which suffered
the greatest beach/dune volume losses of the stations within NJBPN. The extent of erosion of
the beaches and dunes and damages to structures and infrastructure were dependent upon the
elevation of the storm waters, volume and extent of the berm, elevation and width of the dune,
and local shoreline management practices. Federally-designed shore protection projects with a
design dune elevation at 22 feet NAVD88 protected landward structures on Long Beach Island.
Communities that suffered the greatest damages to structures and infrastructure were those where
dunes were non-existent, or where elevations of the beaches and dunes were low or had narrow
beach widths. In addition, setbacks for new structures landward of secondary dunes or adhering
to National Flood Insurance Program standards for elevation allowed several structures to be
spared damages. A beach-dune storm damage susceptibility model developed by the CRC
through a Federal grant compared the beach/dune vulnerabilities of a 100-year return period (1 %
recurrence interval) storm for northern Ocean County and found comparable results to NJBPN
data collected following Hurricane Sandy.