Coastal Processes and Conflicts: EŽƌƚŚĂƌŽůŝŶĂ͛ƐKƵƚĞƌĂŶŬƐ A Curriculum for Middle and High School Students Stanley R. Riggs Dorothea V. Ames Karen R. Dawkins North Carolina Sea Grant North Carolina State University Campus Box 8605 Raleigh, NC 27695-8605 The seam where continent meets ocean is a line of constant change, where with every roll of the waves, every pulse of the tides the past manifestly gives way to the future. There is a sense of time and of growth and decay, life mingling with death. It is an unsheltered place, without pretense. The hint of forces beyond control, of days before and after the human span, spell out a message ultimately important, ultimately learned. David Leveson (1972) THE AUTHORS Dr. Stanley R. Riggs, Ms. Dorothea Ames, and Dr. Karen Dawkins are affiliated with East Carolina University. Dr. Riggs is distinguished research professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, and Ms. Dorothea Ames is research instructor in the Department of Geological Sciences. Dr. Karen Dawkins is director of the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education in the College of Education. Drowning the North Carolina Coast: Sea-Level Rise and Estuarine Dynamics, a NC Sea Grant publication authored by Riggs and Ames, was the source for much of the scientific content and many of the figures. The authors offer special thanks to the hardy band of teachers and students who investigated their sites and contributed their ideas and expertise to this curriculum product. Students Teachers Schools Julia Alspaugh Tim Phillips Ravenscroft HS, Raleigh Eva Lee Martha Buchanan Freedom HS, Burke County Andrew McKay Marie McKay Ashbrook HS, Gaston County Patrick Nelli Ben Earle Ashbrook HS, Gaston County Lizzie Partusch Clyda Lutz W. Carteret HS, Carteret County Cherisy Showalter Gloria Lengel 71st HS, Cumberland County Kimberly Whitley Buck Bunch Perquimans Co. HS, Perquimans County Katie Zseltvay Flo Gullickson SW Guilford HS, Guilford County John Blake Whiteville City Schools, Whiteville Thomas Morris Bunn HS, Franklin County ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To ensure that a curriculum product is of practical use in classrooms, field testing by teachers and students is essential. The teachers who contributed their time and wisdom to this process include the following: James Allen Martin Collins Connie Johnson Robert H. Pegram, Jr. Leigh Apple Dwight Dutton Donna Jones Timothy Phillips John Blake Ben Earle Rob Killough Helen Powell Deborah Branson Nichole Foster Melanie Kline Ken Reising, Jr. Karen Brewer Steva Gentry Gloria Lengel Rhonda Rhodes Donna Brown Ashton Griffin Clyda Lutz Jason Stewart Martha Buchanan Flo Gullickson Marie McKay Mark Townley Buck Bunch Leila Harris Thomas Morris Carolina Withers Cindi Carr Angela Helms Michael Mulligan Bruce Carroll Carl E. Hereford Steven Patterson Contributing their expertise to program implementation were: Dr. John Penick, (Chair of the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education at North Carolina State University); Dr. Lundie Spence (SouthEast COSEE Director, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium); Ms. Terri Kirby Hathaway (Marine Education Specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant); Dr. Daniel Dickerson and Dr. Christianne Gioppo (PhD students at North Carolina State University during the Sea-View project). Ms. Ann Green and Ms. Katie Mosher (North Carolina Sea Grant) edited the document. September 2008 PREFACE EŽƌƚŚĂƌŽůŝŶĂ͛ƐKƵƚĞƌĂŶŬƐďĞĐŬŽŶǀŝƐŝƚŽƌƐĨƌŽŵĂůůŽǀĞƌƚŚĞǁŽƌůĚƚŽƚŚĞƐĂŶĚLJ beaches, expansive sounds, and wealth of natural attractions found along the barrier islands. Ironically, the natural resources that draw so many to the barrier islands are being threatened by human modifications made to support the ever increasing numbers of inhabitants and visitors. Inevitably, the natural coastal processes continue to exert themselves, triggering incessant changesͶoften in conflict with the activities of humans. The purpose of this curriculum is to facilitate for students an understanding of coastal and human processes and conflicts that exist on the Outer Banks. As participants in Project Sea-View, a team of students, teachers, scientists, and science educators explored sites along the Outer BanksͶrecording observations, taking measurements, and interviewing residents, politicians, government managers, and business personnel. Their reports form the underlying structure of the units, all of which connect coastal explorations to investigations that students can conduct in their own classrooms and communities. The curriculum was designed for use by high school or upper middle school students, but ingenious teachers in every grade can customize aspects of the product for their use. North Carolina Sea Grant funded Project Sea-View to fill the need for curriculum materials in coastal environmental science. By highlighting North ĂƌŽůŝŶĂ͛ƐĚLJŶĂŵŝĐKƵƚĞƌĂŶŬƐĂƐĂĨŝĞůĚůĂďŽƌĂƚŽƌLJ͕ƚŚĞ^ĞĂ-View team addresses erosion and other natural processes that occur throughout the planet. Much of the scientific information and many of the figures are adapted from Drowning the North Carolina Coast: Sea-Level Rise and Estuarine Dynamics by Stanley R. Riggs and Dorothea V. Ames, a publication of North Carolina Sea Grant in partnership with the N.C. Division of Coastal Management and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Progam. dŚŝƐĐƵƌƌŝĐƵůƵŵŝƐĂƉƌŽĚƵĐƚŽĨ͞^ĞĂ-View: Introducing Coastal Processes and Conflicts to North Carolina Students,͟ĂƌĞƐĞĂƌĐŚƉƌŽũĞĐƚĨƵŶĚĞĚďLJEŽƌƚŚ Carolina Sea Grant through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric ĚŵŝŶŝƐƚƌĂƚŝŽŶ͛ƐǁĂƌĚEŽ͗EϭϲZ'ϮϮϱϭ͘ Coastal Processes and Conflicts͗EŽƌƚŚĂƌŽůŝŶĂ͛ƐKƵƚĞƌĂŶŬƐ 1 2 The Coastal System of Northeastern North Carolina CONTENTS Suggestions for Teachers ................................................................................................................................ 4 Part 1: The Coastal System of Northeastern North Carolina ............................................................... 7 Lesson One: Geologic Development of Coastal North Carolina ................................................................................... 8 Lesson Two: Time........................................................................................................................................................ 13 Lesson Three: Sea-Level Change and Coastal Dynamics ............................................................................................... 18 Lesson Four: Transfer of Energy and the Hydrologic Cycle ........................................................................................ 23 Lesson Five: Storms and Coastal Erosion ..................................................................................................................... 27 Lesson Six: North Carolina Coastal Plain: Surface Water Dynamics ......................................................................... 31 Lesson Seven: North Carolina Coastal Plain Province .................................................................................................... 34 Lesson Eight: Barrier Islands ........................................................................................................................................ 38 Lesson Nine: Role of Barrier Islands and Their Inlet/Outlet Systems .......................................................................... 45 Lesson Ten: Back-Barrier Sounds of the Northern Coastal Province ......................................................................... 47 Lesson Eleven: The Shoreline, Shore Zone, and Beach ................................................................................................... 49 Lesson Twelve: Ocean Beaches ....................................................................................................................................... 55 Lesson Thirteen: Estuarine Shorelines Behind Simple Overwash Barrier Islands .............................................................. 59 Lesson Fourteen: Estuarine Shorelines Behind Complex Overwash Barrier Islands........................................................... 64 Lesson Fifteen: The Coastal Dilemma ............................................................................................................................. 74 Lesson Sixteen: Human Responses to Eroding Shorelines ............................................................................................... 79 Conclusion of Part 1.............................................................................................................................................. 86 Coastal Processes and Conflicts͗EŽƌƚŚĂƌŽůŝŶĂ͛ƐKƵƚĞƌĂŶŬƐ 3 Part 2: Avon-ƵdžƚŽŶ͗͞'ŽŝŶŐ-to-^ĞĂ͟,ŝŐŚǁĂLJ ...................................................................................... 87 Teacher Background Information ......................................................................................................................... 88 The Issue ................................................................................................................................................ 88 Conflicts .................................................................................................................................................. 88 Barrier Island dilemma: growth, development, and storm evacuation ................................... 88 High ocean and estuarine shoreline erosion rates and island narrowing ................................ 88 Barrier-dune ridge construction .............................................................................................. 89 The future