Abstracts
Abstract
A quandary as to the role of storms in initiating barrier island morphological change in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has been posed by recent research. Although major changes are evident from historical documentation, none of the processes responsible hoe been witnessed since 1970. Detailed calculations of the nearshore wave power climate have been used in conjunction with historical evidence and short term profile measurements between 1970-1978 to resolve this problem in Kouchibouguac Bay, New Brunswick. Although the individual effects of seasonal storms are random along these barrier islands, the additive effects do reflect the overall nearshore wave climate. Greatest change has been wrought in those areas having highest wave power components normal and parallel to shore. If barrier segments susceptible to modification can be predicted for Kouchibouguac Bay, definition of nearshore wave climates could be used to determine such changes elsewhere in the Gulf.
the nearshore wave climate will be established using wave refraction, shoaling and bottom frictional attenuation theory for shallow water. Then relative variations in wave power normal and parallel to shore will be calculated near the breaker point for the various components making up this nearshore wave climate. Finally, correlations of longshore variation in wave power will be evaluated with: (1) longshore changes in barrier morphology over the last 150 years, and (2) measured dune cliff and ocean beach profile changes since 1970.
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