Inlet Widening Along the Virginia Barrier Islands, Virginia, USA
- James Haluska
Abstract
Inlet change along the Virginia barrier islands has been studied on an
individual inlet basis. This study evaluated the ten inlets both
individually and as a group. Evaluating the inlets as a group allows the
discovery of inlet change patterns among the inlets. Inlet width was
measured from satellite and aerial images. Width is the straight-line
distance from the northernmost fast land to southernmost fast land.
Measurements spanned from July 1999 to April 2018 with a frequency of
four to eight width measurements per year. Total width change to 2018
was 2 percent to 357 percent. The largest change was to Great Machipongo
Inlet. The inlet widened from approximately 800 meters wide in 1999 to
3645 meters wide in 2018. This widening effectively splits the remaining
nine inlets into two groups. Inlet widening patterns of the two groups
are high rates for the first three or four inlets and a very low rate
for the final inlet of the group. Wind direction change also plays a
significant role in net inlet widening. Inlet widening has not abated
and wider inlets will allow larger waves to affect environmentally and
commercially important areas to the west of the barrier island/inlet
system.