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Outwash events inhibit vegetation recovery and prolong coastal vulnerability
  • Jin-Si R Over,
  • Christopher R. Sherwood
Jin-Si R Over
US Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Christopher R. Sherwood
United States Geological Survey
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Abstract

There is significant delay in revegetation of storm-induced washout areas compared to washover areas on barrier islands. North Core Banks, North Carolina, was affected by repeat hurricanes in different ways: Hurricane Florence (2018) deposited large washover fans 0.5-1 m thick, and Hurricane Dorian (2019) removed 1-3 m of sediment from washout channels. Aerial surveys captured vegetation recolonization on the Florence washover fans within a year but, after Dorian, surveys showed that the washout channels quickly filled with marine sand and remained mostly unvegetated for three years. We identified comparable outcomes on the coasts of Texas and New York. These observations reveal an interruption in the normal cycle of vegetation and dune growth that is key to rebuilding barrier islands after storms. The lack of vegetation in the former washout channels prolongs vulnerability to overwash, further delaying recovery. Our findings have implications for best-management practices and modeling of coastal geomorphic evolution.
28 Oct 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
28 Oct 2024Published in ESS Open Archive