Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations
Large sand volume barrier islands · By Dirk Frankenberg
East end of Bear Island
Figure 10. A dune eroded by hurricanes. (Photograph by the author. More about the photograph)
Figure 10 shows the low dunes and beachfront at the east end of Bear Island. The dunes here have been destroyed by a combination of hurricane winds, storm surge and waves. It is clear from the numerous stumps and dead trunks that this was not a beach in the recent past. In fact it was a well established maritime shrub community as recently as the early summer of 1996. The hurricanes have moved the sand back into the interior of the island. The dunes that protected these plants in life have been flattened and the beach has broadened to cover more area than it did before the hurricane hit. Thoughtful observers will learn a lesson from this event and resolve not to build or buy residences in a dunefield near the ocean!
