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How do hurricanes cause damage to coastal infrastructure?: In Hurricanes on sandy shorelines: Lessons for development, page 2.1; A fully formed hurricane carries three major threats to coastal development: low atmospheric pressure, high surface winds, and heavy rainfall. These threats are realized in different ways. Low central pressure becomes a threat when...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

On and offshore sand movement: In Hurricanes on sandy shorelines: Lessons for development, page 4; Figure 1 is a diagram from the author's book entitled The Nature of North Carolina's Southern Coast, published by UNC press in 1997. The figure illustrates how sand is moved on...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Dune erosion on Oak Island (1): In Hurricanes on sandy shorelines: Lessons for development, page 11; Shoreface construction on southeastern barrier islands rarely fares well when hurricanes make landfall over them. Figure 8 shows how this generalization played out on Oak Island during Hurricane Floyd. The houses were behind a small primary dune before the...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Houses built too close to shore: In Hurricanes on sandy shorelines: Lessons for development, page 14; Figure 11 shows a row of houses near those in Figure 10. These were not set back far from the average high tide line. All of these houses are now on the upper edge of the beach, and sea water washes around their foundations at high tide. There is a real question...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Masonboro Island: In Small sand volume barrier islands: Environmental processes and development risks, page 3; The two islands visited on this trip, Masonboro and Topsail, have very low sand volumes. Masonboro Island is a part of the National Research Reserve system and is completely undeveloped. Topsail Island has been developed for residential use and has the roads,...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Beach and berm: In Small sand volume barrier islands: Environmental processes and development risks, page 4; Figure 2 shows another view of the same rather dull topography of beach and berm. A little life can be seen in the middle background where pioneering sand dune plants have established a precarious roothold. In the left background you can see where sand has...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Mid-tide beach: In Small sand volume barrier islands: Environmental processes and development risks, page 5; Figure 3 shows the mid-tide beach with evidence of recent accretion of sand to the upper beach. Look closely at the beach profile and you will see that the surface is slightly higher and more covered with shells both above and below the relatively shell-free...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Salt marsh grass: In Small sand volume barrier islands: Environmental processes and development risks, page 7; Figure 5 shows an isolated patch of salt marsh grass that was recently covered with overwashed beach sand. Note that the plants seem to be flourishing. This is characteristic of plants that live successfully in areas where sand is regularly added and removed...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

North Topsail Beach: In Small sand volume barrier islands: Environmental processes and development risks, page 9; Figure 7 begins our tour of North Topsail Beach, a developed, low sand volume area of Topsail Island. The photograph shows the same flat topography that we saw on Masonboro, but this time there is a condominium complex right on the berm. The flat dunefield...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Hurricane Floyd overwash: In Small sand volume barrier islands: Environmental processes and development risks, page 12; Figure 10 shows the result of an overwash event from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The pile of vegetation and road tar in the right foreground is evidence of the destruction of a previously existing dune and parking area. In the middle distance we can see the beach...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Another overwash fan: In Small sand volume barrier islands: Environmental processes and development risks, page 13; Figure 11 shows the last overwash fan on this trip, I promise. This one destroyed the dune over which this walkway was built and moved the sand landward to cover the walkway deck in the background. If you look closely you will see a change in color on the...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Beach erosion: In Small sand volume barrier islands: Environmental processes and development risks, page 16; Figure 14 shows how beach erosion has undermined the deck and foundations of the houses in the foreground and apparently has threatened to do the same in the multifamily dwelling behind them. Note the remnants of an earlier dune on the right, and the roadway...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

A beachfront house threatened by erosion: In Evidence of rising sea level: Coastal erosion and plant community changes, page 3; Figure 2 shows a beachfront house being undercut by waves. Unfortunately, this kind of damage happens frequently as sea level rises and erosion eats into the shoreline. Erosion into housing areas usually occurs when something happens to increase the local...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

An eroded dune: In Evidence of rising sea level: Coastal erosion and plant community changes, page 4; Figure 3 shows an eroded dune in front of a beachfront condominium project. As in the case of the house in Figure 2, this beach and dune eroded rapidly during Hurricanes Bonnie and Fran, but rising sea level played a role by bringing the sea up to a level...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Waves and erosion: In Evidence of rising sea level: Coastal erosion and plant community changes, page 5; Figure 4 shows that rising sea level brings the eroding power of waves to the sound side of barrier islands as well as to the ocean side. Here we see the steep and collapsing face of an old beach ridge along the Roosevelt Nature Trail on the sound side of...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Subtidal seafloor: In Evidence of rising sea level: Coastal erosion and plant community changes, page 9; Salt marshes do well in irregularly flooded areas, but rising sea level continuously converts these areas into regularly flooded habitats and then into a new seafloor. Some marsh plants, especially smooth cordgrass, can tolerate the first of these conversions,...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

The northern Outer Banks: In Natural and human impacts on the northern Outer Banks, page 1; The United States is currently experiencing a population boom along its eastern coast, and the development of beaches and coastal areas is taking place at an alarming rate. As humans invade the coastal zone, more and more reports are heard of erosion and property...; By Blair Tormey and Dirk Frankenberg.

Groins at Cape Hatteras: In Natural and human impacts on the northern Outer Banks, page 20; When the lighthouse was threatened by erosion in the early 1960s, the federal government responded with a series of efforts to stem the shoreline's retreat. In 1966, the National Park Service undertook a $300,000 beach replenishment project that pumped sand...; By Blair Tormey and Dirk Frankenberg.

What is a wetland, and why do we have so many types?: In Wetlands of the coastal plains, page 2; The legal definition of a wetland has become controversial as wetlands have gained a measure of protection from uncontrolled ditching and draining. This protection has been accorded them as their role in sustaining high water quality and wildlife habitat has...; By Dirk Frankenberg.

Estuaries in North Carolina: A primer: Estuaries are places near the coast where freshwater and saltwater mix. Influenced by ocean forces yet partly sheltered from them, estuaries have unique and fascinating ecologies. This article explains what estuaries are, their geology and role in the larger...; By Waverly Harrell and Jennifer Godwin-Wyer.

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LEARN NC, a program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education, finds the most innovative and successful practices in K–12 education and makes them available to the teachers and students of North Carolina — and the world.