The purpose of this ongoing project (1989 to present) is to monitor and evaluate shoreline repsonse south of the Oregon Inlet due to the construction of the terminal groin buit to protect Bonner Bridge at the north end of Pea Island. Phase one of the study was to establish the 'historical erosion rates' for the study area since the change in dredging operations in the inlet in 1984 and before the March 1989 storm. Phase two of the study (1989 through 2011), was to implement the monitoring program as per the permit requirement to determing position of the shoreline from aerial photography at a two month interval and to evaluate the response of the shoreline in the context of the historical erosion rates. The monitoring agreement specified the triggers and actions if the observed erosion exceeded the historic values over spatial and temporal scales of concern.
With the negotiation of the permit for the construction of the new Bonner Bridge, monitoring requirements are under discussion. This project will address efforts to determine the baseline conditions in 2011 for a number of additional metrics that characterize the system and identify the tasks required for monitoring under the new permit.
