Investigating the Cause of Shoreline Erosion at Keyport, NJ
Juhi Rawal
Co-Presenters: Mark Vivar, Israel Imhomoh
College: The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics and Technology
Major: Biology/Enviornmental Option
Faculty Research Mentor: Jun Cheng
Abstract:
The severe erosive shoreline at the Aeromarine landfill of Keyport, indicated by field observations, is threatening the relic landfill landward of it. Forty beach profiles were established along the coast of Keyport. These lines were surveyed bimonthly using RTK-GPS. The results show that beach profiles in the Aeromarine area are experiencing dune line retreating. The shoreline has retreated about 40 m at the Aeromarine area, comparing the images of 2006 and 2023 from the National Agricultural Program with high resolution. Numerical modeling of tidal currents indicates that a divergent zone of current during the flood tide is likely to cause the erosive shoreline, while wave conditions are not the major cause of the shoreline erosion. Living shoreline by artificially restoring coastal dunes is one of the effective shore protection measures.