Geomorphological Response to Extreme
Events, Great Kills Park, Gateway National
Recreation Area
Norbert P. Psuty, Andrea J. Spahn, William J. Schmelz Sandy Hook Cooperative Research Programs
Institute of Marine and Coastal SciencesRutgers – The State University of New Jersey
Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Gateway National
Recreation Area
Great Kills Park
Resources impacted by erosion
Management to be science based
Geotemporal dimensions
Geomorphological Response Related to:
DriversIncident wavesWater level working onAntecedent topographySediment supply / sediment
budget
LiDAR Source:J.C., al. 2006, USGS-NPS-NASA Bare Earth Topography Sagamore Hill NHS, USGS Open File Report 2007-1394 (On CD).
Source:
Park on site of former Barrier Island
Park site-
Limited sediment input from updrift-
buffering of incident waves by marsh remnant
Mar 31 2009
Water Level and Threshold 2010
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Elevati
on (m
eters r
el. NA
VD88)
Distance (meters)
Oct-09 Nov-09 Mar-10
profile GK 4.5
max water level Mar 13, 2010max water level Nov 14, 2009
LiDAR Data Source:Brock, J.C., et al. 2006, USGS-NPS-NASA Bare Earth Topography Sagamore Hill NHS, USGS Open File Report 2007-1394 (On CD).
November 2009 to March 2010
Elevation change-
Volume change
Plus anthropogenic
Water Level and Storm Threshold - 2012
Superstorm Sandy
-Elevation Change
-Volume Changeby Compartment
-Dune is positive element
June 19, 2013
Diffraction downdrift of remnant marsh-
Expanding log-spiralerosion, extending downdrift
greater mobilization with storm magnitude-
Dune is positive element
‘natural’ versus manipulated
