{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/69471"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/69471","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Quantifying overwash flux in barrier systems : an example from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA","abstract":"Coastal barriers are particularly susceptible to the predicted effects of accelerated of sea-level rise and the potential for increased impacts of intense storms. Over centennial scales, barriers are maintained via overtopping during storms, causing deposition of washover fans on their landward sides. This study examines three washover fans on the south shore of Martha's Vineyard using a suite of data including vibracores, ground penetrating radar, high resolution dGPS, and LiDAR data. From these data, the volumes of the deposits were determined and range from 2.1-2.4 x 10⁴ m³. Two overwashes occurred during Hurricane Bob in 1991. The water levels produced by this storm have a return interval of ~28 years, resulting in an onshore sediment flux of 2.4-3.4 m³/m/yr. The third washover was deposited by a nor'easter in January 1997, which has a water level return interval of ~6 years, resulting in a flux of 8.5 m³/m/yr. These fluxes are smaller than the flux of sediment needed to maintain a geometrically stable barrier estimated from shoreline retreat rates, suggesting that the barrier is not in long-term equilibrium, a result supported by the thinning of the barrier over this time interval.","abstract_html":"Coastal barriers are particularly susceptible to the predicted effects of accelerated of sea-level rise and the potential for increased impacts of intense storms. Over centennial scales, barriers are maintained via overtopping during storms, causing deposition of washover fans on their landward sides. This study examines three washover fans on the south shore of Martha's Vineyard using a suite of data including vibracores, ground penetrating radar, high resolution dGPS, and LiDAR data. From these data, the volumes of the deposits were determined and range from 2.1-2.4 x 10⁴ m³. Two overwashes occurred during Hurricane Bob in 1991. The water levels produced by this storm have a return interval of ~28 years, resulting in an onshore sediment flux of 2.4-3.4 m³/m/yr. The third washover was deposited by a nor'easter in January 1997, which has a water level return interval of ~6 years, resulting in a flux of 8.5 m³/m/yr. These fluxes are smaller than the flux of sediment needed to maintain a geometrically stable barrier estimated from shoreline retreat rates, suggesting that the barrier is not in long-term equilibrium, a result supported by the thinning of the barrier over this time interval.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Carruthers, Emily A"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Jeffery P. Donnelly, Andrew D. Ashton and Robert L. Evans."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011","date_published":"2011","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:58Z","subjects":["Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.","Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.","Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69471","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Jeffery P. Donnelly, Andrew D. Ashton and Robert L. 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Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.","Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.other","label":"Dc Contributor Other","values":["Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Carruthers, Emily A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2012-02-29T17:57:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-02-29T17:57:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2011"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.","Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.","Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. 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Over centennial scales, barriers are maintained via overtopping during storms, causing deposition of washover fans on their landward sides. This study examines three washover fans on the south shore of Martha's Vineyard using a suite of data including vibracores, ground penetrating radar, high resolution dGPS, and LiDAR data. From these data, the volumes of the deposits were determined and range from 2.1-2.4 x 10⁴ m³. Two overwashes occurred during Hurricane Bob in 1991. The water levels produced by this storm have a return interval of ~28 years, resulting in an onshore sediment flux of 2.4-3.4 m³/m/yr. The third washover was deposited by a nor'easter in January 1997, which has a water level return interval of ~6 years, resulting in a flux of 8.5 m³/m/yr. These fluxes are smaller than the flux of sediment needed to maintain a geometrically stable barrier estimated from shoreline retreat rates, suggesting that the barrier is not in long-term equilibrium, a result supported by the thinning of the barrier over this time interval."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Quantifying overwash flux in barrier systems : an example from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Jeffery P. Donnelly, Andrew D. Ashton and Robert L. Evans."],"dc:contributor.department":["Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.","Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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This study examines three washover fans on the south shore of Martha's Vineyard using a suite of data including vibracores, ground penetrating radar, high resolution dGPS, and LiDAR data. From these data, the volumes of the deposits were determined and range from 2.1-2.4 x 10⁴ m³. Two overwashes occurred during Hurricane Bob in 1991. The water levels produced by this storm have a return interval of ~28 years, resulting in an onshore sediment flux of 2.4-3.4 m³/m/yr. The third washover was deposited by a nor'easter in January 1997, which has a water level return interval of ~6 years, resulting in a flux of 8.5 m³/m/yr. These fluxes are smaller than the flux of sediment needed to maintain a geometrically stable barrier estimated from shoreline retreat rates, suggesting that the barrier is not in long-term equilibrium, a result supported by the thinning of the barrier over this time interval."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69471"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.","Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.","Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution."],"dc:title":["Quantifying overwash flux in barrier systems : an example from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:58Z"}