How to read a North Carolina beach : bubble holes, barking sands, and rippled runnels / Orrin H. Pilkey, Tracy Monegan Rice, William J. Neal.
Take a walk on the beach with three coastal experts who reveal the secrets and the science of the North Carolina shoreline. What makes sea foam? What are those tiny sand volcanoes along the waterline? You'll find the answers to these questions and dozens more in this comprehensive field guide to the state's beaches, which shows visitors how to decipher the mysteries of the beach and interpret clues to an ever-changing geological story. Orrin Pilkey, Tracy Monegan Rice, and William Neal explore large-scale processes, such as the composition and interaction of wind, waves, and sand, as well as smaller features, such as bubble holes, drift lines, and black sands. In addition, coastal life forms large and small--from crabs and turtles to microscopic animals--are all discussed here. The concluding chapter contemplates the future of North Carolina beaches, considering the threats to their survival and assessing strategies for conservation. This indispensable beach book offers vacationers and naturalists a single source for learning to appreciate and preserve the natural features of a genuine state treasure.
Record details
- ISBN: 0807855103
- ISBN: 9780807855102
- Physical Description: x, 162 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 21 cm
- Publisher: Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [2004]
Content descriptions
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-157) and index.
- Formatted Contents Note:
- 1 Big Picture: Understanding Wind, Waves, and Sand 1 -- Equilibrium That Is a Beach 1 -- Sea-Level Change 5 -- Waves and the Currents They Form 8 -- Sand Supply of the Beach 17 -- Groundwater in the Beach 20 -- 2 What Makes and Shapes a North Carolina Beach 23 -- Divisions of a Beach 23 -- Source and Composition of North Carolina Sand 29 -- Beach Change: A Way of Life 34 -- 3 North Carolina Dunes 37 -- How Dunes Form 37 -- Dune Types 39 -- Dune Forms and Features 44 -- Problems of Bulldozed and Artificial Dunes 49 -- Civilian Conservation Corps Dunes 51 -- 4 Barrier Islands: The Platforms for Beaches 55 -- What Are Barrier Islands? 55 -- How Were Barrier Islands Formed? 60 -- How Do Barrier Islands Evolve? 62 -- Barrier Island Migration 69 -- What's Happening Today? 72 -- 5 Beach Clues: Reading the Signs on the Beach 73 -- Drift and Wrack Lines 73 -- Air in the Beach 78 -- Holes, Rings, Blisters, Pits, and Volcanoes 79 -- Foam, Swash, Imprints: How Currents and Winds Sculpt the Surface 86 -- Wind: The Modifier 101 -- Singing Sand 101 -- Shipwrecks on the Beach 104 -- Connections: The Ocean, the Beach, Life 106 -- 6 Life Signs: Beach Critters, Past and Present 107 -- From Shells to Sand: The Carbonate Fraction 107 -- Brown and Black Shells 113 -- Shell Orientation 117 -- Sharks' Teeth 118 -- Macrofauna: Clams, Crabs, Turtles, Birds, and Other Large Creatures 119 -- Meiofauna: Microscopic Critters in the Sand 129 -- Natural Beaches and Their Biota: An Uncertain Future 131 -- 7 Conservation of Beaches 133 -- What's Up? 135 -- So What? 136 -- What's the Alternative? 143.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Beaches > North Carolina.
Coast changes > North Carolina.
North Caroliniana.
Available copies
- 58 of 60 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
- 2 of 2 copies available at Onslow County Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 60 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Main Library | NC 551.45 PIL (Text) | 36015000685335 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
| Swansboro Branch Library | NC 551.45 PIL (Text) | 36015000935730 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
