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GSA Special Papers
America's Most Vulnerable Coastal Communities
Author(s)
Joseph T. Kelley;
Joseph T. Kelley
University of Maine, Department of Earth Sciences, Orono, Maine, USA
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Orrin H. Pilkey;
Orrin H. Pilkey
Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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J. Andrew;
J. Andrew
Centre for Coastal and Marine Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, UK
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G. Cooper
G. Cooper
Centre for Coastal and Marine Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, UK
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Geological Society of America

Volume
460
Copyright:
© 2009 Geological Society of America
ISBN print:
9780813724607
Publication date:
January 01, 2009
Book Chapter
North Topsail Beach, North Carolina: A model for maximizing coastal hazard vulnerability
Author(s)
Orrin H. Pilkey
Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Box 90228, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
;
Orrin H. Pilkey
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William J. Neal
Department of Geology, Grand Valley State University, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, Michigan 49401, USA
William J. Neal
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Published:January 01, 2009
As a result of the natural setting plus poor development and management decisions, the town of North Topsail Beach on Topsail Island, North Carolina, is the state's most vulnerable barrier-island community. It is our view that this very narrow, low, and duneless island community is the most hazardous on the U.S. East Coast. Although most of North Topsail Beach was designated a CoBRA unit under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982, the area has been developed extensively (mostly post-1980), starting with “mom and pop” beach cottages, and evolving into large single-family rental houses, duplexes, and several medium- and high-rise...
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- barrier islands
- beach nourishment
- beaches
- Brunswick County North Carolina
- Cape Lookout
- channels
- coastal environment
- coastal sedimentation
- construction
- erosion
- floods
- geologic hazards
- human activity
- inlets
- land management
- land use
- littoral erosion
- models
- North Carolina
- roads
- sedimentation
- shore features
- shorelines
- storms
- United States
- Cape Fear
- North Topsail Beach
Latitude & Longitude
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