Shoreface response and recovery to Hurricane Sandy: Fire Island, NY

The shoreface of Fire Island was extensively modified by Hurricane Sandy and subsequent storms in the following winter months. The changes were evaluated using various morphometrics of the shoreface from four bathymetric surveys, one prior to Hurricane Sandy, and three over the course of twenty months following Sandy. The datasets show that the nearshore bar system moved offshore to deeper water depths following Hurricane Sandy with volume lost from the subaerial beach and surfzone. Following the offshore shift, the nearshore bar system increased in size, the trough deepened, and there has been gradual landward movement of the nearshore bar. The steepening of the upper shoreface, landward translation of the profile, and loss of sediment is indicative of barrier island transgression.