The Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) is identifying areas where sand is available to restore the state’s dunes and beaches following coastal storms through a new agreement with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
Housed at the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, DGS will evaluate the state’s existing geologic and geophysical data to pinpoint sand resources for future needs.
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia have each partnered with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to find new sand sources using existing mapping data. As part of the federal Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, which allocated $13.6 million to the bureau, all three states will each receive $200,000 for the two-year project.
As a part of President Obama’s continuing commitment to help coastal communities recover from Hurricane Sandy and promote resilient coastal systems, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the State of Delaware signed a two-year cooperative agreement totaling $200,000 to identify sand resources for coastal resilience and restoration planning. The agreement will help BOEM and Delaware conduct research that will assist coastal communities recovering from Hurricane Sandy, restore habitat, increase our knowledge of sand resources offshore, and contribute to long-term coastal resilience planning efforts.
Under this agreement, the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS), located at the University of Delaware, will evaluate and consolidate Delaware’s existing geologic and geophysical data. The data will be used to identify new sand resources to meet future needs.
The geologic history of the surficial units of the Fairmount and Rehoboth Beach quadrangles is that of deposition of the Beaverdam Formation and its subsequent modification by erosion and deposition related to sea-level fluctuations during the Pleistocene. The geology reflects this complex history both onshore, in Rehoboth Bay, and offshore. Erosion during the late Pleistocene sea-level low stand and ongoing deposition offshore and in Rehoboth Bay during the Holocene rise in sea level represent the last of several cycles of erosion and deposition.
In the same ways as our printed publications, digital data released by the DGS represent the results of original professional research and as such are used by professionals and the public.
Lithologic logs from 268 vibracores taken from the Delaware Atlantic offshore were evaluated for sediment type and compatibility with historical beach sediment textures. A model of sand resource evaluation, known as "stack-unit mapping" (Kempton, 1981) was applied to all of the cores, and each core was labeled by its lithology in vertical sequence. The results are shown in detailed maps of the beach-quality sand resources offshore in state and federal waters.