Coastal erosion threatens the Outer Banks; humans aren’t helping
Infrastructure, historic landmarks and the beach could wash away from the barrier islands
Throughout my life, I’ve seen the beauty of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The 200-mile stretch of barrier islands floods my mind with images of myself, my father and even my grandfather. While the region is still beautiful, from their stories, I realize that the Outer Banks has changed a lot since they visited there at my age. From the wild horses in Corolla to the fishing charters of Oregon Inlet to the towering Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, nothing is quite the same. Their heartwarming memories come with the sadness of watching the ocean swallow the beach, gift shops replace the dunes and sandy solitude turn into a crowded tourist attraction.
The biggest threat to the Outer Banks is coastal erosion.While it’s an organic event that’s not necessarily a problem on its own, coupled with human interference it threatens the natural balance of the islands. Historically, erosion could open new inlets, which create new feeding grounds for coastal species and positively impact maritime ecosystems. However, human impact speeds up the rate of erosion and interferes with the natural erosion process. Additionally, human-caused global warming is placing the entire coastal area at risk from more extreme weather and storm surges, combined with sea level rise.
The effects of climate change are often slow-moving trends. For example, the rise in global temperature has steadily increased for more than a hundred years. But the direct change in the Outer Banks has become visible within a generation. The sand at the northern end of an island erodes away only to accumulate at the southern end, in a process known as longshore drift. Additionally, winds, rising sea levels and strong storms constantly push the sand from the ocean side to the sound side. The net effect is the barrier islands move south and west, sometimes at a rapid rate.
As the ocean creeps closer to the infrastructure on the islands, many people have to consider what the future holds for their homes. The people of the Outer Banks may be among some of the world’s first climate refugees. According to a government study, the Outer Banks is projected to see the highest sea level rise by 2100 of any National Park Service lands in the country. Data from NOAA shows that the sea level is rising more than five millimeters per year, which equates to about 1.67 feet in a century.
In other beach areas, towns built hard structures such as seawalls and jetties to protect buildings threatened by erosion. However, often these barriers lead to worse erosion further down the beach because they prevent the replenishing action of longshore drift. For that reason, you won’t see any of these structures on the beaches of North Carolina. Yet, it’s still a controversial issue as property owners who were once far from the ocean are now face to face with the waves.
Tourists continue to flock to the Outer Banks in record numbers to experience the area’s natural beauty and rich history. While that may help the economy in the short term, tourists leave behind environmental problems that linger long after they’ve left for home, including plastic pollution from litter, the residue from chemical-filled sunscreens, a dearth of local seafood and an increase in loose sediment caused by trampling plants on the dunes, which exacerbates the problems of erosion.
Additionally, the tourists’ connection to and direct influence on the economy create pressure to protect historical buildings and rental cottages, as well as widen beaches. This can influence lawmakers to put the long-term protection of the islands on a back burner and find loopholes in the ban on hard structures.
For example, in 2009, a North Carolina state Senate Bill allowed for the construction of “terminal groins” on state beaches. According to the bill, a terminal groin “is a structure that is built on one side of an inlet shoreline to prevent movement of sand into the inlet or on an isolated segment of shoreline where it will not interrupt the natural movement of sand along the shoreline.” Scientists argued that these terminal groins would inevitably keep sand from replenishing eroding beaches downstream.
As lawmakers adjust these bans to suit their perceptions of current situations, they will find it easier to argue to build more damaging structures in the future. They’re trying to balance attracting tourists to benefit the economy and protecting the landscapes of the barrier islands. But that “balance” is based on a faulty premise that both things can happen in equal measure. The reality is that unless we fully devote ourselves to protecting the islands, they’ll melt into the ocean and there will be NO local economy in the long term.
With each passing storm, each crashing wave and every bit of human interference, the islands’ vulnerability escalates. My family time in the Outer Banks is exciting and joyful, yet I can’t help but notice the drastic changes each year brings. Nothing is constant on the islands, and with each visit I see how climate change and human interference take away bits and pieces of this beautiful place.
