State of Maine's Beaches in 2009

Willard Beach, South Portland

Three beach profiles (WI01, WI03, and WI06) were available for comparison of post-Patriots' Day Storm recovery (Figure 4). The closest dates to the preferred dates where data were available were November 11, 2006, April 20, 2007, April 11, 2008, and March 10, 2009.

WI01 = A

Figure 5

Prior to the Patriots' Day event, WI01 (Figure 5) exhibited a developed berm, which is apparent in the profile from 3 to 24 m from the pin; this then led to a flatter intertidal portion of the profile. This profile is located at the southeastern end of Willard Beach and is adjacent to a seawall and concrete ramp. After the storm, the profile responded with extensive loss of the berm, and loss of sand into the offshore portion of the profile. Note the wavy appearance of the lower portion of the profile - from about 30 m from the pin seaward. This could represent dispersed sand waves that are in the subaerial portion of the profile, and actually indicate some beach recovery. By one year post-storm, the mid to lower portions of the profile have fully recovered to pre-storm conditions, with just a slight gain in elevation above the November 2006 profile. The berm which existed pre-storm has still not recovered. However, by March 2009, the berm and entire profile exhibits excellent recovery, with a sand elevation that is approximately 0.5 m (1.6 feet) above the immediate, post-storm profile. This represents excellent recovery. We are not clear what the large anomalous elevation rises present in the 2008 and 2009 profiles represent.

WI03 = A

Figure 6

Profile WI03 (Figure 6) exhibited a very large, well defined berm extending to about 55 m from the pin, prior to the storm. This profile is located across the large berm near the jungle gym at the center of the beach. The post-storm profile showed dramatic erosion and lowering of the entire volume of sand in the berm out to 55 m; seaward of this, there was very little change in the profile shape. Interestingly, the one year post-storm profile from April 2008 exhibited an even leaner profile, with loss of additional volume across the entire profile. Surprisingly, however, by March 2009, the profile had recovered fully, and actually gained elevation along its entire length as compared to the pre-storm profile. This profile exhibited dramatic recovery from the storm within the two-year period.

WI06 = B

Figure 7

Profile WI06 (Figure 7), located adjacent to the rock ledge at the northwestern end of the beach, showed a very steep upper section down to about 1.2 m below the pin, then flattened into the offshore. The post-storm profile showed a deepening of the sand elevation below the rock ledge starting point - by about 0.8 m (down to 2 m below the pin), and showed additional volumetric loss along the profile out to about 17 m. Seaward of this, the pre- and post-storm profiles appeared similar until the offshore, where several large bars were apparent. By the one-year post-storm mark, the profile overall appears very similar, with slight additional loss along the profile length. However, consistent with the other profiles, by March 2009, large gains of sand led to profile elevations very similar to the 2006 pre-storm profile shape, with slightly more sediment in the upper portion of the profile than the offshore.

Summary

Overall, it appears that Willard Beach has quite successfully recovered from the beach and dune erosion that occurred as a result of the Patriots' Day Storm. The examined beach profiles showed dramatic loss - and dramatic recovery - by March 2009. Data indicate that it took a full two years for the profiles to recover from the event, as one year post-storm profiles were very similar to the immediate post-storm profiles (or worse), while the two-year post-storm profiles showed massive amounts of recovery.

Overall grade = A-

Contents Introduction Beach Responses Discussion Conclusions References

Last updated on November 19, 2009