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Below is a false color image of the Isle of Palms, where the colors on the image represent the data values — in this case, elevation. The term "false color" simply means that the image is not a photograph, and that you should use the color bar on the image to interpret what the colors mean. Note the light blue, triangular area along the south-east portion of the island. This location appears to be experiencing an accretion of sand. You can make a similar image using the BeachMapper software application provided on the second volume of this CD-ROM set. For more information about the BeachMapper application, click here.
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Portable Document Format (PDF) maps have been created to show LIDAR data for South Carolina's beaches and islands. PDF maps will allow you to zoom in on the data and print the maps at better resolution. However, because of the intense density of the data, the PDF files will not draw properly from your browser. If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader® software installed on your computer, you can view the maps by navigating to the pdf/islands directory on this CD-ROM and double click on a file. A directory of maps is available in the readme.txt file. Adobe Acrobat Reader software has been provided on this CD-ROM.
To learn more about PDF documents and installing the software need to view them, click here.
The Isle of Palms is located in Charleston County between Breach Inlet and Sullivans Island to the south, and Dewees Inlet and Dewees Island to the north. Viewed from the air, the 6.2 mile long island is a classic drumstick-shaped barrier island. The island is generally accretional, primarily due to the influence of the Charleston Harbor jetties to the south. The ends of the island tend to be more dynamic than the central portion as the inlet's channels and shoals influence the rate of erosion or accretion.
The area between monitoring station 3167 north to Dewees Inlet illustrates the dynamic nature of the South Carolina shoreline. This stretch of beach has historically been the most dynamic region on Isle of Palms. Periodic shoal bypassing from Dewees Inlet where a packet of sand breaks free of the shoal and migrates toward the beach causes extreme accretion in the area of shoal attachment but localized erosion immediately adjacent to the attachment site. For example, a shoal attachment event began during 1995 just north of station 3167, which caused extensive erosion there. The primary dune and 75 feet of vegetated high ground landward of the dune were lost at that station. Station 3170 also lost 50 feet of high ground while at station 3173 the dune was stable and the intertidal beach increased in width by 250 feet. As the cycle progresses, this area tends to smooth out until the next shoal bypass event.
Beach profile surveys are conducted in the spring and fall at approximately 400 monitoring stations throughout the State of South Carolina. Various agencies participate in the beach profile collection, including The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), Coastal Carolina University, and the College of Charleston. The results of the surveys provide a snapshot of the beach face. Over time, these surveys can be compiled to determine if and how the profile of the beach is changing. Below is a map of the stations and a sample of the profiles that can be extracted from the data. The beach profile data compiled by OCRM is provided on the second volume of this CD-ROM set.
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| *South Carolina Department of
Health and Environmental Control Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management |
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For more information about South Carolina beach profiles see: South
Carolina's Annual State of the Beaches Report, April 1998,
SCDHEC OCRM, 1362 McMillian Ave. Suite 400, Charleston, SC 29405.
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