The impact of Hurricane Fiona on sandy beaches and foredunes in Prince Edward Island National Park: Implications for management.
- 1University of Cadiz, INMAR, Earth Sciences, Puerto Real (Cadiz), Spain (irene.delgado@uca.es)
- 2Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, M8Y 3V8
- 3Department of Geography and Environment, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
- 4School of the Environment, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- 5University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- 6Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, University of British Columbia - Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
- 7Beach and Dune Systems (BEADS) Lab, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia
- 8Department of Geography, University of California - Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- 9Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
This study investigates the impact of Hurricane Fiona on sandy beaches and foredunes within Prince Edward Island National Park (PEINP). Fiona was the strongest storm to strike the island in nearly a century, with significant wave heights reaching 8 metres. Its impact on sandy beach-dune systems provides an opportunity to gauge the effectiveness of current PEINP's management policies and practices, and to consider potential changes that enhance the role of foredunes and beaches as natural defences against future storms and rise in relative sea level.
Survey data and ground/UAV photography were used to compare various locations before (October 2021 to July 2022) and after (October 2022 and May 2023) the storm. High dunes experienced stoss slope erosion without significant changes in the height or position of the foredune crest, offering protection to landward areas. Low dunes were substantially eroded, leading to overwash in certain areas, and dunes located on bedrock and till were completely eroded, exposing the underlying surface. Hurricane Fiona's impact highlights the need of reinforcing current management strategies in PEINP that aim at safeguarding the natural biotic and abiotic components of beach-dune systems, and securing the accommodation space needed for their natural inland migration with rising sea level.
How to cite: Delgado-Fernandez, I., Davidson-Arnott, R., Ollerhead, J., George, E., Houser, C., Bauer, B., Hesp, P., Walker, I., and van Proosdij, D.: The impact of Hurricane Fiona on sandy beaches and foredunes in Prince Edward Island National Park: Implications for management., EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-18705, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-18705, 2024.
