Annual Reports

wavesThe New Jersey Beach Profile Network (NJBPN) was authorized by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in 1986. The report is divided into coastal County segments with a summary of beach changes dominating the county coast.  Any major beach restoration or hard structure project is reviewed for performance and effectiveness. A discussion of issues and pending project work in the county follows as a final segment. These observations on beach changes along the New Jersey coastline provide a means to determine both rapid seasonal changes and follow long-term trends in shoreline position or beach volume.  The advent of major shore protection projects resulting in the addition of millions of cubic yards of new sand has given a performance monitoring aspect to the report.  The 171 sites extend from the lower Raritan Bay, along the four oceanfront county shorelines and into Delaware Bay along the western shore of Cape May Co. 

The photographs, cross sections, trend charts, and text focus on the seasonal and year to year changes observed since the previous report. These reports show the following:

  • The enormous positive impact of beach nourishment over the past 24 years.
  • The enhanced shoreline protection benefits of 24 years of dune growth in height and width.
  • The importance of the inlet processes and their impact on changes on adjacent beaches.
  • The ability to analyze causes of extreme variations at specific sites on the coast.
  • The pattern of sand distribution along barrier islands as determined by that island鈥檚 profiles.
  • The beneficial results of the low incidence of serious storm events impacting the NJ coast.
  • The ability to gage the impact of Declared Disaster events on the NJ coastline.

2020 New Jersey Beach Profile Network Annual Report

2020 Annual Reports (PDF):The winter beach at 35th Street in Avalon, Cape May Co. NJ. MNo signs of spring had appeared as of April 24, 2020, but the expanse of dunes and an expanding maritime forest that lies between development and the sean is unique on the Jersey shore.

The digital monitoring of the New Jersey oceanfront shoreline commenced 35 years ago in the fall of 1986.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection asked The 黑料社 Coastal Research Center (CRC) to establish topographic cross section transects along the NJ oceanfront and parts of the Raritan and Delaware Bay shorelines to provide information about changes occurring in the dunes, on the beach, and nearby offshore seafloor along the Jersey shore.
Work began as an annual oceanfront and Raritan and Delaware Bay shoreline survey in the fall between 1986 and 1993, then switched to a spring and a fall survey at each site in 1994. This allowed the CRC to summarize winter storm damage each spring and review beach accretion following the summer season. 
Today, the CRC surveys a total of 171 sites, twice a year, with the results summarized in this annual report. 

2019 New Jersey Beach Profile Network Annual Report

2019 Annual Reports (PDF):This view looking north toward NYC from Site #385 on the northern tip of Sandy Hook National Seashore illustrates the vastness of the expanse of this site (fall 2019).

Thirty-four years ago, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection asked The 黑料社 Coastal Research Center to establish topographic cross sections along the NJ oceanfront and parts of the Raritan and Delaware Bay shorelines to provide information about changes occurring in the dunes, on the beach and nearby offshore seafloor along the Jersey shore. This project commenced as an annual oceanfront and Raritan and Delaware Bay shoreline survey only in the fall between 1986 and 1993, then switched to a spring and a fall survey at each site in 1994. This allowed the CRC to summarize winter storm damage each spring and review beach accretion following the summer season. The 2019 report is divided into four coastal county segments and gives a summary of beach changes in each county.

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has established coastal shore protection projects along 100% of the 97 miles of New Jersey鈥檚 developed oceanfront shoreline with the NY District responsible for Raritan Bay efforts and the oceanfront from Sandy Hook National Seashore, south to Manasquan Inlet. The Philadelphia District has jurisdiction from Manasquan Inlet south to Cape May Point and into Delaware Bay. Currently, the only segment where construction of the selected shore protection effort has yet to be undertaken encompasses North Wildwood to Lower Township (The Wildwoods). This project continues to evolve as limitations on sand supplies, real estate ownership and methodology for the project are worked out among the stakeholders.

Over the years additional survey sites were added to gain a better perspective on changes around the 11 NJ tidal inlets with a station in close proximity to both inlet beachfront shores. A site was added in 2016 on Sandy Hook closer to the northern end of the spit tip. In 2017 following discussions with the Division of Coastal Engineering (DCE) and the NY Corps of Engineers District, 66 sites were introduced between the 34 already located along the Monmouth County oceanfront to better follow changes occurring within the Monmouth County shore protection project shoreline. These were selected from existing NY District survey sites between the present NJBPN survey locations. The CRC installed or upgraded survey markers and backup monumentation at the new locations. These sites are distributed among the original 34 oceanfront locations. Including the three Raritan Bay sites, the number of NJBPN sites for Monmouth County is 102 (Figure 1a-d). The first survey of these new locations took place in the fall of 2017. These new sites were surveyed in the spring and fall of 2018. Today the CRC surveys 171 sites twice each year with the results summarized in these annual reports to the DCE.

2018 New Jersey Beach Profile Network Annual Report

2018 Annual Reports (PDF):NJ from space LBI to CMP 2019_ChristinaHammockKoch

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) collaborated with the 黑料社 Coastal Research Center (CRC) in 1986 to create the New Jersey Beach Profile Network (NJBPN). This project commenced as an annual oceanfront and Raritan and Delaware Bay shoreline survey in the fall between 1986 and 1993, then switched to a spring and a fall survey at each site in 1994. This allowed the CRC to summarize winter storm damage each spring and review beach accretion following the summer season. The 2018 report is divided into four coastal county segments and gives a summary of beach changes in each county.
The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has established coastal shore protection projects along 100% of the 97 miles of New Jersey鈥檚 oceanfront shoreline with the NY District responsible for Raritan Bay efforts and the oceanfront from Sandy Hook National Seashore, south to M