20
Goldsmith Profile Comparison
1998
Mar 1998 and 6-8 Oct 2002
2002
Line E 8 (Approx. 3,900 ft
15
East of Inlet)
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
-100
400
900
1400
1900
2400
2900
3400
Distance Across Shore, ft
Figure 4-41k. Beach profile E8, east of Goldsmith Inlet, March 1998 and
6-8 October 2002
Channel migration
Because Goldsmith Inlet is free to migrate to the east and away from the
jetty, the location of its entrance channel is dynamic. The orientation of the
channel, sediment impoundment west of the jetty, and formation of a fillet east of
the jetty are analyzed for times available from aerial photographs. The
reorientation indicates that Goldsmith Inlet is presently an ephemeral inlet, in
contrast to the preceding century when it was apparently more stable and open
(Chapter 2).
Goldsmith Inlet in 1938 and 1955, prior to the 1964 construction of the jetty,
is shown in Figures 4-42a and 4-42b. A small promontory or cusp directly to the
west of the inlet mouth is observed in Figure 4-42b. The promontory may be
associated with blockage by a geological hard point from the glacial moraine.
Alternatively, this feature may be a small relict groin. A hard point would
promote and preserve the stability of Goldsmith Inlet and Goldsmith Pond. The
Goldsmith Inlet channel in its natural state had a width of approximately 10 ft for
the first 450 ft, and widened to an average of approximately 120 ft for the
remainder of the channel issuing into Goldsmith Pond. Sediment grain size
analysis shows the median grain size for the first 500 ft to range from -4 to -
6 φ (16-64 mm). The median grain size of the channel beyond this point ranges
from -1 to -3 φ (2-8 mm).
Figures 4-42c though 4-42l document the location and width of the inlet
entrance of Goldsmith Inlet from 1964 to the present. The relation among
sediment impoundment (1964-1976), the formation of an accretion spit directly
east of the jetty (1976-present), and the eastward migration of the channel
entrance are discussed in the following paragraphs (1976-present).
174
Chapter 4 Morphology Change, and Channel Shoaling and Migration
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