This paper will examine shoreline movement along Assateague's north end over three time periods: (1) pre-inlet erosion rate (1849-1929), (2) post-inlet erosion rate (1942-1980), and (3) present and projected erosion rate (post-1985, since sand-tightening of south jetty) for determination of a sediment budget. The northernmost 10 kilometers of Assateague Island's shoreline, which currently represents an arc of erosion, constitutes the control volume. This planform configuration is similar to a log-spiral shape of pocket beaches, except that at Assateague there is no downdrift termination in a temporal sense. Therefore, the zone of accelerated erosion will continue to progress southward through time.
