MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 3:30 P.m.
Pasbeshauke Pavilion at Saybrook Point Park
155 College Street Extension, Old Saybrook
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Larry Ritzhaupt called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present
Larry Ritzhaupt
Doug McCracken
Robert Yust
Janice Holland
Michael Momparler
Tom Gezo
John Donnelly
Absent Members
Steve Tagliatela
Jerry Brophy
Bill Webster
Land Use Department Staff Present
Christine Nelson, Town Planner
Chris Costa, Zoning Enforcement Officer
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
Town Hall Staff Present
Steve Mongillo, Water Pollution Control Authority
Jim Monopoli, CT River Area Health District
III. REGULAR BUSINESS
- Minutes
- Correspondence & Announcements
There will be a lecture given by David C. Smith, Ph.D. on global warming at Acton Library, 60 Old Boston Post Road, on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
IV. GUEST PRESENTATION
“The Effects of Sea Level Rise on Marine Geology in Old Saybrook”
Ralph S. Lewis, Professor, Marine Science Department, UConn Avery Point
R. Lewis talked about the history of the geology of the coastline and the compression and heat of rock. He mentioned that the Long Island Sound is the longest stretch of rock dominated, low energy shoreline on the East Coast. Long energy means no large waves.
There were four glaciers here in our area. Glaciers were influenced by the shape of the bedrock. He talked about the pattern of bedrock valley, bedrock ridge, bedrock valley, etc. What’s in the valleys is what the glaciers left behind. Glaciers leave deposits dumped from the ice directly and deposits that are in or carried by the water. Glacial deltas bury the bedrock. CT has a lot of north/south bedrock ridges.
Old Saybrook’s shoreline is different because the bedrock didn’t reach the coast. Old Saybrook has till, sand and gravel, till, sand and gravel, etc. Till tends to be on the hill, and sand and gravel is in the valleys. Development in New England tends to be in the valleys not on the hills due to the soils, etc. Old Saybrook is a sediment dominated shoreline.
Marshes cannot develop over bedrock. The coast of CT reflects the shape and character of bedrock controlled, glacial topography. Marshes are located on top of deltas.
R. Lewis showed examples of the weathering of different types of rock. Fractures in rock make them more susceptible to weathering and erosion. Fault directions affect the flow of water and the grain to the land.
When the land is stable, sea level in Long Island Sound is the same as global sea level. When the land starts to rise, it’s going up faster than sea level, so sea level fell. The topography is an important factor in determining the extent of the impact of sea level rise.
Fetch has to do with the amount of water the wind has to work with. Fetch is the amount of power. With a large body of water, big waves are possible. With a small body of water, smaller waves are possible. A high energy shoreline has lots of wave action. Fetch in the Atlantic is much greater than fetch in Long Island Sound.
Aspect is the attitude of beach to the wind. Aspect is how the power is hitting
an object.
When waves encounter the coast, three things can happen: reflection, diffraction and refraction. With wave refraction waves feel the shallow water first. This affects wave direction and where the sediment gets moved to.
R. Lewis showed a bar graph which depicts the frequency of storms after 1950 versus the frequency of storms in the 1800’s. The criteria for the storms remain the same, but the number of storms has increased greatly. Sea level is rising; there are more storms and more destructive storms. There is more infra-structure now as well.
It is important to understand the fetch, aspect and other factors of the area of shoreline before planning any development projects.
There is sediment budget, places where sediment comes in, and places where sediment is lost.
An emergent coastline is caused by sea level lowering, the land rising or both. Beaches try to straighten themselves out. There is energy dissipation over straight beaches.
R. Lewis talked about sea walls and the three types of barriers which are welded barriers, barrier islands and barrier spits. When building structures near beaches, it is important to understand wave action, sea level rise, fetch, aspect, energy dissipation, wave energy and the effects of barriers because there are consequences and problems that can occur due to a misunderstanding of the importance of these factors.
V. DISCUSSION
Where Are We? Where Are We Going? How Do We Get There?
ENVIRONMENT – Coastal Processes (Bill Webster)
B. Webster was not able to attend today’s meeting. He will be presenting at a later date.
VI. MEETING SUMMARY
VII. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Conservation Commission’s Sea Level Rise Climate Adaptation Committee on Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 3:30 p.m., Town Hall, 302 Main Street, 1st Floor Conference Room.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
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