How is a summer beach profile at some locations different from a winter profile? Where ? Why?

Question

How is a summer beach profile at some locations different from a winter profile? Where ? Why?

Answer 1

Nauset Beach is an Atlantic beach on the outer edge of Cape Cod, MA.  It is long, 10 miles before the inlet to the National Seashore in Eastham, MA.  It is a gently sloping beach in the summer, but severely deformed in the winter, with ledges and pockets of sand.  The intensity of the winter ocean storms carves the beach, rearranging the sand with each storm.  As spring and summer approach, the wave action from storms is less and less, again redistributing the sand into the gentle slope the summer beach goers enjoy. For those of us who live here year round, it is a treat to go to the beach in a winter storm and watch the process.