Figure 31. Graph showing trend of alongshore increase in net accretion (1962-1995) with distance from the Saco River jetty, excluding data from regions 1 (Hills Beach) and 4 (Western Beach). Regions 1 and 4 have been excluded from this figure because they tend to act as their own littoral cells, and have trends very different from the remainder of the bay. Several roads have been included for geographic reference. The relationship is clearly positive, indicating an increase in net accretion at the northern end of Saco Bay, confirming a northerly dominant sediment transport direction. Black points indicate net erosion/accretion data for all transects within regions 2 and 3 (linear fit, black line, R²=0.49). If artificial dune data (within Ocean Park and Old Orchard Beach, constructed as part of sewer line emplacement) is removed and remaining data is plotted (small red circles), the relationship increases slightly (linear fit, red line, R²=0.53). The overall alongshore trend is best represented by a third-order polynomial expression (blue line, R²=0.80), fit to the data with artificial dunes removed. This expression takes into account the general stability (little shoreline change over the 33-yr period) of the central portion of the Saco Bay shoreline, yet also portrays the erosive portion of region 2 (0-5,000 ft) and the accretive region 3 (30,000-35,000 ft).

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Last updated on January 10, 2006.

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