Figure 1. Shinnecock Inlet, NY, showing severely eroded downdrift beach
adjacent to downdrift jetty
As another example, a downdrift breach occurred at Mattituck Inlet, Long Island, NY, which
faces the Long Island Sound. Regional net transport is from west to east on this coast. The
Federal jetties at Mattituck were constructed in the early 1900s. The shoreline directly east of
Mattituck inlet receded rapidly during the 1920s and 1930s, and a landward breach at the base of
the east jetty at Mattituck Inlet opened in or around 1935, resulting in the formation of a west-
directed spit (Figure 2) at the base of the east jetty that protruded into the navigation channel. In
response to the breach, the New York District extended the east jetty landward in 1946, and
material dredged during this time was placed onto the beach directly east of the inlet, the first
known beach nourishment for this location (Morgan et al. 2005).
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