Coastal Processes FAQ - Why are there pieces of wood and logs sticking out of the sand in the surf zone?

The woody stumps are very likely remnants of an ancient forest. Though no longer living, these stumps are actually still "rooted" in place, and they actually provide evidence that sea level is rising and Delaware's shoreline is retreating in a landward direction.

Many of the stumps can be identified as loblolly pines, based on the type of bark left on the tree remnants as well as the pine cones that can be seen in the organic material at the base of the stumps. It is obvious that these freshwater trees must have grown behind a barrier beach and dune system, as living pine forests are not found in salty surf zone environments. This is evidence that Delaware's coastal environments have been moving landward and upward in space and time.

The ancient forests are uncovered occasionally when high energy waves remove the sand that has buried them. Storm waves can cut into the coast, deflating the beach system by removing four to five vertical feet of sand. This sand may be removed from the beach and may be transported either alongshore or off the coast to a sandbar system.

The exposure and subsequent burial of these old trees illustrates the dynamic nature of the shoreline and the constant cycle of erosion and accretion of the beach system. Uncovering or exposure of the ancient trees along Delaware's coast has occurred many times over the past 30-40 years. In 1971, John C. Kraft documented the exposure of drowned pine forests exposed in the surf zone in Dewey Beach and at the south end of Cape Henlopen State Park. Kraft used radiocarbon dates from some of the exposed trees to develop sea level rise curves for the coast of Delaware. One of the radiocarbon dates from Kraft's work indicated that the tree was approximately 320 to 420 years old.