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'"agfc 36? Supplement to Tho Brumwick Bo
Barrier
BY BILL McGOW AN
Up until about 5,000 years ago,
beachgoers looking for a good time in
the sun and sand may have stopped
briefly in the Brunswick County area
for a cold drink.
But back then, tourists still had a
iwo or ihrce day wuik before ihey goi
their first breath of salt air and their
first glimpse of the ocean blue.
Today's beach residents and
tourists may Just take for granted
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If you spend a lot of time boating on
- N' salt water, be sure to wear a good
pair of sunglasses. Prolonged exposure
lo bright sun and salt water
can result In pterygiums, an eye affliction
commonly found among
serious saltwater sailers.
The U.S. Olympic Yachting Committee
reports that pterygiums are
fleshy, benign growths found on the
surface of the eye. They can impair
eyesight, but the major effects range
from scratchy "sand In the eyes"
discomfort to disabling pain. The
growtlis arc caused by a combination
of salt water abrasion and
ultraviolent damage to the eye.
The v
-
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i
aeon, April-May, 1985
Island Beac
have been here forever. Fact is.
though, that our barrier island
beaches are only slightly older than
the pyramids of the greut Egyptian
pharaohs.
According to Spencer M. Rogers
Jr., a coastal engineer with the N.C.
Marine ttesource center ai Ft.
Wisher, North Carolina's barrier
islands did not come into existence
until about 5,000 years ago. The
islands were formed, lie said, follow
ing a rapiu rise in sen icvei ai uie cnu
sses Aboard
rye Damage
Pterygiums arc not a problem
among fresh water sailers.
Damage from this affliction is permanent.
and the best cure is prevention.
Pterygiums can be removed
surgically, but usually reappear
within several years. Wearing a good
pair of sunglasses-and a hut with a
brim?wtll prevent the disease. Be
sure that the sunglasses are not
simply dark lenses, but have the
capacity to absorb ultraviolent light.
If your eyes become scratchy ami
sore while boating on salt water and
you suspect you may have
pterygiums. consult an
ophthalmologist for a diagnosis.
irhole we
wWl .
S WATCH FOR (
? OF OUR CALA
:hes Only A
of the last ice age when ocean water,
frozen in glaciers, melted.
"Only then were the barrier
islands formed." Rogers said. "Most
people take for granted they have
been here forever, but it has actually
Cam
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BASH BRANCH <
s Old As Py
been a brief time in geological
terms."
Rogers said sea level 25,000 years
ago was roughly where it is today.
About 15,000 years ago, during the
last ice age, sea level was about 350
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feet lower than today.
Before the glaciers began to melt
and the sea level began to rise, lie
said, "what shoreline there was was
located about 75 miles offshore of today's
beaches."
BfelS
m our boats to you
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welcome,
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