Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Countering The Effects of High Seas 2
Hurricanes 3
Beach Protection 5
New Protection Methods 6
Conclusion 6
References 7
Introduction
Coastline changes due to weather and human intervention represent a major concern for coastal planners all over the world. Coastline changes, not only has an effect on citizens who own property by the seaside, it also has a major effect on our business here at McDuff. While beaches may be vacation spots for some, their disappearance through erosion a great
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Figure 1: Effects of Accretion (Komar, 1976)
During the summer months, when the seas are calmer and the waves smaller, beaches tend to build up. This process is known as accretion (http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/cr133.htm). If the amount of winter erosion exceeds summer accretion, there is overall erosion with the land behind the beach being eroded as the beach retreats inland. The rate of retreat is called the erosion rate. Erosion may be due to one or more factors: for example, a severe winter swell, a recent hurricane, the death of an adjacent coral reef or interference in the supply of sand. Conversely, if accretion exceeds erosion, the beach gets wider over time and accretionary features, such as cuspate forelands, tom bolos, spits and bars, may develop (see Figure 1).
Hurricanes
Extreme events such as hurricanes are the major cause of shoreline changes in the Caribbean. Many hurricanes originate as tropical waves off the west coast of Africa and travel across the Atlantic Ocean gaining strength from the warm ocean waters (http://calspace.ucsd.edu/virtualmuseum/climatechange1/09_2.shtml). As tropical waves strengthen, they pass through several stages, including tropical depression and tropical storm before reaching hurricane strength. Once a system reaches tropical storm strength, it is named. Hurricanes are further classified
Sand dunes are a valid indication of the quality of the soil and the surrounding ocean. When vegetation is established in sand dunes, it stabilises it- i.e. gives the dunes structure. This structure helps prevent erosion by using the plant life to trap the sand. Without these plants (and ultimately the sand dunes) sand will be subject to many natural forces without protection, meaning any major storm could theoretically remove large amounts of sand from the beach with no natural means of replenishing it. Long Reef Beach is commendable in the amount of vegetation it has produced.
This leaves the sand dunes more susceptible to erosion causing blowouts and disrupting the succession of vegetation in the area. This has been a problem at Studland Bay in Dorset on the south coast of England. Persistent human leisure activities on the dunes has led to substantial erosion in some parts of these dunes which has meant that Management programs have had to been introduced by English Nature. Sand dunes help absorb the pounding of high waves and reduce overwash flooding in storms.
The Year 10 geography field trip was an insightful experience into the workings and functioning of metropolitan coastlines here in South Australia. The day consisted of visiting various beaches in Adelaide that were influenced by some form of hard or soft engineering techniques that changed the natural processes of the beaches. What was evident from this trip was how much these beaches have been changed to an extent where it is unlikely that they will ever go back to the way they were prior to human settlement.
Collaroy beach is located 16km north of Sydney’s CBD within Warringah Council's local Government Area. It is approximately 3.6 km long from the local Collaroy surf Club to the Narrabeen lagoon in the north. It had extensive development in comparison with other beaches. There are over 120 plots of land and 293 residential units within this area. Many buildings are many stories high to accommodate a large number of wealthy people. This high level of development has posed a serious risk to property due to the effects of erosion, which has shaped Collaroy beach many years along with other natural processes such as deposition. Erosion continues to occur as the land is pushed inwards at a relatively rapid pace. A year 10 grade from Redfield College
sand being deposited upon it. The only reason why beaches shrink is due to erosion and this
Coastal Management in Hastings is effective economically, socially, environmentally and is sustainable for the future.
* The sand dunes on the beaches. This area is affected by wind erosion as well as the tides if adequate vegetative cover is not present. The main type of erosion, from the sea, takes the sand from the sand dunes as well as the rest of the beach in a rip. The sand is then pulled out to sea where it forms a sand bar. On calmer days, the sand is brought back to the beach.
The more coastal erosion there is, the higher the chance is for saltwater contaminating freshwater resources and the salt from the ocean can cause soil to be uninhabitable to plants (Again this can affect agriculture). Coastal erosion is not only an issue for water resources, it’s also a direct issue for the communities. The communities on islands lay very close to the coast and important infrastructures are one of them. Islands cannot get all of their resources from the local farmers, so they import it via plane or boat. The problem with that is the airports and ports are all on the coast. Coastal erosion has the power to ruin airport runways and docks of the harbors and ports; this means that eventually communities will be starved of basic necessities and there will be no way of getting in basic needs. Not only will airports be ruined, so will our tourism industry. Coastal erosion will eventually ruin the beaches that attract tourists. Island communities depend on the tourism industry because that industry brings in a lot of money every year. Without tourists, communities will struggle financially. Lastly, the ecosystem of the islands will suffer the
If you have ever lived in proximity to coastal areas you may have seen coastline erosion first hand. The beaches you frequent during the summer may seem to be getting smaller and smaller every year. Why does your favorite beach seem to be disappearing? Coastal erosion is to blame. The waves, wind, tides and currents all play a part in the mechanism that is coastal erosion. When water and wind batter the shoreline sediments are carried out to sea and deposited on the sea floor or at other points along the coastline. This is called an erosional coastline. This erosion may be very apparent or seem to have happened overnight when it happens due to a large storm or extremely high tide.
The definition for erosion is the process of the surface of the Earth being worn down by natural causes such as wind, waves and rain. A type of erosion that impacts on the Gold Coast is the coastal erosion. Coastal erosion is the permanent loss of land along the shoreline. Erosion on Gold Coast beaches occurs mostly to the sand on the beaches where the waves can easily erode away.
I found out a couple things about coastal erosion. One is that it affects everyone who lives on a coast directly
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, almost 40% of the population lives in high population-dense coastal areas. Around the world, eight of the world’s ten largest cities are situated near a coast, with about 250 million people living by a coast line less than 5 feet above sea level. It is projected that all of these people will be directly affected in some way by seawater rising in the future (Siegert, 2017). For the county of Orleans Parish, the rapid loss of coastal land is not a future scenario, but a current reality. Due to our unique geography, Louisiana loses about 16 square miles a year; the rapid erosion of Louisiana’s cost is only expected to accelerate over time. (Wernick, 2014).
Some amount of natural erosion is necessary to provide the sediment for beaches in estuaries and coastal bays. However, excessive erosion has occurred in the past due to development. Industrial and private development along the world’s coastlines has increased dramatically since the 1970s (Nepf). Developers and builders completed much of this construction without taking into account the effects of coastal erosion. New buildings were often placed too close to the existing shoreline so that
It is this soft sand and clay which is easily eroded by the action of waves, as the ocean slowly claims back the region it used to occupy. There are
The association of length of residency with attitudes toward publicly-provided community-wide services has long been documented in the literature outside of economics (Kelsy 1998; Spain 1993). Within economics _and despite the ubiquitous studies in the valuation literature that address preference heterogeneity as it relates to measures of socioeconomic status (e.g. age, gender, education and income) _ research that considers duration of residency as a potential source of preference heterogeneity is relatively rare. Among the few available studies are Cho et al, (2005; 2008) and Johnston et al. (2003) whose findings suggest that welfare for land conservation attributes is significantly different depending on length of residency. That is, willingness