"On a recent afternoon, Scott McKenzie watched torrential rains and a murky tide swallow the street outside his dog-grooming salon. Within minutes, much of this stretch of chic South Beach was flooded ankle-deep in a fetid mix of rain and sea.
“Welcome to the new Venice,” McKenzie joked as salt water surged from the sewers." ----- Michael J. Mishak, Associated Press June 7, 2014 at 4:24 PM EDT
Rising sea levels have been disturbing geographers and geologists for some time now. Scientists are constantly trying to prevent the effects rising waters are causing, which mainly includes beach and island erosion. So far, their attempts with man-made development on beaches along the eastern coast of America have only made things worse. "Up and down the U.S. coast, public money is subsidizing private property on islands made of sand, the stuff on which, as the Bible says, only fools build" (Ackerman 7). In recent years there has been a trend towards living on the barrier islands of America's Atlantic Coast. High rise condominiums, numerous shops, and several businesses have been built to sustain large populations on these islands and continue to be built. As a result, this vital chain of islands that lies between the ocean and the mainland are at risk. While interfering with the natural configuration of these islands, human construction has advanced the rate of beach erosion, thus leaving the mainland with no barriers during times of high surf. This effect has also led to costly, unnatural ways to preserve the barrier islands. Saving these islands in their natural state by curbing human encroachment will both protect mainland populations from high surf and save a considerable amount of federal money.
The barrier islands are a...
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...d to more pressing problems of our nation. Until another economical solution, which does not contribute to the problem of erosion, is possible people should minimize residential development on the barrier islands before both the beaches and money wash away.
Bibliography:
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Ackerman, Jennifer. "Islands at the Edge." National Geographic. August,
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Dean, G. Robert M.D. "Review of Long-Term Shoreline Changes in Florida"
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Dixon, Katherine L., and Orrin H. Pilkey. The Corps and the shore. Washington,
D.C: Island Press, 1996.
Head, M. Clarence and Marcus, B. Robert. The Face of Florida. Kendall/Hunt
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Kaufman, Wallace, and Orrin H. Pilkey. The beaches are moving: the drowning of
America's shoreline. New York: Anchor Press, 1979.
There are many different types of coasts that exist throughout the United States. The south shore of Long Island has a unique types of coast known as a barrier beach. Barrier beaches are long narrow land forms that are composed of sand and other lose sediments. These sediments are brought together by the actions of waves, currents and storm surges. Barrier beaches are subject to constant changes by the same forces. Sand is constantly eroded in one area an deposited in another. Barrier coasts are important for a number of reasons; they protect the mainland of Long Island from the open ocean and flooding during storms, for recreational use and the unique ecosystems which exist on barrier beaches.
... consider some ideas of what can be done to further enhance the management of the coastal issue. Using the research action plan, I aim to acquire a sophisticated understanding of longshore drift, coastal management and implementations of coastal issues, through the research action plan. Most importantly, I will include various diagrams explaining how the process of longshore drift occurs and what implementations it has on coastal environments, accompanied by an explanation of how the issue is being managed, a detailed outline of the geographical processes involved and a discussion of the impacts of the issue and why it is important.
The effect of sea level rising is especially challenging for the population that lives in low-lying coastal communities, such as Miami Beach. The city is surrounded by sea. Miami Beach is linked to the mainland city of Miami through causeways, and it is an area that allocates much of the wealth from its art decoration and former celebrity playground standing. For them, funding does not seem to be a problem. However, the threat they are facing, cannot be entirely solved by money. Its sea level rising is at 9 millimeters a year, while there is only 3 millimeters on global average acceleration. If the sea level rises for 6 feet by 2100, Miami Beach city will get swallowed. When referring about sea level rising phenomenon, Miami Beach always acts as a ground zero example. Government leaders around the world are waiting to see how this rich living laboratory experiment place can avoid drowning. Below is a figure showing the sea level rising between 1900 and 2020 in Miami and Miami Beach
Authorities at LSU's Hurricane Center and Water Resources Research Institute, and US Army Corps of Engineers lead a discussion of how Louisiana's coastal region is doomed to storm surges. A case in point is the deterioration of the Mississippi Delta, a triangular-shaped deposition of sediment, which works to mitigate flooding and damage caused by storm surges. In fact, every four miles of the delta could knock down a storm surge by one foot. Unfortunately, some areas of the delta like Port Fouchon are losing 40 to 50 feet of land per year. By 2090, experts at LSU have postulated that the delta will be gone - vulnerably leaving New Orleans on the sea. Aside from the delta, barrier islands and marshes are the only other two natural entities which could mitigate a storm surge. The barrier islands' black mangrove trees and the marshes' tall grasses interfere with incoming gulf currents. However, just like the Mississippi Delta, these natural entities are also eroding (Fischetti, 2001).
“When I saw my house three weeks after the storm, I was glad it stood but I knew it was time for change. Now five years later, I have learned that for me to enjoy the beauty of this place, there is a cost to bear. I love this place and am here to stay, but I have to invest more than I had imagined. The hurricane has greatly affected our lives but not only in a bad way.”
. Policy Problem Rising sea levels are becoming a prominent issue along with global warming and climate change for many regions near coastal areas, with Miami, Florida being one of the most detrimental areas. With a current population of 413,892 living just 6 feet above sea level, Miami is positioned as one of the first areas to experience some of the disastrous effects of climate change (Johnson). Within the next 100 years, rising sea levels have the ability to damage South Florida’s fragile barrier islands, the population that lives near coastal areas, and its appealing subtropical beaches (Madigan A12). Coastal areas, which provide the largest area for disaster, however, are not the only areas that will experience the effects of climate change.
Semaphore Beach is affected by many factors such as natural processes and human impacts including marine litter and the discharge of stormwater. Therefore, several plans have been employed to ensure that the coast is supported through the method of counteracting erosion. However in the future, many management strategies have been put into consideration as well as the environmental, economic and social impacts as well as the predicted consequences. These impacts include traffic related incidents, noises and air pollution and the disruption of wildlife and the erosion of dunes. A method that should be considered for future management of the beach is the use of a concave sea wall, although efficient, this structure would be quite costly. Without the use of coastal management, Semaphore Beach would be unsupported, therefore negatively being affected by a variety of
Surfers, swimmers and sunbathers use beaches for recreation. People fish off beaches for food. Since many people take their vacations at the beach, lots of beaches in tropical locations are important to their country’s economy. Entire cities, regions and countries depend on the money tourists spend while visiting the beach. Beaches are naturally very dynamic places, but people try to control them and build permanent structures, such as houses, restaurants, shops and hotels, on or near the shore. The natural erosion and deposition of beaches becomes a problem. Beaches con disappear over time, or even over night during severe storms. Beaches are areas of loose sediment (sand, gravel, cobbles) controlled by ocean processes. Most beaches have several characteristic features. First are offshore bars, which help protect beaches from erosion. Next is the foreshore, which rises from the water toward the crest of the next feature; a berm. On low-lying shores, dunes form behind beaches. Dunes look like rolling hills of sand and are blown into place by the wind. New, smaller dunes are often changing shape as the wind continues to affect them. Waves and currents move the accumulated sediment constantly creating, eroding and changing the coastlines.
Cline noticed a continually rising tide in spite of a 15 mph wind from out of the north as well as decreasing pressure. At 12 o'clock midnight Saturday September 8, 1900 it began to rain in Galveston. By nine in the morning water was running calf deep a few blocks from the beach. The rising tide, driving wind, rain and storm surge broke apart the bathhouses on the beach. Citizens of Galveston began to comprehend the importance of the situation and started movin...
Beautiful beaches, a hot sun, glistening sand, and a clear ocean would make the perfect vacation, right? Many of us would enjoy being somewhere tropical. This kind of vacation won’t last much longer if we don’t start taking care of endangered coral reefs now! World government leaders should establish laws to protect them. People may ask, “If coral reefs are in such danger, why don’t we fix the problem since they provide benefits for the whole world?” Frankly, it’s not that simple. Protecting endangered coral reefs will provide the whole world with long lasting benefits.
Maldives is a collection of about 1000 islands with a combined mass of 115 square miles occupied by approximately 330,000 people, which is in the Indian Ocean (Hannah, J. A., Muller, P. O., & Nijman, J., 2012). The rise in the sea level is a concern that all of Maldives shares, the islands only set eight feet above sea level at its highest point. Any rise in the sea level would disrupt the country’s economic balance. The rising sea level threatens the beachfront resorts for which most of Maldives economy depends on. Thousands of people every year travel to Maldives to...
“Welcome to the new Venice,” McKenzie joked as salt water surged from the sewers." ----- Michael J. Mishak, Associated Press June 7, 2014 at 4:24 PM EDT
“Welcome to the new Venice,” McKenzie joked as salt water surged from the sewers." ----- Michael J. Mishak, Associated Press June 7, 2014 at 4:24 PM EDT
One of the major effects of global warming is the rise of sea level due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to the melting of land ice. Now there are dozens of land areas that sit well below sea level and the majority of those land areas are very well populated. At least 40 percent of the world 's population lives within 62 miles of the ocean, putting millions of lives and billions of dollars ' worth of property and infrastructure at risk. (Juliet Christian-Smith, 2011) This means if the sea level rises to the projected level of 25 meters (82 feet) half of the world will retreat back to the ocean. (Rohrer, 2007) Also rising sea levels means higher tides and storm surges riding on ever-higher seas which are more dangerous to people and coastal inf...
People from all over the world go to beautiful beaches that are filled with water as clear as ice or as beautiful as diamonds. But, what will happen if we do not conserve the appealing sites that draw attraction to the public? Contaminated beaches has become a controversial issue to the public because of the causal problem, the harm to the people and marine animals, the government agencies supporting or opposing pollution, and the industries involved in creating such unlawful decisions. To create and find a solution, we must first find the core to the problem.