Term Project: Coastal Erosion
A house begins to slowly crumble, slipping its way off the cliff. For years, waves had battered at the rocks, stripping and eroding away the land over time. Coastal erosion has been a pressing issue throughout the ages and today it is more prominent than ever. Recently, Europe experienced some of its worst storms and flooding in decades, leading to an estimated one thousand percent increase in coastal erosion (“Coastline Erosion Dramatically Accelerated by Winter Storms”). Consequences such as the loss of agriculture, destruction of property, and the endangering of transport links all resulted from the coastal erosion. In addition, in a report by Dr. James A. Richardson and Dr. Loren C. Scott, it was calculated that over the last fifty years, the state of Louisiana has lost over forty square miles of land per year. They determined that if there was no appropriate response, the state will continue to lose an additional 630,000 acres of land (4). This continual loss of land has cost Americans billions of dollars and many their homes. In order to prevent further economic losses, people must be restricted from building their homes on coasts in the future. Furthermore, by keeping them away from the dangers of the coasts, governments will be able to to ensure the safety and well-being of their people.
The economic damage of coastal erosion is evident, both throughout history and in our modern world. One example of the disastrous effects of coastal erosion is Dunwich, the medieval capital of East Anglia. Dunwich used to be the center of the prosperous wool trade in England, however, storms and coastal erosion have slowly made it into what it is now today, a shadow of its former wealth. Almost the entir...
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...ericans (Miller). The only surefire way to protect people from the dangers of coastal erosion in the future is to maintain a distance.
Today people are at a point where it is unreasonable to relocate all who live within close proximity to the coast. Today people must rely on the warning systems that may or may not be worthy of their trust. Today people must not think only for themselves, but for the future. In order to avoid the economic damages of coastal erosion and to protect the safety and well-being of its citizens, a country must look ahead and establish a law that restricts people from building too close to the coast. By establishing this law, future loss will be prevented and lives will be saved. While it is illogical to move and forever change the lives of those who currently live near the coast, it is not too late for people to prepare for the future.
is being eroded by the sea so that cliffs, up to 20 metres high rise
... 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.
4. Pierce, Nathan, Ish, Teresa. “Position of the Surfrider Foundation, Santa Cruz Chapter on the proposed cliff stabilization along Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz.” 2 December 2004.
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
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
Galveston Island is a barrier island formed during the Holocene after a major glacial melt. Since that time, the island has changed in size and geographic location based on numerous factors including sediment availability and various hydrodynamic reasons. The island also suffers from erosion due to major storms, like hurricanes, as well as other natural disasters. Much effort has been put in place to reduce the amount of erosion and/or migration, including a seawall and jetties. These efforts are not 100% effective and while the island will continue to transform; with human intervention, we hope to mitigate this change to a minimum.
The country of the Netherlands is a place of proud and prospering people with a rich Dutch culture and beautiful cities. Holland is constantly overflowing with innovative ideas and wondrous breakthroughs in agriculture, but for many years the Netherlands has faced a growing issue that is threatening the entire coast and mainland of their country. Global warming has contributed to a consistent increase of rising sea levels. Due to the issue that a majority of the mainland in Holland is well below sea level, the Dutch government has implemented necessary plans to revise the existing costal security program to protect the country from wide scale flooding and to ensure the security of the major cities and historic sites found throughout Holland.
...but also the conservation of your beaches and wildlife around the costal area. The plans to protect certain areas of Miami are achievable and do not require the evacuation of any areas, which the community of Miami should respect. This process requires immediate attention in order to prevent the problems of sea level rise before it is too late, which requires getting everyone on board and the plan in action a.s.a.p. By coping with the coast in a maintainable manner, it provides benefits for the future for Miami. Due to the fact that we are unaware of the greatness of effects sea level rise holds and what impacts come along with these effects this adaptation plan needs to be implemented to account for the varying levels of unknown that may be part of the effects (Brown, Nicholls, Pardens, Lowe, Vafeidis, Hinkel , and Watkiss).
Coastal erosion is a growing problem along the Gulf Coast. Louisiana is one of the coastal states most affected by coastal erosion. Ninety percent of wetland loss in the nation occurs in Louisiana, losing 25-35 square miles per year. At that rate, Louisiana will lose 640,000 more acres by 2050. Many factors contribute to this land loss, such as rising sea levels, subsidence, hurricane storm surge, cold fronts, and human interference. Cold fronts and hurricanes can both have detrimental consequences on the coast of Louisiana (Zhang 2004) (Restore or Retreat 2012). This research shows whether cold fronts or hurricanes have a larger effect on coastal erosion. The researcher will describe how historical and current satellite imagery help in determining the changes in the Louisiana coast. Based on previous research, the researcher believes that hurricanes have more of an effect on coastal erosion than cold fronts due to the high winds and storm surge.
Additionally, the majority of Puerto Rico’s critical infrastructure occupies the coast. Rising sea levels can affect infrastructure, freshwater resources, agriculture, ecosystems and the economy. In Rincón, a coastal town in Puerto Rico, the rising sea levels are eroding the coastline at a rate of about 3ft per year.3 Coastal erosion is damaging to the numerous buildings located on the island’s coastline, but even more concerning is that several of Puerto Rico’s historic sites (i.e. the Spanish forts in Old San Juan) are located on that coastline. The erosion could cause not just structural damage, but complete loss of these sites, as well as loss of beach area. In 2009, 3.5 million tourists spent $3.5 billion on the island.3 The picturesque beaches are an attraction for those visitors. Without the beaches, Puerto Rico could take a major hit to their tourism
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.
... to accommodate the coastal wetlands, they will likely be threatened by local extinction, along with the services they provide to humans and wildlife (Wetlands are being wedged).
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...
The problem with contaminated beaches will soon take effect on everyone. The main causes that pollution creates in the beaches are from heavy rainfall, natural disasters, and plant malfunctions. Government agencies cannot control the weather, but they can control what goes into the water. In the United States, the number one reason why beaches are closed down are due to contamination in the water that may be harmful and are left untreated. The arising problem with the beach is that the industries are producing toxic chemicals and tossing the unwanted waste into the ocean. Also, the public are recklessly throwing their trash out into the streets. A prime example to demonstrate this is, if someone was trying to throw a bottle into a street trashcan but missed, he/she is unlikely to pick up after himself/herself if no one was around to see it. This scenario causes pollution to the sidewalks. When mother nature disasters occur, these waste products will end up in the storm drains and into the sewage system. The overflow of debri from the cities can flow into the rivers and if not preserved, it can flow into the ocean. The rivers will then carry these human caused waste into t...
The oceans need to be protected because it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. When dangerous substances go into the ocean, ecosystems are suffer and become endangered along with lives of people and of marine life. Surfrider Foundation recognizes the importance of protecting and preserving the quality and biodiversity of the world's coasts because they are truly irreplaceable. There is also historical evidence of ocean pollution being present in the past, but the problem still lingers today. Heal the Bay discovered that,“Did you know there is a DDT and PCB hot spot off the coast of Palos Verdes? This superfund site (which indicates it's one of the most polluted places in the United States), is left over from a 1930's era chemical plant. Because DDT takes so long to break down in the marine environment, it persists to this day, contaminating certain species of fish. There are also highly polluted sediments in the Long Beach area, a sign of the heavy shipping in the port. Heal the Bay works on developing effective capping and removal plans to keep those toxins from spreading” (Heal the Bay). DDT is still highly concentrated in the South Bay area and still contaminating different species of fish. Even after more than 80 years DDT, a toxic insecticide, is still very concentrated and during upwellings, DDT particles come back up and continue to harm marine life. If humans are careless about what is thrown on the floor or sprayed on lawns, it can lead to disastrous affects when it comes to the condition of the ocean's ecosystems, and can endanger life itself leading to a problem that only we can mend.