Beach Erosion: Causes and Stabilization
Natural and human-related causes of beach erosion are discussed and illustrated by examples. Sea level rise, trapping of sand by natural inlets and migration of natural inlets are the most pervasive natural causes. Construction of navigation works, follow
- PDF / 2,338,973 Bytes
- 47 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 36 Downloads / 237 Views
Beach Erosion: Causes and Stabilization R.G. Dean, T.L. Walton, J.D. Rosati, and L. Absalonsen
Abstract Natural and human-related causes of beach erosion are discussed and illustrated by examples. Sea level rise, trapping of sand by natural inlets and migration of natural inlets are the most pervasive natural causes. Construction of navigation works, followed by reduction in sediment delivery to the coast and subsidence induced by ground fluid extraction are the most prevalent humanrelated causes. Application of the Bruun Rule to sea level rise is discussed including its limitations and extensions to include beach nourishment and barrier islands. Prediction of shoreline changes caused by natural phenomena on decadal scales can only be accurately calculated with historical data. However, predictions of shoreline and volume changes due to human-induced effects such as construction of a littoral barrier or a beach nourishment project can reasonably be calculated with analytical and numerical models. Societal responses to beach erosion are expensive and limited to: retreat, stabilization with structures, nourishment and combinations of the last two. Each beach is unique thus placing a need to understand the cause of the erosion, develop a prognosis for “without response” conditions and prescribe the best approach for the future. Fortunately, long-term shoreline changes are available in some areas as are the effectiveness of some stabilization projects to guide this process. It is concluded that it will be possible to maintain some highly developed areas for one or two centuries with available technology and resources. Some areas will undoubtedly require abandonment within this period.
R.G. Dean (*) • L. Absalonsen Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA e-mail: [email protected] T.L. Walton Beaches and Shores Resource Center, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA J.D. Rosati Engineer Research and Development Center, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, MS 39180, USA C.W. Finkl (ed.), Coastal Hazards, Coastal Research Library 6, 319 DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-5234-4_13, # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
320
13.1
R.G. Dean et al.
Introduction
Beach erosion can occur as a slow pervasive process or rapidly during major storm events and can be a result of natural or human related causes. Regardless of the rate or cause, continued beach erosion poses a significant threat to coastal infrastructure including coastal highways, homes, businesses and industry. The investment along the world’s shoreline is immense. Along the U. S. east and Gulf of Mexico coastlines alone, the National Research Council (1999) estimated that “about $3 trillion in infrastructure adjacent to the shoreline is vulnerable to erosion and other natural hazards.” Beach erosion is fairly ubiquitous: the Heinz Center (H. John Heinz Center for Science and Environment 2000) reported “Over the next 60 years, erosion may claim one out of four houses within 500 feet of
Data Loading...
