More than half the world’s population lives in coastal regions, and many people visit the coast frequently. Most come for seaside recreation, but some also wonder about the origins of coastal scenery. From the United States to Australia to the UK and back, our coastlines are disappearing and we have been trying to stop it. Up and down the United States coastline, residents are worried about undermined cliffs, vanishing beaches and houses toppling into the sea.
The California coast, which has soft cliffs of sedimentary rock and is heavily populated, regularly has incidents of housing damage as cliffs erode. In Australia, serious storms have eroded the beaches along the southeast section of the continent. In London, boats have been rubbing against the ocean floor and digging into sections of sedimentary rock. Waves, generated by storms, wind, or f
...ast moving motor crafts, cause coastal erosion, which may take the form of long-term losses of sediment and rocks, or merely the temporary redistribution of coastal sediments; erosion in one location may result in accretion nearby.
After many centuries of coastal erosion, can we save our coasts? Works Cited Barlow, Zeke. "Coastal erosion problems highlighted in new study. " Ventura County Star (CA) 02 Nov. 2010: n. pag. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. Summary: The California coastline has a natural ebb and flow of dumping sand on the shore and taking it away. But continued development along the coast, compounded with the alteration of the rivers that carry sand to the beaches, has so drastically changed the system that the natural processes are hampered.
Sand fills up the man-made harbors and millions are spent to pum
it onto beaches -- just to be carried away by the sea. River rocks once headed for the beaches are caught in debris basins, then removed and sold to communities where the beaches are falling away. Ocean walls meant to keep the sea at bay eventually contribute to erosion. A jetty built in one town keeps the current of sand from migrating to the next town down the coast.
Begley, Sharon. “Don’t Just ‘Do Something’. ” Newsweek. Newsweek. 10 June 2010: n. pag. Web. 15 November 2010. Summary: The blocking of inlets to stop the oil spill in the gulf. If they don’t block the inlets, then oil will reach the wetlands, and they’ll be toast. (If you think it’s tough to clean oil from a bird or beach, try cleaning it from the roots and stems of a wetland’s grass and reeds. ) Altering tidal currents could also cause erosion of the natural barrier islands that protect the coast from hurricanes. Evaluation: Currency: It is from June of this year so it is fairly recent.
Coastal scientists agree that berms will do nothing good other than satisfy the “do something” crowd. That’s why the decision sets such a terrible precedent. BP’s oil will assault the gulf, and possibly the Atlantic, for years. Many more decisions that turn on science lie ahead. No one is saying we have to launch a multiyear study before each one, but it would be nice to get the smartest coastal scientists and engineers around a table to hammer out what we know, what we don’t know, and what the risks and benefits of proposed actions are, rather than just winging it.
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