NATURAL DUNE SYSTEM: Commonly, the dune at the back of a natural beach is called the fore-dune, a ridge of sand forming with its axis, or crest, parallel to the shoreline. Such a dune or sand ridge in association with a beach also is called a beach ridge. The vegetation serves as an anchor for wind-blown sediment and generates continuous dune growth. When the grass is removed by storms, fire, trampling, overgrazing, or simply too much sand coming ashore across the beach, the dunes are destabilized and may begin to migrate landward. The size of a dune is mainly a function of sand supply: the larger the supply from the beach, the higher the dunes. Prevailing wind directions, beach width and time available to build a dune are part of the sand …show more content…
Often, however, the legal limit of one-foot penetration into the beach is violated. The scraped sand is pushed to the back of the beach, usually into a low sand ridge. Bulldozing sand is not a good thing for beaches. For one, taking sand from any part of the beach is a form of beach erosion, pure and simple. For another, it kills the organisms in the beach – the mole crabs, the Coquina clams, and all the microscopic organisms that live between the sand grains. For days after bulldozing, seagulls have an unexpected bonanza: swooping and grabbing the stranded and struggling critters of the beach that are now high and dry in the bulldozed dune. The odour of rotting organisms during the post-bulldozing time also can provide an unpleasant atmosphere for the beach strollers. The process affects the whole food chain, including the shorebirds and the near-shore …show more content…
Within the marine environment, we consider the way decision-makers providing elements for assessing the environmental impact of specific interventions. The aim is to protect the environment to ensure a better quality of life, protect species and guarantee its survival, protect human health and the ability to persevere reproduction of
...cials to ban or greatly curtail vehicular and sometimes pedestrian traffic on parts of beaches where Plovers are nesting. Fire Island National Seashore has been identified as one of six crucial Plover nesting sites. In some cases beach officials have had to ban kite flying from nest areas because the Plover mistakes the kites for a predator. While the kite is in the air the birds will not leave the nest for food, subsequently plovers have starved to death. The plover is just one example of how beach officials have to balance the recreational and ecological resources of the barrier beach (Appleton & Sharp 35-38).
Longshore drift is a process by which sediments are transported from one place to another. When this process occurs, beaches, spits and sandbars are accreted over time. If the process of longshore drift is altered by factors such as stronger winds and stronger currents, beach erosion begins at a faster rate and this may result in many serious problems. The main stakeholders of longshore drift are resort owners. They rely on people to visit their resorts and enjoy the beach. However, if longshore drift erodes t...
3. Etnoyer, Peter, Nelsen, Chad, Ranker, Kevin. “Beach Sand at the Base of the Food Chain.” “Surfrider Foundation.” 2 December 2004.
be some feature at the head of the beach to trap the sand being driven
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.
The hypothesis presented in a paper titled, “Barrier Island Formation”(Hoyt 1130), is as follows: Along a sand shoreline, wind will form dunes or ridges (depending on the type of material the beach is composed of). If there is a relative submergence, the area landward of the dune/ridge will be flooded to form a lagoon and the ridge/dune then becomes a barrier island. This would most likely occur when a stable shoreline with a well-developed ridge is engulfed by a relatively sudden transgression that does not erode or push the ridge landward (Ot...
In the article “The City and the Sea”, by Meera Subramanian she says, how Richard George a local artist joined an association called each side Bungalow Preservation Association not knowing nothing about sea surges or dune ecology, with $15,000 that was given to them to just plant trees. Subramanian also says, how the NYC Green Thumb, which is the community garden city network supporter helped with the established plants to be watered through the first susceptible summer. She goes on saying, that on either side from where the dunes ended from Beach 27th street the water from Sandy’s flood penetrated there, so the double-dune system that was a few blocks on both sides was able to protect the place. Subramanian says, how the high-water that mark
They provide costal stabilization and food chain support, and play a valuable role in foreshore protection, reducing erosion and lessening the impact of storm surges. They are a diverse group of trees that share the ability to live in waterlogged saline soils, which is actively affected by tides. They can create new land by water spreading out and the sediment from the trees settling to the bottom being trapped by the roots. Eventually they grow out and find dry land. However, the environment is a harsh place to live due to many contributing abiotic facts, but they have adapted to be able to grow in such environmental conditions.
Abiotic factors are things that are nonliving that influence an environment and it's inhabitants. Some of the abiotic factors that are attributed to coastal erosion in Louisiana are hurricanes, tropical storms, elevation, sunlight, overnutrition, sea-level rise, and deposition. Hurricanes bring about larger waves which cause dune erosion or beach erosion (Clark et al., 1998). This is significant because beaches and/or the dunes of the beach serve as buffers to the coastline and the ecosystem. As the beach or dunes recede from the erosion caused by these large waves and an increased sea-level the flora and fauna that help sustain the area die off or retreat to a more habitable zone leaving the wetlands in a critical state often resulting in a total loss of the area (Stockdon et al., 2012). Due to the nature of the Gulf of Mexico large destructive storms such as hurricanes or tropica...
Ecology is a strong literary element in the novel Dune. plays a quite large part in Dune. Dune is a desert world, a sterile planet, devoid of life. Not uUntil one goes underneath the surface of Dune, then a whole new ecosystem is seen, based around water or the avoidance of it. Fremen use technology called "stillsuits" to conserve their body's water. Stillsuits recycle any moisture that is excreted by the body. This water is then drunk again, and used again. The Fremen, used to life that requires hoarding water, are astonished at the fact that there are other planets with open water on them. Sandworms are a quite important part of Dune's ecosystem. They, wWhile infants, sandworms produce the spice melange, the spice so precious to human life on Arrakis. These infant sandworms, after being in a spice blow and surviving, eventually grow into the monstrosities that are adult sandworms, the "Old Men of the Desert." (citation) The Water of Life is a potent poison and prescience drug, only obtainable by drowning a sandworm. Its opposite is the Water of Death (citation), ...
Hurricanes have been an important trigger to accelerate erosion in the area. From 1970, at least 7 hurricanes have hit the coast, weakening it and making its beaches prone to erode. Nonetheless, tourism as it was explained has been the main factor of the fast pace of erosion seen in the area. Currently Cancun has about 30 000 hotel rooms and a steady growing number of high-rise condominiums (SEDETUR, 2014). Prior to the development, beaches were able to recover themselves up to a certain point due to the presence of sand dunes and other factors such as the vegetation and the natural breaching that existed in the area. The result of human activities such as the construction of hotels on top of dunes, affect natural regeneration processes; the
The North Carolina coast is a large part of the economy and brings countless people joy each year. Unfortunately, coastal environments are constantly being reshaped by tides and waves by moving and depositing sediment. This reshaping of the coast causes houses and bridges to be undermined as longshore currents move sand away from certain areas to others. Also, channels for boats migrate and fill with sand making industry and travel challenging. Despite efforts to stabilize areas, waves constantly batter the shore erasing all attempts. Due to all the social and economical effects coastal environments have on the state of North Carolina, it is essential to find an effective method to stabilize these areas while reducing the cost.
Waves can be defined as a surface disturbance of a fluid in which energy is transferred. Waves are seen as the main contributing factor in coastal erosion all over the world. Waves come in all shapes and sizes. Different types of waves have been given individual names, depending on their characteristics.
...tes (SIDS) beaches. Those most directly at risk from coastal erosion are those living in coastal lowland areas or along ‘soft’ sediment coastlines where coastal erosion can cause flooding, loss of land and damage to infrastructure, affecting both economic and human development of the already vulnerable developing nations. The causes of coastal erosion are mostly dependent on various geomorphological factors and the effects can be severe or slight but all and all it still have implications on the development of any country. Thus there are need for protecting the coast with the use of both hard and soft engineering structures, such as vegetation, groynes and sea walls. Surveying and monitoring of coastal areas helps to gain better understanding of the physical processes involved as well as identifying susceptible locations at an early stage so as to curb erosion.
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.