Essay On Coastal Erosion

“On the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines, which are made up largely of barrier islands, the beaches are eroding at average annual rates of 3 and 6 feet respectively. “1

When it comes to coastal erosion, not just in the Gulf of Mexico but also anywhere in the world, we have to take notice and most importantly action. Coastal erosion is one of the key signs of serious problems that are happening in today’s society. “The earth covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and contains 97 percent of the planet’s water, yet more than 95 percent of the underwater world remains unexplored.”2

I want to show the effects of coastal erosion, the problems that contribute to this event, and what we can do to help prevent further erosion. We will look at the Florida coastal shoreline by looking at the marginalization of lands, the loss of property, and water supply and ecosystems. More

in depth with the Marine Life on the Gulf Coast of Florida, the effects of the salt water infiltrating the fresh water as in the Everglades, and the Dune Lakes on the Gulf of Mexico. I will also provide information on how the sea levels are rising, and the effects of Global Warming. With that in mind I will segway into natural weather disasters, hurricanes in particular. The impacts of weather, coastal shelf and riptides, Hurricanes, Opal, Andrew and Katrina, then compare to the hurricanes that hit the eastern coastline on the Atlantic side of the United States in 2015. Pollution in the Gulf has an effect on coastal erosion as well, so I will provide information on such contributors as Oil Rigs in the Gulf, Industrial Pollution, and the changes in the ecosystem. I also spent 4 days in Port Saint Joe, Panama City, and visited area beaches for my fieldwork. That included taking pictures; looking at houses and hotels on the actual shoreline; and visiting the Dune Lakes, Powell Lake in particular. Last I will be comparing and sharing images of the past and present of the Florida Gulf Coast shoreline. Comparisons will be shown, predictions made and in conclusion what could be done, and what possible future predictions can be made.
When it comes to the land on the coast, it is a valuable piece of property. Most of the population lives near water, and the beach is no exception. I am one of those who would like to end up living on the beach, in particular the Gulf Coast area. Which is why I chose this area to study, because I have to come to realization that if and when that I do get a chance to live there it may not be the same or even physically there. Possibly not the way I would think of a beach setting should be with the white sandy beaches, the cool refreshing surf and lots of marine life to watch.
Florida’s lengthy coastline necessitates the existence of many navigation inlets and their construction and maintenance are an ongoing source of coastal erosion.

The waterline is expanding as the shoreline is becoming more narrow. Coastal erosion has both natural causes and human activities that can be affiliated with the cause. Gradual coastal erosion is from the very slow rise of sea levels from the impending ice cap melting caused by global warming. Severe coastal erosion occurs over a short period of time, especially when the coastline is consistently impacted by hurricanes, tropical storms and other weather systems. Some coastal erosion may be caused by poorly thought-out coastal development by the greedy human nature that wants to profit off the natural beauty. However, those places of beauty are ruined in the long run. As you travel down the coast on the highway, cruising through those small towns with souvenirs shops to each side, seafood restaurants mixed in and public access trails to the beaches spotted along the route you will notice that the buildings directly on the beach are on

stilts.
This is not just an architectural design and the fashion, but because of the fact that the developers know that the land is being swallowed by the sea. More and more houses, hotels, shops and restaurants have decks and some piers that lead into and over the water. The beaches, whether sandy or rocky are the buffers that keep the sea at bay from the land behind enemy lines. They are nature’s way of saving all the people and their livelihoods from being swept away into the deep blue yonder. When waves crash into the beach it carries sediment with it and deposits such sediment. The alternative is that when a wave recedes back into the ocean it carries that sediment back to sea. This is usually done at an unequal rate, and leads to coastal erosion. In fact, coastal erosion is one of the reasons we have so many beautiful beaches around the world due to their unique shape. Long shore currents move water in a parallel direction of the shoreline, carrying the sand with it. But as we continue to build piers, docks, sea walls, and jetties the sand becomes trapped and can not move past those objects. When I was visiting the Saint Joe Peninsula area I learned about Cape San Blas. “Historically, the western shore of Cape San Blas has eroded at approximately 11m/yr, with the tip of the St. Joseph Peninsula and the eastern shore of Cape San Blas undergoing accretion.”3 During this study in 1994 it showed that Cape San Blas experiences the fastest erosion growth in all of Florida. In just three weeks in June, the study showed, that the spit of the peninsula lost 20m of beach. On the north side the erosion rate was a loss of nearly 10m between 1994-1995 while the east side saw a growth of 6m during the time of the study.