The abstracts of the Spring 2024 issue (Vol. 92, No. 2) are below.
Note that ASBPA members only now have access to a full Digital edition of Shore & Beach (click here).
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Shore & Beach in 2024 Vol. 92 No. 2 Abstracts
The abstracts of this issue are below. Note that only ASBPA members have access to a full digital edition of Shore & Beach (click here). Become a member now to get immediate access to the latest issue!
From the Editor’s Desk: Coastal trends and opportunities: Back to the future?
Lesley C. Ewing
Inlet-adjacent beach and shoreline variability at decadal scales
Teagan Duenkel and Tiffany Roberts Briggs
https://doi.org/10.34237/1009222
Beaches provide storm protection and economic benefit for coastal communities and also host important habitats for keystone species, especially in the state of Florida. However, sea level rise, coastal construction, and intensifying storms are resulting in coastal erosion, which often requires informed mitigation and management strategies. This study aims to explore decadal-scale trends in morphology change and shoreline variability of inlet-adjacent beaches in Jupiter, Florida. Data from three locations over a period of three decades were analyzed to determine volumetric and contour changes above the shoreline (0 m elevation) and across the entire profile. The largest variability in decadal morphology change was measured at beaches closest to Jupiter Inlet. Substantial shoreline and beach changes were also associated with periods of higher storm activity. Variability in storm events, nourishment trends, and longshore sediment transport also influenced decadal morphologic change. To best adapt to coastal change and develop comprehensive beach-inlet management plans, it is imperative to understand past trends of shoreline variability and beach-nearshore erosion and accretion patterns. Results of this study demonstrate an approach to elucidate decadal patterns in morphology changes and drivers of change.
The past, present, and future of Seacliff State Beach: Adapting to long-term sea level rise on California’s Central Coast
Ryan Anderson, Gary Griggs, Charles Lester, Kiki Patsch, and Kim Steinhardt
https://doi.org/10.34237/1009223
In a display of the increasingly destructive impact of climate change and sea level rise, in January 2023 unusually severe storms hit California’s west coast and devastated the infrastructure at Monterey Bay’s Seacliff State Beach. Additional severe storms in December 2023 compounded the damage. This article frames the potential application of a new approach for recovery planning along the California coast by examining historical failures, accelerating threats, and the economic and societal factors that create obstacles to long-term success at places such as Seacliff. While each situation differs, the Seacliff State Beach challenge is representative of an ever-widening dilemma faced by many seaside communities. The possibilities for coastal adaptation at Seacliff, based in part on California’s innovative state policies, provide an opportunity to consider sustainable and equitable planning approaches for local communities, government, business, and ultimately future generations.
Sea level rise impacts on coastal access
Kiki Patsch and Dan R. Reineman
https://doi.org/10.34237/1009224
Climate change and associated sea level rise (SLR) will have substantial impacts on coastlines worldwide, threatening beaches, infrastructure, economies, and communities. In California, communities and individuals rely on the state’s public coastal access to physically reach and use the beaches and nearshore waters. Such use constitutes a key component of the state’s ocean-dependent coastal tourism and recreation sec- tor, and contributes significantly to state and local economies, coastal culture, and individual’s coastal attachment. This study investigates the impacts of SLR on coastal access, first by using geospatial tools to develop a higher resolution database of the location and elevation of coastal access sites (opportunities, amenities, and facilities, including parking) at various coastal access sites statewide. Then, using the Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS) SLR run-up model, we project the loss of coastal access opportunities due to SLR. We find that impacts to coastal access increase incrementally with SLR and vary widely by access feature type and location, with larger impacts accruing more rapidly in the southern half of the state. We project that access to California’s shoreline will drown at the rate of approximately 100 access opportunities per 1 foot of SLR. Losses of coastal access will impact individual communities and groups differently and are sensitive to the effects of different strategies designed to manage coastlines in the face of rising sea levels.
The economic value of America’s beaches
James R. Houston
https://doi.org/10.34237/1009225
Travel and Tourism (T&T) is among America’s largest industries, its largest employer, and its largest producer of a trade surplus. It is also one of America’s healthiest industries and is projected to grow at twice the rate of the U.S. economy over the next 10 years. The U.S. is the world’s most competitive country in tourism, attracting more than three times the number of international tourists as any other country. Surveys have repeatedly shown that beaches are by far the most popular U.S. tourist destination. There are about 3.4 billion visits to U.S. beaches annually. This is an enormous number of visits — more than 225% times greater than the combined annual attendance at all National Park properties from the Washington Monument to the Grand Canyon; state parks; all amusement-park attractions such as Disney World; all professional and collegiate football, basketball, and baseball games; cruises; and events of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. Beach tourists spend $240 billion annually, more than the value of all crops grown in America or oil exported by Saudi Arabia. They generate an economic output of $520 billion. U.S. tourism was hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic. However, unlike other tourism, beach tourism boomed during the pandemic, showing remarkable resilience as tourists flocked to beaches that they thought were safe because they were in the open air with plenty of sunshine. Since then, science confirmed the safety of beaches during the pandemic. Beach nourishment provides unprecedented economic return, sustainable employment, and storm-damage protection. It has an extremely high return-on- investment, with U.S. beach tourists generating annually about $3,000 in economic output, $1,400 in direct spending, and $200 in taxes for every $1 spent on nourishment. The $36 billion in taxes that U.S. beach tourists generate each year is over four times the total spent on all beach nourishment during the 100 years from the first beach nourishment in 1923 through 2022. Tourism jobs have boomed, providing one of every four new jobs in 2022. Moreover, tourism jobs in America cannot be outsourced and will not be impacted much by artificial intelligence. In addition to producing a booming economy by being a magnet for tourists, wide beaches and high dunes have been documented to provide billions of dollars in protection to land infrastructure during storms. However, beaches are threatened by erosion caused primarily by dams and navigation projects that greatly impact sand flowing to the coast and remaining in the littoral system. Beach nourishment is needed to mitigate this environmental impact and restore the balance.
An ASBPA White Paper: U.S. coastal marsh restoration: The role of sediment placement
Nicholas Brown, Brennan Banks, Patrick Barrineau, Laura A. Kerr, Devyani Kar, Douglas A. George, Robert Lewis, and Luce Bassetti
https://doi.org/10.34237/1009226
Coastal marshes are important ecosystems that provide numerous services but are rapidly becoming more vulnerable to degradation and erosion due to the effects of climate change. These effects jeopardize erosion control and storm protection, wildlife habitat, water quality, carbon sequestration, recreation, and other coastal-marsh benefits. As a result, determining marsh health and optimizing delivery of these services represents an important endeavor for coastal scientists, engineers, and managers. One option for improving marsh resilience and ecosystem function is sediment placement for expanding or restoring marshlands. However, coastal marshes in the United States vary in size, shape, and vegetation depending on the climate, boundary conditions such as geology, sediments, influx of freshwater, and external forces including wind, waves, currents, and tidal range. Coastal marshes in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Gulf Coast, California, Pacific Northwest, and noncontiguous U.S. are described, including their extent, value, and restoration needs. Examples of sediment placement marsh restoration projects in these regions are provided. Outlined is the current state of knowledge about sediment placement in coastal marshes, as well as current approaches to sediment placement across the United States. There is also a discussion of current best management practices (BMPs), including limitations of these projects.