1 / 7

Impact of Seawall Construction on Coastline Erosion

Explore the limitations of seawalls, bulkheads, and revetments in coastal management. Learn about the detrimental effects of wave energy reflection and loss of sand on shorelines. Discover the challenges faced by beachfront properties due to erosion and the paradox of beach protection efforts. Delve into case studies like Sandbridge Beach, Virginia, to understand real-world implications of coastal development and erosion control strategies.

lgurley
Download Presentation

Impact of Seawall Construction on Coastline Erosion

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Effect of Seawall Construction on the Coastline Ben McGinnis GLY 558 – Introduction to Coastal Management

  2. Seawalls, Bulkheads, and Revetments • Seawallsare usually massive, vertical structures used to protect backshore areas from heavy wave action • Bulkheads are large vertical retaining walls used to reduce loss of land to the sea and to protect backshore areas from wave action • Revetments are shoreline structures generally sloped in such a way as to mimic the natural slope of the shoreline profile and dissipate wave energy as the wave is directed up the slope

  3. Why don’t they work? • Lacks the flexibility of a dune system • A change in beach slope is not allowed • Longshore currents scour sand from the base of the seawall • Loss of sand from reflected wave energy

  4. Wave Energy • Dissipates over the surface of a natural beach • Seawalls reflect wave energy • Reflected wave energy stirs up the sand and washes it out to sea

  5. Sandbridge Beach, Virginia • Bulkheading began around 1988 • Primarily Steel • Beach has narrowed and flattened • Rebuilt bulkheads • Old bulkheads in surfzone • Beach nourishment 1998 and 2002

  6. Interesting Pointsfrom: The Beaches are Moving: The Drowning of America’s ShorelineKaufman, W., and Pilkey, O.H., 1983 • No erosion problem exists on beaches until people build on them. • Anything built along the coast increases erosion rates due to the lack of flexibility in the beach system. • Once beach protection is started it’s can’t be stopped. • To “save” the beach, we must destroy it. • The cost to save property is greater than the value of the property.

  7. Seawalls are constructed to protect beachfront homes, but how can you have a beachfront home when there is no beach?

More Related