Beach Erosion Effects Environment
What are the causes and effects of beach erosion.
Beach erosion effects environment. Sand added to a beach s often different from the natural beach sand. A 2002 bbc special report gives the history of hallsands a coastal village that was destroyed overnight in 1917. These have both positive and negative effects. The effects have environmental as well as economic costs.
The plants and wildlife that depend on these ecosystems are negatively impacted by the effects of erosion. Coastal change includes things like erosion and movement of beach material. There is always sand being removed and sand being added to them. Brighton hove s coastline is fully defended.
While beach renourishment can be beneficial is can also have detrimental effects on the environment and the society. Beaches are temporary features. As the coastline is remapped by erosion coastal properties are put at risk. Differences in grain size affect the way waves interact with the beach affecting surf conditions erosion rates and the beach profile.
For ecosystems erosion translates into habitat loss as coastal wetlands deteriorate. The various habitats found on coastlines. The effects of coastal erosion wildlife. What coastal change is.
The environment can be affected by erosion in several ways. According to the federal emergency management agency fema u s. Coasts can be protected from erosion through hard engineering like sea walls and soft engineering like beach nourishment. This means the effects of coastal change are limited.
Often they change drastically during the year depending upon the frequency of storms. Coastlines lose 1 to 4 feet each year due to erosion. Typically beaches become more eroded in the winter because of storms. Find information about coastal change from defra department for environment food rural affairs.
Nsw s latest bout of wild wintry weather will bring the risk of flooding to parts of the south coast and generate a powerful swell that could worsen recent beach erosion near sydney. A beach has a sand budget. Many homes and buildings are constructed on coastal regions as beachfront homes are often in high demand and. The coastline is an important habitat for many types of wildlife.
The erosion process was accelerated by shingle dredging until a storm swept the entire village away. However other causes such as the decrease of fluvial sediment supply caused by the construction of dams see for example velegrakis et al. 2011 are increasingly important however the rapid disappearance of sandy beaches during the last 30 years in coasts and beaches. Beach erosion is due to wave action.
2008 and the sea level rise caused by climate change see for example fröhle et al.