Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
Conclusion
Beach renourishment has been an effective way of maintaining beaches as a rec-
reational resource and scenic amenity, and of countering coastal erosion in several
countries around the world, and is widely preferred to the use of solid structures
such as sea walls and groynes for coastal stabilisation. It is acknowledged that
beach renourishment is not a permanent solution to the problem of beach erosion
and coastal stabilisation, but nor is the use of artificial structures. Coastal manage-
ment is necessarily a long-term strategy, with techniques likely to improve with
experience.
A variety of approaches to beach renourishment have been developed to assist
design, and a variety of monitoring techniques have been widely employed to
evaluate performance. However, despite this experience, it remains difficult to pre-
dict the morphological behaviour of renourished beaches because of the complex
interactions which occur between coastal processes, beach and nearshore morphol-
ogy and sediments (Blott and Pye
2004
).
Beach erosion is likely to increase in future because of a rising sea level and a
possible increase in the frequency and severity of storms (Hoagland et al.
2012
).
In consequence, there will be an increase in the use of beach renourishment:
Campbell and Benedet (
2006
) have suggested that beach nourishment volumes in
the United States could double or triple over the next 25 years. One problem will
be the securing of sufficient sources of sediment for beach renourishment, which
will increase demands for sea floor dredging and for quarrying of sand and gravel
for this purpose.
References
Blott SJ, Pye K (2004) Morphological and sedimentological changes on an artificially nourished
beach, Lincolnshire, UK. J Coastal Res 20:214-233
Campbell TJ, Benedet L (2006) Beach nourishment magnitudes and trends in the U.S. J Coastal
Res Spec Issue 39:57-64
Hoagland P, Jin D, Kite-Powell HL (2012) The costs of beach replenishment along the U.S.
Atlantic Coast. J Coastal Res 28:199-204