Geography Cronulla Essay

How effective are the coastal management strategies used at present in your local beach area?

Seawalls are also strategies that Cronulla and Collaroy implement on their beaches. However, the seawalls in Collaroy are buried under the sand and are only visible after large-scale erosion events. Whereas Cronulla beach’s seawalls are visible and reduce the scenic

Natural disasters are considered harmful in terms of coastal management and can often cause years of work to be wiped out. It can take large amounts of sand from the beach and remove plant life. Collaroy Beach has been a victim of such natural disasters. A large storm back in 1945 caused Collaroy Beach to empty out a large percentage of its sand and damaged many structures. Collaroy Beach’s local council, Warringah Council, has taken action to prevent storm damage in the future. A revetment wall has been established on the sand dunes so waves do not cause as much damage to the dunes behind. Warringah has also purchased properties that were residential and cleared them, so that a storm will not damage as many structures.

There are many different types of coasts that exist throughout the United States. The south shore of Long Island has a unique types of coast known as a barrier beach. Barrier beaches are long narrow land forms that are composed of sand and other lose sediments. These sediments are brought together by the actions of waves, currents and storm surges. Barrier beaches are subject to constant changes by the same forces. Sand is constantly eroded in one area an deposited in another. Barrier coasts are important for a number of reasons; they protect the mainland of Long Island from the open ocean and flooding during storms, for recreational use and the unique ecosystems which exist on barrier

However, these structures do not protect the shore in front of them. In fact, when bulkheads and seawalls are used in areas where there is significant wave action, they may actually accelerate beach erosion. This happens because much of the energy of the waves breaking on the structure is redirected downward, to the toe where the wall meets the soft sand or earth. The shore on this side of the bulkhead or seawall is thus subjected too much more of the force of the waves than if there were no wall, and it erodes quickly. Man made structures interrupt wave-driven drift, stealing sand from down shore beaches.

The beaches of South Carolina are a prized quality and possession to the state and its people as it provides beauty, enjoyment and the economic benefits of tourism year round. Due to storms, natural processes of sand movement and development, the beaches of South Carolina, specifically the Grand Strand beaches and local beaches of Sullivan’s Island and Folly Beach, are eroding at a rapid rate. Erosion is a natural process effected by sea level rise, storms and currents and many techniques have been used in the past to combat erosion issues that threaten to wash away beaches and homes in the process. Erosion preventative structures used in the past, such as jetties and seawalls, have proven to be even more damaging to beach erosion but

From the Broadbeach study, the investigation of offshore wave conditions erosion rates and sandbar morphodynamics, show that Broadbeach experienced some unusual experience during the study period. Given that the wave conditions on the Gold Coast were considerably less energetic, results suggest that Broadbeach’s beach is significantly vulnerable and is more easily eroded than other beaches reported. Time series of offshore wave conditions combined with the evolution of the beach volume also suggests that the studied beach is more exposed to high erosion rates in the presences of NE to E swell. This trend is in agreement with visual observation all along the Gold Coast. However, the second and third storm wave events are estimated to be of

emerging breakwater and armor the beach. While this would certainly protect the beach from further erosion, it would also disturb the wildlife preservation and the turtle nesting habitat.

Climate change is proving to have a severe negative impact on our coastlines. Manly Beach is a very precious beach to Australians because of its physical, environmental, cultural, social and economic values. The NSW government and the local council are now acting to protect Manly Beach from further coastal erosion. If no action is taken, we may lose our beach totally and that would be disastrous to the people, the land and the ecosystem.

Retaining walls are used on steep slopes around homes, parks, and walkways around river areas. These are built to keep the landscape and dirt from sliding down the embankment causing less structural issues with homes due to

Poor water quality resulting from stormwater runoff and effluent disposal causes gaps in the seagrass meadows. The sand below the meadow edge is then eroded away by waves. This is thought to have increased the rate of seagrass loss and made it difficult for plants to recolonise the seafloor. As a result of the loss of sand from the seabed, the level of seabed has steadily become up to one metre deeper and the wave energy reaching our beaches has increased. This causes a large quantity of sand to drift north along the coast. (Adelaide's Living Beaches, 2015, p.4)

Sand mining in the 1950’s through to the 1970’s altered the topography, hydrology and ecology of the flat rock area, and had devastating impacts on the vegetation present at within the area, however since those times; revegetation has taken place and vegetation management plans have been implemented to help the dune system at Flat rock thrive, be conserved, maintain its integrity, and be stabilized.

It is a contentious issue amongst researchers as to whether weathering or wave erosion have a bigger role in the development of a shore platform. Bartrum, 1935; Hills, 1972) both regard wave erosion as the

Furthermore, another hard engineering method that is utilised to protect against coastal erosion is groynes. Groynes are dam-like structures built into the shore with the purpose of blocking sediments from drifting away (Galagano, 2003). Therefore, they provide their benefit to the beach by trapping and holding sand and sediments in the desired location and allowing adequate elevation to be maintained (Pope, 1997). The

Mitigation options for this ‘squeezing’ of coastal infrastructure really come down to whether or not we are willing to spend money to move and make room for these ecosystems to retreat. They are important as they are nursing and resting areas for native and indigenous marine species and migratory birds and fish. They are vital ecosystems whose protection must be balanced with the demands of our society.