Series of storms more than 150 years ago caused extensive erosion of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh

Flooding isn’t new to the Santa Barbara coastline. However, the inundation doesn’t always come from the mountains as it did last month in Montecito. Back in 1861-2, a series of large storms washed beach sand more than a quarter mile inland into what today is the Carpinteria Salt Marsh. Although historical accounts document the inland flooding, little has been known about how those storms impacted a now heavily developed California coast.

King Tides, Beach Erosion and Water Pollution—Can Waikīkī Be Saved?

More than a century ago, Waikīkī was the center of government and culture for Hawaiians, where streams met the ocean and fishponds provided food. By the late 1800s, this stunning shoreline started to lure visitors, creating a demand for accommodations on the beach. This development, which included the construction of seawalls, groins and piers, prompted the eroding of the very beach that had been attracting tourists.

Shore towns use sand dredged from inlets to widen beaches

Coastal areas around the country are dredging clogged inlets to make them easier to navigate, and using the sand they suck from the bottom to widen beaches damaged by natural erosion or serious storms. Concerns that have arisen from inlet dredging include possibly disturbing wildlife habitat, or affecting the shape of nearby shorelines.

Life’s a beach: Cannes ships in sand for film festival

Every year the French Riviera town of Cannes rolls out the red carpet to A-list celebrities at the world’s most glamorous film festival. Now it wants to roll out a bigger beach too. The Mediterranean resort is shipping in 80,000 cubic meters of white sand – enough to fill 32 Olympic swimming pools – to widen the beach along a 1.4 kilometer (0.9 mile) stretch of seafront.

More oyster reefs could help fight erosion on Texas coast

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department in the past 10 years has built more than 400 acres of oyster reef off the coast — multimillion dollar projects intended to jump start the harvest of oysters, particularly after hurricanes and drought devastated the resource.