To Save a Beach, They May Ruin It

Florida led the nation in establishing detailed criteria for ensuring that only high-quality sand is placed on Florida beaches during construction of beach nourishment projects.

Flipped from Head to Toe: 100 Years of Continental Drift Theory

Exactly 100 years ago, on 6 January 1912, Alfred Wegener presented his theory of continental drift to the public for the first time. At a meeting of the Geological Association in Frankfurt’s Senckenberg Museum, he revealed his thoughts on the supercontinent Pangaea, which broke apart and whose individual parts now drift across Earth as today’s continents.

1895: The First Article On Beach Nourishment

In a retrieved article dated 1895 ” Sea and Land, Features of coasts and oceans with special reference to the life of Man,” geologist NS Shaler, describes the transport of clasts by seaweed, makes footnote of sea wall and beach nourishment… most possibly a first.

Post-Irene Beach Plans? Here’s What to Expect

Hurricane Irene left a lasting impression on beaches all along the Eastern Seaboard. The authors of “The World’s Beaches :A Global Guide to the Science of the Shoreline,” explain what kinds of changes late-season beachgoers can expect in the wake of Hurricane-turned-Tropical-Storm Irene.

Hurricane Irene Opens New Inlets on Hatteras Island

Personnel from the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS) are actively surveying the North Carolina coast following the passage of Hurricane Irene. Center Director Dr. Rob Young completed a surveillance flight of the northern Outer Banks Sunday morning and filed a first report of storm impacts.

When will we ever learn the lessons of hurricanes?

If Irene follows the current path projections, one thing is certain. Many buildings are soon to be destroyed, dozens of artificial beaches, nourished beaches that cost millions of dollars per mile, will be narrowed and some will disappear altogether, beachfront roads, like segments of Highway 12 on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, are likely to be wiped out, sea walls will be damaged or destroyed along the East Coast, and coastal communities are sure to be flooded… By Orrin H. Pilkey.

Sand For Sale: Environment Ravages

The “king Of Koh Kong” has defied an order endorsed by the Cambodia’s Prime Minster to halt his controversial and environmentally damaging sand dredging activities on the Tatai river in Koh Kong.