Monday, November 21, 2005
Looking down the road (beach) ahead
The highlighted area below indicates that "Salvation" may not the best term to use to describe beach renourishment...
D. Erosion Control Measures
Sandy coastlines and barrier islands in their natural state are constantly moving.[103] During storms, beaches erode and are later rebuilt, while islands disappear and reform throughout various coastal regions.[104] When coastlines and islands became developed for human use, artificial inlets and buildings along the beach interfered with this natural coastal migration, causing a need for coastal armoring to fortify the beach against erosion.[105] However, these structures actually accelerate erosion by intensifying wave action and currents along the shore, and prevent the natural return, or accretion, of sand to the shore.[106] To preserve beachfront development, erosion control measures must continue, along with repeated beach renourishment projects to replace the lost sand.[107] Both of these practices adversely affect nesting sea turtles and their eggs.[108]
Besides causing permanent degradation of nesting habitat through erosion,[109] coastal armoring physically prevents females from reaching suitable nesting sites.[110] When females deposit nests seaward of armoring structures, the nests may be flooded at high tide or washed out by waves.[111] When inadequate amounts of sand cover the armoring structures, females nesting over them may abandon nesting attempts or may construct improperly sized nests.[112] Coastal armoring structures tend to break apart after time, and the resulting debris left on the beach can cause false crawls and trap nesting turtles and hatchlings.[113]
When beach renourishment is conducted during the nesting season, it can bury nests and adversely affect nesting turtles and hatchlings with its increased human activity and artificial lighting at night.[114] Heavy machinery and pipelines associated with beach renourishment projects can also cause false crawls and entrapment of nesting females and hatchlings.[115] An element of beach renourishment is the depositing of new sand on the affected area. However, the sand deposited on the nesting beach may be different from native beach sediments, which could affect females' nest site selection and digging behavior, the nests' incubation temperature,[116] gas-exchange characteristics of the nest,[117] and the nest's moisture content.[118] This difference in sand could also affect the success of hatchling emergence from both egg and nest.[119] Transporting the sand onto the beach and the renourishment itself often result in severe compaction of the beach, significantly reducing nesting success.[120]
Although the necessary repetitive maintenance of beach renourishment projects heightens the threat to sea turtle nesting habitat,[121] beach renourishment is preferable to coastal armoring for nesting habitat protection.[122] Renourishment of extremely eroded beaches, especially where the entire dry beach has been lost, can improve nesting habitat.[123] However, the renourishment process must be conducted carefully to ensure proper timing and sand quality,[124] and where compaction occurs during renourishment, tilling can be used to soften the sand.[125]
Complete article at: COASTAL PROTECTION OF SEA TURTLES IN FLORIDA
KATHERINE R. BUTLER*
Copyright © 1998 Florida State University Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law
I. I
D. Erosion Control Measures
Sandy coastlines and barrier islands in their natural state are constantly moving.[103] During storms, beaches erode and are later rebuilt, while islands disappear and reform throughout various coastal regions.[104] When coastlines and islands became developed for human use, artificial inlets and buildings along the beach interfered with this natural coastal migration, causing a need for coastal armoring to fortify the beach against erosion.[105] However, these structures actually accelerate erosion by intensifying wave action and currents along the shore, and prevent the natural return, or accretion, of sand to the shore.[106] To preserve beachfront development, erosion control measures must continue, along with repeated beach renourishment projects to replace the lost sand.[107] Both of these practices adversely affect nesting sea turtles and their eggs.[108]
Besides causing permanent degradation of nesting habitat through erosion,[109] coastal armoring physically prevents females from reaching suitable nesting sites.[110] When females deposit nests seaward of armoring structures, the nests may be flooded at high tide or washed out by waves.[111] When inadequate amounts of sand cover the armoring structures, females nesting over them may abandon nesting attempts or may construct improperly sized nests.[112] Coastal armoring structures tend to break apart after time, and the resulting debris left on the beach can cause false crawls and trap nesting turtles and hatchlings.[113]
When beach renourishment is conducted during the nesting season, it can bury nests and adversely affect nesting turtles and hatchlings with its increased human activity and artificial lighting at night.[114] Heavy machinery and pipelines associated with beach renourishment projects can also cause false crawls and entrapment of nesting females and hatchlings.[115] An element of beach renourishment is the depositing of new sand on the affected area. However, the sand deposited on the nesting beach may be different from native beach sediments, which could affect females' nest site selection and digging behavior, the nests' incubation temperature,[116] gas-exchange characteristics of the nest,[117] and the nest's moisture content.[118] This difference in sand could also affect the success of hatchling emergence from both egg and nest.[119] Transporting the sand onto the beach and the renourishment itself often result in severe compaction of the beach, significantly reducing nesting success.[120]
Although the necessary repetitive maintenance of beach renourishment projects heightens the threat to sea turtle nesting habitat,[121] beach renourishment is preferable to coastal armoring for nesting habitat protection.[122] Renourishment of extremely eroded beaches, especially where the entire dry beach has been lost, can improve nesting habitat.[123] However, the renourishment process must be conducted carefully to ensure proper timing and sand quality,[124] and where compaction occurs during renourishment, tilling can be used to soften the sand.[125]
Complete article at: COASTAL PROTECTION OF SEA TURTLES IN FLORIDA
KATHERINE R. BUTLER*
Copyright © 1998 Florida State University Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law
I. I
