Erosion is a major threat for coasts worldwide, beaches in particular, which constitute one of the most valuable coastal landforms. Vulnerability assessments related to beach erosion may contribute to planning measures to counteract erosion by identifying, quantifying and ranking vulnerability. Herein, we present a new index, the Beach Vulnerability Index (BVI), which combines simplicity in cal...

Grande Riviere Beach in Trinidad and Tobago is an important nesting site in the Caribbean for the Critically Endangered leatherback sea turtle, Dermochelys coriacea. Community members were concerned that beach erosion and seasonal river flooding were destroying many of the nests deposited annually and thought that a hatchery was a possible solution. Over the 2001 turtle nesting season, the Inst...

In this study, we employ a choice-based conjoint survey design to elicit individual choices of beach erosion control programs that can potentially cause multiple effects on beach environment. Two empirical choice models which incorporate individual heterogeneity, are used to analyze and compare the elicited individual choices of erosion control programs. Our results show that to a typical indiv...

Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) nest on dynamic, erosion-prone beaches. Erosive processes and resulting nest loss have long been presumed to be a hindrance to clutch survival. In order to better understand how leatherbacks cope with unstable nesting beaches, I investigated the role of beach erosion in leatherback nest site selection at Playa Gandoca, Costa Rica. I also examined t...

Depending on the amount of aeolian sediment input and dune erosion, dune size and morphology change over time. Since coastal foredunes play an important role in the Dutch coastal defence, it is important to have good insight in the main factors that control these changes. In this paper the temporal variations in foredune erosion and accretion were studied in relation to proxies for aeolian tran...

Field and laboratory observations have shown that a relatively low beach groundwater table enhances beach accretion. These observations have led to the beach dewatering technique (artificially lowering the beach water table) for combating beach erosion. Here we present a process-based numerical model that simulates the interacting wave motion on the beach, coastal groundwater flow, swash sedime...

[1] Field observations of swash flow patterns and morphology change are consistent with the hypothesis that beach cusps form by self-organization, wherein positive feedback between swash flow and developing morphology causes initial development of the pattern and negative feedback owing to circulation of flow within beach cusp bays causes pattern stabilization. The self-organization hypothesis ...

One of the most frequently quoted ecosystem services of seagrass meadows is their value for coastal protection. Many studies emphasize the role of above-ground shoots in attenuating waves, enhancing sedimentation and preventing erosion. This raises the question if short-leaved, low density (grazed) seagrass meadows with most of their biomass in belowground tissues can also stabilize sediments. ...

This paper is a case history of coastal development in Camp Ellis, Saco, Maine. It begins in 1867 with dredging and jetty construction at the mouth of the Saco River to facilitate commercial navigation. Beach accretion resulting from tidal delta collapse was developed with residences before its ephemeral nature was recognized. Misunderstanding of the riverine source of beach sand and the net, n...