New Jersey is often used as an example of a natural system gone awry. The unflattering term "New Jerseyization" was coined by a prominent scientist to describe a developed, eroding coast, where natural beaches have been replaced by engineering structures. This view may have been correct in the past, when seawalls and bulkheads replaced many of our beaches, but our beaches are being brought back by artificial nourishment projects. Hard protection structures are only one phase in the cycle of changes on a developed coast. Human efforts can help regenerate landforms and biota, providing we take a proactive approach to shore protection that accommodates a wide range of resource values. The preferred method of shore protection in New Jersey has changed from groins, to bulkheads and seawalls, to beach nourishment. Hard protection structures are less likely to be built in the future, but many structures still exist, and some new structures may have local usefulness. Accordingly, it is important to know how these structures function. It is also important to know that all protection strategies have usefulness, but they are not readily interchangeable at a given location. Beach nourishment can help restore lost natural values, but many municipalities have elected to grade and rake their nourished beaches, preventing them from evolving into topographically and biologically diverse natural environments. The large amount of sand scheduled to be pumped onto New Jersey beaches in the future represents an invaluable resource, but the full potential of nourishment will not be realized without addressing habitat improvement and nature-based tourism in addition to the goals of protection from erosion and flooding and provision of recreation space. A dune is another valuable natural resource that is often overlooked. Dunes provide protection from flooding and…
This essay will provide a brief history of the historical Belle Isle Island Park. It is a beautiful park that has declined over the years due to budget cuts which will continue its decline due to the city being in such a dire situation. Detroit spends an estimated $6 million a year to operate and maintain Belle Isle Park (Helms). The city has filed bankruptcy and could possibly have to sale treasured assets to eliminate its debts. Maintaining ownership of what is the nation’s largest city owned ecological asset, could through implementing the proposed trajectory plan cited in this essay could provide long-term revenue for the city. By…
Where we live in Southern California the land has been rising for the past million years due to faulting. With more ice at our polar regions we have lower sea level, and as that ice melts - the sea level rises. This back and forth pattern of rising and falling sea levels affects the coastal environments, as neither are steady processes.…
As the Global climate change takes affect one of the many concerns planners worry about is the effects it will have on low-lying coastal regions. Sea level rising places many populations at risk and local and federal decision makers now need to discover new policies aimed at addressing the impending affects the rising sea level will have on coastal areas. Current local development policies are based on SA; however, policies need to account for the development in areas where impending sea level rise is being observed. Global warming has increased the sea level, because of carbon emissions heating up the artic, thus, in turn melting the ice caps around the world. (Surging Sea Levels) The effect is that coastal areas are losing their homes to the rising tides. The projections sea level rise in Long Island for example range from a foot to over six feet. Thus, the result is a coast that outraces the national averages and increases the likelihood for more super storms, disrupting state economies and displacing communities and homes faster than policies and zones can…
A Courtroom Workgroup in the United States criminal justice system is an informal arrangement between a criminal defense attorney, criminal prosecutor, and the judicial officer. Participants within the criminal trial are divided in two courtroom workgroups consisting of professionals and outsiders. Professionals are the courtrooms official actors; these individuals conduct court business and are well versed in the practice of criminal trials. Defense attorneys, public defenders, prosecuting attorneys, judges, and others who earn a living serving the court fall into this category.…
In recent decades erosion has become a major issue to beaches around Australia, since beaches are temporary features. There is always sand being removed and sand being added to them, often, they change drastically during the year, depending upon the frequency of storms. Eventually, a beach erodes because the supply of sand to the beach cannot keep up with the loss of sand to the sea. The Sand dunes and vegetation help to hold the sand in place when wind or water tries to erode it away. The environment can be affected by erosion in several ways. First and the most obvious, houses that are built along the shore are at risk of being washed away if more sand is being removed from the beach in the winter, and not enough sand is returned in the summer. Secondly, animals that live on the beach are at risk for losing their homes. The amount of sand on the beach, and how it is deposited can also affect the shape of the shoreline, which can have an effect on the type of waves that are produced at the beach. The type of waves produced at the beach will also ultimately have an impact on beach erosion.…
In the Northwest coastal zone, the effects of sea level rise, coastal erosion, floods, threats to buildings and habitats, and increasing ocean acidity present a major threat to the Northwest. Coastal areas, tidal areas, and beaches will decline in quality because of sea level rise, particularly where habitats can’t move inland because of terrain setbacks or barriers from human constructions. Species such as shorebirds and forage fish will be at harm and coastal communities would be at a greater risk from these coastal storms. These estimates lie between 2.6 and 6.6 ft in sea level by the year 2100.…
As this hurricane season in Florida is supposed to be the strongest in four years, the treat of inland flooding increases. The biggest threat for coastal buildings is wave run up. High winds in storms pushes much water than usual on beaches, which is called a surge. On top of the high water, waves crash into land causing the wave run up. The reason this problem is becoming more serious is the Earth is getting warmer. Barrior reefs in the ocean act as the first line of defense for these surges. They cut down the wave so by the time it reaches land it is not as powerful. The warmer oceans are killing the coral that makes up the reef, therefore, making the reff less effective in slowing down a wave. The warming of the Earth is threating coastal…
With the rising height of the sea level the culture that exists on the coast will begin to change, or cease to exist. The Disappearing shoreline is a warning to us and if we cannot fix the situation then we must engage it, we must adapt. Change within our society needs to occur, we are not trying to fix the problem, which has always been the argument but we must now adapt, we must now engage what is going to occur instead of trying to hide it or running away from the truth physical and psychologically. If we are going to continue to exist on this planet, then we must alter ourselves for adaption.…
4. Movement of sand parallel to the coast by wave action, wind, and currents is known as long shore transport.…
even when there is considerable uncertainty or lack of data. Thus, the approach is ideal…
To what extent can preparedness and planning mitigate the effects of volcanic hazards? (40 marks)…
The islands were formed because there is a hot spot that is located in the Earth's mantle and underneath the southeastern part of Hawaii. Over the last seventy million years, this hot spot only marginally changed its location. The hot spot caused innumerable lava eruptions that built volcanoes under the sea. These volcanoes would ultimately grow upwards until they form islands. However, the volcanoes did not erupt infinitely because the seafloor under it was moving constantly, at a rate of 7 to 9 cm per year, across the hot spot in a northwestward direction. In time, every volcano there would be ripped away from the hot spot and transported northwestward. This is what happened to the active volcanoes on the Big Island, who would be replaced…
The ongoing concern right now is the rise in sea level due to glacial ice melting and causing sea level to rise. The rise in sea level could have the potential to not only swallow land along the coast, but to dump salt water in otherwise fresh water habitats such as marshes and wetlands. The infiltration of this salt water will create an unstable environment for many of the animals that call the fresh water habitats their home. Just a slight change in the ecosystem can greatly affect the symbiotic relationships between the animals and organisms that are native to these areas.…
1. As seawater reaches farther inland, it can cause destructive erosion, flooding of wetlands, contamination of aquifers and agricultural soils, and lost habitat for fish, birds, and plants.…