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Long Beach Erosion

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Throughout history, the coastline of Sandy Bay has been subject to erosion. The areas focussed on in this study are Nutgrove and Long Beach. Erosion was first documented in this area in 1813. Sea level rise and the increase in the frequency and severity of weather events is currently having an impact on the land cover of both Nutgrove and Long Beach and this is erosion is likely to increase as time passes and climate change progresses.
In an attempt to combat erosion and interest more people in visiting this area an ongoing project has been implemented along Long Beach and Nutgrove Beach. The project aims to reduce the rate of erosion and make the area a desirable place for people to visit for many years to come. One of the most recent additions …show more content…

The seawall was constructed at Long Beach to prevent further coastal recession and to protect personal properties, community areas and infrastructure threatened by erosion along Long Beach. A seawall has been present at Long Beach for many years but the current seawall was officially opened in 2010. I 2010 when the seawall was updated a new promenade was also constructed to encourage the use of the area. The construction of both the seawall and the promenade totalled a cost of $5.6 million. By preventing further coastal recession, the properties and community areas situated along the coastline and at low elevations are protected from becoming inundated or damaged as a result of erosion. Seawalls in some cases have been known to disrupt the natural flow of sand along the beach and lead to increased erosion in front of the wall as well as at the end of the wall. Although this increase in erosion is a risk, the presence of this potential issue is not currently obvious at Long Beach. The seawall at long beach was constructed with a slope which dissipates the energy from the waves. By using this design there is less risk of further erosion as a result of the seawall and the seawall is hit with less force and is less likely to become damaged from the force of the waves in the near future. As well as the design of the seawall, the seawall is also strengthened using …show more content…

Along Nutgrove Beach vegetation management has been implemented to prevent and reduce future erosion. This has been done by planting plants in the dunes in the hope of the plants trapping the sand and preventing further erosion. As well as vegetation management to protect the dunes, a fence has also been assembled in front of the dunes to prevent people from accessing the dunes and causing further erosion to the dunes and damaging the vegetation. This has been successful and has significantly reduced the extent of the erosion of the sand dunes at Nutgrove Beach.
Around the foreshore of both Long Beach and Nutgrove Beach, rocks have been added to the foreshore to prevent further erosion of the beach. This has been successful in reducing the amount of sand that is drawn out to sea.
The waves flowing up onto the beach have caused sand to wash up into the areas where there are stairs coming down from the seawall. This clearly highlights the force of the waves and the movement of the sand that is occurring as a

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