Piling sand to stop erosion ultimately made the land sink, study says

dredging-louisiana
Dredging and sand berm construction in coastal Louisiana. Photo source: ©© Louisiana GOHSEP

Excerpts;

A new study underscores the unique difficulties Louisiana faces in maintaining its fragile delta and keeping the sea at bay: Researchers found work to replenish an eroding shoreline by pumping onto it massive amounts of sand itself caused the land to sink…

Read Full Article, NOLA

Lost Louisiana: The Race to Reclaim Vanished Land Back From The Sea, Guardian UK (10-15-2014)

Louisiana Rethinks Its Sand Berms, The New York Times (11-09-2010)

Caminada Headland, Louisiana; By Joe Kelley (10-01-2011)
Caminada Headland is a 22.5 km (14 mile) long beach (part of which is called Elmer’s Island) that projects out in to the Gulf of Mexico from the central Mississippi River Delta. This undeveloped beach was once an unbroken stretch of fine sand with extraordinary fishing and bird-watching opportunities…

Save beach from renourishment, Pensacola News Journal (12-12-2015)

Editorial: Beach Replenishment is No Cure-All, Asburry Park Press (05-14-2015)

Is Beach Renourishment Worth The Money? WWAY News (02-16-2015)

Waikiki Beach Eroding Less Than A Year After $2.2M Sand Restoration, Pacific Business News (01-24-2013)

Palm Beach Mid-Town Dredge Project, A Youtube Video (02-04-2015)
“Beach nourishment projects like this have become commonplace along the US East and Gulf Coasts. These projects have immediate environmental impacts through burial of nearshore habitat and increased turbidity during project placement.The cumulative environmental impacts of doing this repeatedly on the same beach while conducting projects from Maine to Texas is unknown. But, we should be concerned. ” —Robert S. Young, PhD, Director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, Professor, Coastal Geology, Western Carolina University

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