Washed up boats and beach erosion, after storm swell, Santa Barbara, California. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
Excerpts;
Last winter’s El Niño might have felt weak to residents of Southern California, but it was in fact one of the most powerful climate events of the past 145 years. If such severe El Niño events become more common in the future as some studies suggest they might, the California coast — home to more than 25 million people — may become increasingly vulnerable to coastal hazards. And that’s independent of projected sea level rise…
Read Full Article, Science Daily (02-14-2017)
Severe West Coast Erosion During 2015-16 El Niño; USGS (02-14-2017)
Beach Bashing; UCSB Current News (02-14-2017)
New research conducted by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and their colleagues at UC Santa Barbara and six other institutions found that during the 2015-16 El Niño winter beach erosion on the Pacific coast was 76 percent above normal, and that most beaches in California eroded beyond historical extremes…
Worst erosion in 150 years tears 180 feet from SF’s Ocean Beach; SF Gate (02-15-2017)
The beaches lining the coast between Mexico and Canada form a protective barrier that keeps the turbulent ocean from eating away at seaside cliffs and flooding low-lying coastal towns and cities, scientists say…
