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Researchers predict that beach erosion will affect a great part of California.
STATES CHRONICLE – Scientists predict massive beach erosion in Southern California, indicating that more than half of the beaches could erode back to the sea cliffs by 2100. One of the causes of this severe beach erosion is the rise of the sea level. The new study was published on March 27. Researchers used an innovative computer model to foretell the effects of the increased sea levels on the shoreline as well as the what changes occur in storm patterns due to global warming.
Souther California beaches could be affected by erosion in the near future
Specialists revealed that with restricted human intervention, between 31% and 67% of the Southern California beaches could vanish over the next eighty years if the sea level reaches somewhere between 3.3 feet and 6.5 feet. To preserve these beaches, humans should intervene. Sean Vitousek, the lead author of the study, argued that California is famous for its fantastic beaches which became an iconic feature of the area.
Unfortunately, losing all these beaches could actually happen, leading towards an economic and touristic crisis due to the losses. Vitousek stated that it is not all about the money, but about the safety of the residents. If all these massive territories with beaches will disappear, there will be no protection swath of sand between the locals and the sea and their homes, businesses and infrastructure will be impaired.
They indicate that beach erosion would also cause a disaster in tourism
Vitousek was a post-doctoral fellow student at the US Geological Survey when this study was conceived. Now, he is a professor in the Department of Civil and Materials Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The new study was published in the American Geophysical Union’s Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. The new computer model analyzes how sand moves in perpendicular and parallel lines on beaches
It is also bound to examine the historical positions of the shorelines, but also the alterations determined by cycles and waves like the warming phenomenon El Nino. Based on the data provided by researchers, the reliability of the study was proved by accurately reproducing shoreline alterations between 1995 and 2010. Patrick Barnard, a USGS geologist, stated that pricey interventions would be needed in save the integrity of these beaches. These interventions would be crucial for the economy of South California.
Image source: flickr
