and Menezes, 2001), India (Saravanan et al., 2011),
Portugal (e.g., Coelho, Lopes, and Freitas, 2009), France
(Sabatier et al., 2009), and so on.
Artificial beaches
When beaches erode along developed shorelines, they are
often replenished by sand dredged from offshore and
pumped back onto the shore as remediation. Efforts are
made to ensure that the dredged sediment closely approximates the nature (size, shape, density, durability, composition, and color) of native beach sands onshore (e.g.,
Finkl and Walker, 2005). Replenished beaches are
engineered to approximate natural morphodynamic beach
states so that they perform as sacrificial sand deposits over
desired time frames. Some artificial beaches may erode
very quickly if impacted by storms and thus fall short of
the design life, while others, having greater durability,
may exceed the design life, as in the case of Miami Beach,
Florida, which has the longest half-life of any renourished
beach in America (e.g., Finkl and Walker, 2005). The
practice of building artificial beaches, as a softengineering shore protection measure, is now so widespread worldwide that many renourished beaches are perceived as natural formations. The practice is, however, not
without environmental concerns as borrow sources do not
always closely match native beach sands to cause
unwanted impacts in the coastal zone (e.g., Bonne, 2010).
Summary
Beaches occur in all latitudes, from tropical to polar
regions, and lie on the interface between land and water
to form ocean, bay (sound, estuary), and river beaches.
They are mostly composed of sand (silicates and carbonates), but there is great compositional and morphological
variation between sites. Beaches have great economic
and environmental value, serving as tourist destinations
and providing habitat as well as buffering impacts from
storm waves and surges. Some beaches are artificial, and
although their placement is controversial among certain
special interest groups, their benefits generally outweigh
disadvantages when properly engineered and placed.
The morphodynamic classification of beach state finds
global application, provides greater understanding of
Beach Processes, and contributes to beach safety education programs and surf life saving to reduce public risk.
Bibliography
Anthony, E. J., Gardel, A., Gratiot, N., Proisy, C., Allison, M. A.,
Dolique, F., and Fromard, F., 2010. The Amazon-influenced
muddy coast of South America: a review of mud-bank-shoreline
interactions. Earth-Science Reviews, 103(2010), 99–121.
Benedet, L., Finkl, C. W., and Klein, A. H. F., 2004.
Morphodynamic classification of beaches on the Atlantic coast
of Florida: geographical variability of beach types, beach safety,
and Coastal Hazards. Journal of Coastal Research (Special Issue
No. 39), 360–365.
Bird, E. C. F., 1984. Coasts: An Introduction to Coastal Geomorphology. Oxford: Blackwell, 320 p.
Bird, E. C. F., and Schwartz, M. L. (eds.), 1985. The World’s Coastline. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1071 p.
Bonne, W. M. I., 2010. European marine sand and gravel resources:
evaluation and environmental impacts of extraction – an introduction. In Lancker, V. V.; Bonne, W., Uriarte, A., and Collins,
M (eds.), EUMARSAND: European Marine Sand and Gravel
Resources. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue #51, i–vi.
Carter, R. W. G., and Orford, J. D., 1984. Coarse clastic barrier
beaches: a discussion of the distinctive dynamic and morphosedimentary characteristics. In Greenwood, B., and Davis, R.
A. (eds.), Hydrodynamics and Sedimentation in Wave-Dominated
Coastal Environments. Marine Geology, 60, 377–389.
COE (Corps of Engineers), (1984). Shore Protection Manual.
Vicksburg, MS: Coastal Engineering Research Center, 2 Vols.
Available in electronic form: http://openlibrary.org/books/
OL3001149M/Shore_protection_manual; and as the Coastal
Engineering Manual at http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/cem
Coelho, C., Lopes, D., and Freitas, P., 2009. Morphodynamics classification of Areão Beach, Portugal. Journal of Coastal
Research, (Special issue No. 56), 34–38.
Davies, J. L., 1980. Geographical Variation in Coastal Development. London: Longman, 204 p.
Davis, R. A., 1978. Coastal Sedimentary Environments. New York:
Springer, 420 p.
Davis, R. A., and FitzGerald, D. M., 2004. Beaches and Coasts.
Malden, MA: Blackwell, 419 p.
Davis, R. A., and Fox, W. T., 1971. Beach and Nearshore Dynamics
in Eastern Lake Michigan. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan
University. Technical Report No. 4 (ONR Contract 388–092),
145 p.
Dolan, R., Hayden, B., Hornberger, G., Zieman, J., and Vincent, M.,
(1972). Classification of the Coastal Environments of the World.
Part I, The Americas. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia. Technical Report No. 1 (ONR Contract 389–158), 13 p.
Finkl, C. W., 2004. Coastal classification: systematic approaches to
consider in the development of a comprehensive scheme. Journal of Coastal Research, 20(1), 166–213.
Finkl, C. W., and Walker, H. J., 2005. Beach nourishment. In
Schwartz, M. (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic (now Springer),
pp. 147–161.
Hardisty, J., 1990. Beaches: Form and Processes. London: Unwin
Hyman, 324 p.
Jackson, J. A., 1997. Glossary of geology. Denver, Colorado: American Geological Institute, 769 p.
Jennings, R., and Shulmeister, J., 2002. A field based classification
scheme for gravel beaches. Marine Geology, 186(3–4), 211–228.
Johnson, D. W., 1919. Shore processes and shoreline development.
New York: Wiley, 584 p.
Klein, A. H. F., and Menezes, J. T., 2001. Beach morphodynamic
and profile sequence for a headland bay coast. Journal of
Coastal Research, 17, 812–835.
Komar, P. D., 1998. Beach Processes and Sedimentation. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Masselink, G., Hughes, M. G., and Knight, J., 2011. Introduction to
Coastal Processes and Geomorphology. London: Arnold.
Merriam-Webster, 1994. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English
Usage. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 989 p.
Morgan, J. O., Coleman, J. M., and Gagliano, S. W., 1963.
Mudlumps at the Mouth of South Pass, Mississippi River; Sedimentology, Paleontology, Structures, Origin and Relation to
Deltaic Processes. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University
Studies. Coastal Studies Series No. 10.
Pethick, J., 1984. An Introduction to Coastal Geomorphology.
London: Edward Arnold, 260 p.
Pilkey, O. H., 2003. A Celebration of the World’s Barrier Islands.
New York: Columbia University, 309 p.
46
BEACH
Portugal (e.g., Coelho, Lopes, and Freitas, 2009), France
(Sabatier et al., 2009), and so on.
Artificial beaches
When beaches erode along developed shorelines, they are
often replenished by sand dredged from offshore and
pumped back onto the shore as remediation. Efforts are
made to ensure that the dredged sediment closely approximates the nature (size, shape, density, durability, composition, and color) of native beach sands onshore (e.g.,
Finkl and Walker, 2005). Replenished beaches are
engineered to approximate natural morphodynamic beach
states so that they perform as sacrificial sand deposits over
desired time frames. Some artificial beaches may erode
very quickly if impacted by storms and thus fall short of
the design life, while others, having greater durability,
may exceed the design life, as in the case of Miami Beach,
Florida, which has the longest half-life of any renourished
beach in America (e.g., Finkl and Walker, 2005). The
practice of building artificial beaches, as a softengineering shore protection measure, is now so widespread worldwide that many renourished beaches are perceived as natural formations. The practice is, however, not
without environmental concerns as borrow sources do not
always closely match native beach sands to cause
unwanted impacts in the coastal zone (e.g., Bonne, 2010).
Summary
Beaches occur in all latitudes, from tropical to polar
regions, and lie on the interface between land and water
to form ocean, bay (sound, estuary), and river beaches.
They are mostly composed of sand (silicates and carbonates), but there is great compositional and morphological
variation between sites. Beaches have great economic
and environmental value, serving as tourist destinations
and providing habitat as well as buffering impacts from
storm waves and surges. Some beaches are artificial, and
although their placement is controversial among certain
special interest groups, their benefits generally outweigh
disadvantages when properly engineered and placed.
The morphodynamic classification of beach state finds
global application, provides greater understanding of
Beach Processes, and contributes to beach safety education programs and surf life saving to reduce public risk.
Bibliography
Anthony, E. J., Gardel, A., Gratiot, N., Proisy, C., Allison, M. A.,
Dolique, F., and Fromard, F., 2010. The Amazon-influenced
muddy coast of South America: a review of mud-bank-shoreline
interactions. Earth-Science Reviews, 103(2010), 99–121.
Benedet, L., Finkl, C. W., and Klein, A. H. F., 2004.
Morphodynamic classification of beaches on the Atlantic coast
of Florida: geographical variability of beach types, beach safety,
and Coastal Hazards. Journal of Coastal Research (Special Issue
No. 39), 360–365.
Bird, E. C. F., 1984. Coasts: An Introduction to Coastal Geomorphology. Oxford: Blackwell, 320 p.
Bird, E. C. F., and Schwartz, M. L. (eds.), 1985. The World’s Coastline. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1071 p.
Bonne, W. M. I., 2010. European marine sand and gravel resources:
evaluation and environmental impacts of extraction – an introduction. In Lancker, V. V.; Bonne, W., Uriarte, A., and Collins,
M (eds.), EUMARSAND: European Marine Sand and Gravel
Resources. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue #51, i–vi.
Carter, R. W. G., and Orford, J. D., 1984. Coarse clastic barrier
beaches: a discussion of the distinctive dynamic and morphosedimentary characteristics. In Greenwood, B., and Davis, R.
A. (eds.), Hydrodynamics and Sedimentation in Wave-Dominated
Coastal Environments. Marine Geology, 60, 377–389.
COE (Corps of Engineers), (1984). Shore Protection Manual.
Vicksburg, MS: Coastal Engineering Research Center, 2 Vols.
Available in electronic form: http://openlibrary.org/books/
OL3001149M/Shore_protection_manual; and as the Coastal
Engineering Manual at http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/cem
Coelho, C., Lopes, D., and Freitas, P., 2009. Morphodynamics classification of Areão Beach, Portugal. Journal of Coastal
Research, (Special issue No. 56), 34–38.
Davies, J. L., 1980. Geographical Variation in Coastal Development. London: Longman, 204 p.
Davis, R. A., 1978. Coastal Sedimentary Environments. New York:
Springer, 420 p.
Davis, R. A., and FitzGerald, D. M., 2004. Beaches and Coasts.
Malden, MA: Blackwell, 419 p.
Davis, R. A., and Fox, W. T., 1971. Beach and Nearshore Dynamics
in Eastern Lake Michigan. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan
University. Technical Report No. 4 (ONR Contract 388–092),
145 p.
Dolan, R., Hayden, B., Hornberger, G., Zieman, J., and Vincent, M.,
(1972). Classification of the Coastal Environments of the World.
Part I, The Americas. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia. Technical Report No. 1 (ONR Contract 389–158), 13 p.
Finkl, C. W., 2004. Coastal classification: systematic approaches to
consider in the development of a comprehensive scheme. Journal of Coastal Research, 20(1), 166–213.
Finkl, C. W., and Walker, H. J., 2005. Beach nourishment. In
Schwartz, M. (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic (now Springer),
pp. 147–161.
Hardisty, J., 1990. Beaches: Form and Processes. London: Unwin
Hyman, 324 p.
Jackson, J. A., 1997. Glossary of geology. Denver, Colorado: American Geological Institute, 769 p.
Jennings, R., and Shulmeister, J., 2002. A field based classification
scheme for gravel beaches. Marine Geology, 186(3–4), 211–228.
Johnson, D. W., 1919. Shore processes and shoreline development.
New York: Wiley, 584 p.
Klein, A. H. F., and Menezes, J. T., 2001. Beach morphodynamic
and profile sequence for a headland bay coast. Journal of
Coastal Research, 17, 812–835.
Komar, P. D., 1998. Beach Processes and Sedimentation. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Masselink, G., Hughes, M. G., and Knight, J., 2011. Introduction to
Coastal Processes and Geomorphology. London: Arnold.
Merriam-Webster, 1994. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English
Usage. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 989 p.
Morgan, J. O., Coleman, J. M., and Gagliano, S. W., 1963.
Mudlumps at the Mouth of South Pass, Mississippi River; Sedimentology, Paleontology, Structures, Origin and Relation to
Deltaic Processes. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University
Studies. Coastal Studies Series No. 10.
Pethick, J., 1984. An Introduction to Coastal Geomorphology.
London: Edward Arnold, 260 p.
Pilkey, O. H., 2003. A Celebration of the World’s Barrier Islands.
New York: Columbia University, 309 p.
46
BEACH