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  Articles and gems - Protecting sandy coasts
These web pages were written by Angelina Souren (who is a marine biogeochemist and geologist)
and contain background information for a field trip to the barrier
island Norderney in Germany (source picture on the right: CRS).
The trip was organized for 4th-year students working on a master's in technology and management at the University of Twente and took place in December 2000.
SmarterScience - then still known as Armadillo Research Services - was called in when a faculty member
became suddenly unavailable. The trickiest part of the project turned out to be getting from the hotel
in Hengelo to the campus only a few kilometers down the road (roadworks and lack of signposts).
 These
pages were mainly written for, and are dedicated to, those particular students. They may be useful to others
as well. This
Open University book
had been used during the classes that preceded the trip.
These pages do not contain a comprehensive review, but fairly basic information (not aimed at earth scientists).
They take a look at some phenomena that can be observed at sandy shores and discuss coastal defense measures.
Swinging Koen, Norderney, Germany
The sandy coast pictures on these pages are of Norderney in Germany, the Dutch North Sea shore
at Zandvoort, North Carolina, and the Gulf of Mexico in Florida's Tampa Bay area.
The pictures of the black New Zealand beaches show a different kind of sediment (volcanic material).
The CRS on Norderney kindly provided many files and figures.
The beach pictures of Norderney were taken on December 12, 2000. The pictures of Zandvoort
were taken on February 16, 2001. The Shell Key pictures were taken in December 1995.
The New Zealand pictures were taken in February 2001.
The picture files on this page have been kept relatively small.
Most pictures are linked to a
larger version. (Move your mouse over a picture. Does the mouse pointer
change into a hand? Then the picture is linked to a larger file that will show you much more detail.)
Sandy coasts are found all over the world, often on passive continent margins
(no subduction of continental plates).
The picture on the right shows the Audubon
Society marking birds' breeding grounds on Shell Key, Florida.
It's a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico (aerial picture of Egmont Key, a
similar barrier island, further to the south).
So why did we go to Norderney on December 12, 2000?
- Firstly, because it was relatively close to the University of Twente.
- Secondly, because each Wadden Island is strongly subjected
to erosion. The Island of Norderney is no exception.
- Thirdly, because on Norderney a
whole series of solid defenses was constructed: revetments, groins, seawalls.
This makes the island an interesting example of
civil engineering and the issues involved.
- Fourthly, because the Coastal Research Station of the
Lower Saxonian Central State Board for Ecology (CRS) is located on Norderney.
Norderney is therefore well researched.
The picture above (source: CRS) shows Norderney's ebb delta and solid defenses very well. (More details
about Norderney, the Wadden Sea area and coastal defenses will follow later.) First, let's look at
beaches, coastal phenomena, waves and sediment in general. Let's observe. Let's go back to our
observations on Norderney and let's add some observations from another beach (Zandvoort).
During our visit to Norderney, we looked at the solid defenses and at the W and NW beaches,
the areas were erosion takes place. We discussed waves, examined grain sizes and
sediment composition. Since it was high tide when we arrived, the western beaches were flooded
and could not be examined.
Links to tide sites:
Accretion (sedimentation) takes place at the eastern end of Norderney.
This part looks much more natural, but is also not as easily accessible as the western part.
The sandy coast pages:
previous page
© SmarterScience
http://www.smarterscience.com 
Most recent changes to this page:
November 24, 2007
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