[Coral-List] BEACH EROSION AND REEF

Sarah Frias-Torres Sarah.FriasTorres at noaa.gov
Wed May 31 11:04:31 EDT 2006


I'm contacting you for an urgent matter.
Today, I was contacted by a couple of journalists from Barcelona,  Spain,
in regards to a coastal development.

The local government plans to build a 2.5 km uninterrupted submarine
concrete reef, about 200 m from the beach, with only a 2 m clearance from
the water surface to the top of the reef.  This is to stabilize sand 
on the beach.

A number of scientists from Barcelona (me among them) are concerned that
such a monolith will only worsen beach erosion (due to marina construction
on either side of the beach), diminish water exchange and water quality. 
I talked to the journalists and suggested that it is better to imitate a
natural reef, where there are spaces for the currents and waves to break.

At any rate, one of the journalists wants to compile information of  any
similar experiences (using artificial reefs to stablize beach sand, or
accomplish beach re-nourishment) in the USA or anywhere else. How other 
people have solved the problem of beach erosion, what has worked and what 
has not

If you can provide any information, please contact David Placer at
dplacer at elperiodico.com <https://webmail.rsmas.miami.edu/src/compose.php?send_to=dplacer%40elperiodico.com>. He speaks fluent English and Spanish.

The sea creatures of Barcelona will be thankful for your help
Sarah Frias-Torres, PhD
RSMAS-University of Miami



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