The South Carolina Coast I. Natural Processes and Erosion

by Timothy W. Kana, Coastal Science & Engineering, Inc, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Barrier Islands: Process and Management

Abstract:

The heart of South Carolina's beach erosion problem in South Carolina lies along those 26 miles of beach which are developed and are apparently experiencing more rapid erosion. Principal among these areas are Pawleys Island, Folly Beach, parts of Edisto Beach, Fripp Island, and central Hilton Head (considered over a 50-year time frame). Whether or not anything can be done to save these beaches and development depends on better definition of the problem in each place. Each area needs an accounting of its sand resources (a 'sediment budget') and determination of the long-term sand-bypassing rates from adjacent inlets. Beach erosion in South Carolina has been a product of man's activities as much as the global effects of sea-level rise or periodic occurrences of storms. South Carolina is one of the few states in the United States where its beach erosion problems break down into manageable, discrete compartments. As counterpoint to South Carolina's densely populated beaches, the state has a 40-mile line of protected, and relatively inaccessible, barrier islands which form one of the great wildlife preserves of the East Coast.

Subject Headings: Beach accretion | Erosion | Coastal processes | Beaches | Coastal management | Islands | Beach protection and nourishment | United States | South Carolina

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