- Jun 3, 2007
- 1,191
- 2,002
- Detector(s) used
- A sharp eye, an AquaPulse and a finely tuned shrimp fork.
- Primary Interest:
- Shipwrecks
OK...someone poked my pet peeve and woke it up.
<rant on>
If there exists a county engineer that believes that the stuff they pump onto the beaches of Florida will do anything but foul the water and cover the reef on it's way back to where it belongs, said county engineer might want to go to work in a desert where sediment transport is not an issue. Beach sand will, indeed, move down the coast as it is affected by the prevailing longshore currents. It's called 'longshore sediment transport'. (See here: <Longshore drift - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia >)
With that said, beach sand that is naturally deposited does not share any but the most basic characteristics with sand that has been hauled in, pumped in, barged in or carried in on the backs of mermaids and unicorns. Beach sand is of a particular size, shape and weight that varies according to the geography, topology and fluid mechanics of a particular area. I could go on (and on and on), but I think this Wikipedia article would be more succinct if anyone is interested: < Beach nourishment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia >.
Beach renourishment is a ploy to encourage tourism by artificially widening the beach while enriching the members of the good ol' boys network that runs/maintains/supplies the tourism and construction industries. It does environmental damage in pursuit of greater hotel room occupancy and yes...it muddies the waters, covers up the reef, destroying the habitat of countless marine life forms and buries innumerable historical artifacts even further away from recovery, conservation and preservation.
<rant off>
I'm going to go work on my boat. Summer's coming.
<rant on>
If there exists a county engineer that believes that the stuff they pump onto the beaches of Florida will do anything but foul the water and cover the reef on it's way back to where it belongs, said county engineer might want to go to work in a desert where sediment transport is not an issue. Beach sand will, indeed, move down the coast as it is affected by the prevailing longshore currents. It's called 'longshore sediment transport'. (See here: <Longshore drift - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia >)
With that said, beach sand that is naturally deposited does not share any but the most basic characteristics with sand that has been hauled in, pumped in, barged in or carried in on the backs of mermaids and unicorns. Beach sand is of a particular size, shape and weight that varies according to the geography, topology and fluid mechanics of a particular area. I could go on (and on and on), but I think this Wikipedia article would be more succinct if anyone is interested: < Beach nourishment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia >.
Beach renourishment is a ploy to encourage tourism by artificially widening the beach while enriching the members of the good ol' boys network that runs/maintains/supplies the tourism and construction industries. It does environmental damage in pursuit of greater hotel room occupancy and yes...it muddies the waters, covers up the reef, destroying the habitat of countless marine life forms and buries innumerable historical artifacts even further away from recovery, conservation and preservation.
<rant off>
I'm going to go work on my boat. Summer's coming.
