Pardee Keynote Symposia
Highlights
P2. Identifying America's Most Vulnerable Oceanfront Communities: A Geological Perspective
Joseph T. Kelley, Rob Young, Orrin Pilkey
Storms are important natural processes on beaches. Undeveloped beaches not only withstand storm energy, but also need storms to migrate landward. Many beaches in the United States, however, are completely developed with buildings that often extend even seaward of the shoreline. Storms destroy the properties on these beaches, but houses are typically rebuilt, and often with public money. Poorly sited engineering structures exacerbate storm damage to buildings, jeopardizing the very existence of beaches. This session provides case histories and puts a geological focus on unsoundly developed beaches that are at perennial risk of destruction.
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