Coastal erosion is common in most beaches throughout the world and results from the loss of several feet of sand to the oceans each year. This loss is caused by changes in the supply of sand to a beach and the rate at which ocean levels rise or fall. Despite not occurring drastically enough to notice on a daily beach walk, coastal erosion and sea level rise are huge environmental issues facing coastal habitats and cities.

According to NASA, global sea level currently rises by 3.3 mm each year. This number is increasing by 1 mm each decade due to climate change. It might not seem like much, but when visualized this is actually quite substantial. Enough water is added to the world’s oceans each year to cover the entire state of Texas by 1 meter. This causes sea level to rise and gives the ocean access to more land that is eroded over time. Natural blockades to flooding like mangrove swamps and barrier islands are also eroded or drowned, increasing coastal vulnerability.  

For every inch that sea levels rise an average of 2.5 meters of the coast is lost, a statistic that is only accelerating in certain places. Cities bordering the Gulf of Mexico such as New Orleans are classified as having a very high vulnerability to sea level rise. Coastal Louisiana loses about a football field of its wetlands every 100 minutes due to rising tides and subsiding land. This combination poses a risk to local ecosystems as well as the coast’s residents.

Sea level rise and coastal erosion are damaging to not only our environment but also human infrastructure. Coastal highways, beachfront properties, and businesses that rely on beach tourism are susceptible to routine high tide flooding, which has only become frequent in the past two decades. This becomes detrimental as protective measures like storm drains and seawalls are not equipped to hold high influxes of water at such a constant rate. As such, coastal cities around the world are beginning to face tough decisions when it comes to the impacts of sea level rise. They must decide whether to pour millions of dollars into combatting its effects or consider moving away if the resources do not exist.  

Stay tuned for future posts on how to aid in the prevention of sea level rise and coastal erosion in your community!