Beach Nourishment in the Gulf of Mexico

Attempts to stabilize the shore can greatly influence rates of shoreline change. Beach nourishment in particular will bias rates of observed shoreline change toward accretion or stability, even though the natural beach, in the absence of nourishment, would be eroding. Trembanis and Pilkey (1998) prepared a summary of identifiable beach nourishment projects in the Gulf Coast region that had been conducted before 1996. Those records were used to identify shoreline segments that had been influenced by beach nourishment. Supplemental information regarding beach nourishment was collected from agencies familiar with nourishment projects in the State. All records were compiled to create a GIS layer depicting the spatial extents of nourishment [...]