Adapting to Erosion in Mexico EarthCache
Adapting to Erosion in Mexico
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The Caribbean region is green and fertile, cooled by trade winds. It is located in the tropics and extends in an arc of over 4000 km. Three marine geographical features are evident – the outer ring of mainly coral islands with white beaches, the second is an inner ring of more volcanic islands with black sands, as well as a third inner ring. There are several nearby islands in the coastal areas of the Caribbean countries are characterized by differing features such as coral reefs, large and small sand barriers, mangroves, lagoons, river estuaries and high cliffs. Coral reefs continue to be formed in many areas of this region.
The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest salt water seas with an area of about 1,000,000 square miles. It is home to about 29% of the world’s coral reefs which cover about 20,000 square miles. When the water temperature exceeds 85 degrees F for a long period of time, it can endanger the coral reefs, which support some of the most diverse habitats in the world. Microscopic plants called zooanthellae which provide food for the coral and give them color, die off. Sometimes, during a high tide, the sand is affected - thus tide and erosion.
Along this beach area, you will notice there are areas that seem more protected than others. You will see that the local inhabitants have adapted to the strong possibility of erosion, by installing a man-made protection. It is speculated that the level of erosion along the beachfront is from a combination of natural and man-made causes — waves and wind, but also structures such as piers and breakwalls that prevent the natural rebuilding of beaches.
Individual resorts are taking a piecemeal approach to the problem — installing breakwalls and giant sand "whales" that sometimes work and sometimes don't, but almost always have an effect on neighboring properties.. A hurricane, global warming, even a wind shift all cause evolutionary, sometimes revolutionary, changes to a beach. The surf, apparently, is more than just beautiful to look at and fun to frolic in. It can be quite destructive.
The issues of coastal erosion and beach replenishment/nourishment are commonly related. Coastal erosion manifests itself through two processes: natural and man-induced. An important challenge is our capability to separate the two for a given geographic location or episode. Beach replenishment or nourishment has increasingly become a preferred method of reducing or halting erosion along coastlines throughout the world. The reasons can range from purely economic (e.g., recreation; tourism) to public safety (e.g., collapse of cliffs above occupied beaches; destruction of houses and businesses). One of the first steps to manage sediment along a regional coastline is to identify the physical locations and rates of erosion from a geologic perspective only, regardless of cultural conditions and influences. After this identification is complete, a next step would be to then overlay the cultural conditions and influences. These could include such
variables as population, development, jurisdiction (public, private), economics, safety, and anticipated future conditions, among others. These variables could be weighted and then
combined in a quantitative fashion to rank “severity of need” for intervention with beach replenishment/nourishment
Question: Please email the cache owner the following 3 answers. In order to claim this cache, email me the answers and perform the following tasks:
1. Please measure the approximate length of the structure which has been built to protect this area?
2. What lies within this protection?
3. What affect does this have on the protected area?
4 . Post a photo of yourself holding your GPS with the structure in the background. (This is optional)
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