Cronulla Beach storm erosion - Cronulla Beach:
Welcome to Cronulla Beach! Cronulla Beach has many things to do and see. It also has unique coastal features and structures (such as "The Wall" or the Cronulla Sea wall) and more! However, Cronulla Beach has had its fair share of problems! Most problems developed from severe natural weather events.
Geological Information:
At the Southern end of Cronulla Beach (South Cronulla Beach), particularly during 2022 and 2023 when many severe weather systems and or natural events occurred, was once all just sand and ramps to get onto Cronulla Beach. This changed due to severe weather events, conditions and systems causing many different problems and safety hazards, which were not just located at South Cronulla!
How storm erosion works:
When a thunderstorm or severe natural weather event such as king tides, winds, cyclones 🌀, etc move out to sea, this can cause hazardous coastal conditions (big waves, strong winds, higher than usual tides, etc). When this occurs and the waves and wind along the coastal beaches are big and strong, this results in big waves travelling so far up the beach that the sand and sometimes the surrounding terrain/objects are washed away (eroded and sometimes destroyed)! **See photo attached in description above ⬆️**
The sand and surrounding terrain/objects at the beach are eroded by a process called erosion. Erosion is a geological process which occurs when a mineral (dirt, sand, rock, terrain, etc) or objects (walls, buildings, roads, etc) are weathered by natural weather processes and events to the point they become brittle and or soft and start to either collapse, deteriorate, become weak and more! In the case of Cronulla Beach, the erosion with the beach and surrounding terrain was natural and severe! More than half the beach was lost and washed into the ocean. And at the same time, local council crews were trying desperately to replace the sand on the beach and repair the damaged objects around the beach affected by the severe erosion!
How storm erosion works (section 2):
As seen in the diagram (listed above ⬆️ in the description), storm waves build strength whilst coming into shore, they then roll across the sand and the beach and then drag some of the sand out to sea. Each time this happens, it takes more sand each time the waves roll across the beach and out to sea. When a storm hits and storm waves are rolling across the beach, they take much more sand and the waves can erode at the surrounding terrain (as seen in the photo above ⬆️ in the description).
Overtime, if the eroded sand and terrain is not replaced, there will be a dune scarp form on the beach. This will also erode to the point that trees, tree roots, rocks and more are exposed and or are washed into the sea. This can cause major safety hazards along beaches!
Cronulla Beach final results:
In the end by 2024 and 2025, Cronulla beach had been restored enough that the public could visit the beach without any dangers. They could also enjoy the beauty of the new beach setup (new access ramps and points, new sandstone rock sea wall and more)!
Logging Tasks:
DONT FORGET TO TAKE A PHOTO OF YOURSELF OR SOMETHING YOU OWN RELATED TO GEOCACHING (E.g. Trackable, Pen, Spare Logbook, Name Stamp etc) AT THE POSTED COORDINATES AND OR SITE AND UPLOD IT IN YOUR LOG!
Questions to answer:
Q1 - what type of waves cause the sand to erode and dune scarps to form?
Q2 - what gets exposed when a dune scarp is eroded more?
Q3 - observe - is there any significant signs of erosion on Cronulla Beach?
Q4 - observe - are there any dune scarps along Cronulla beach and at the posted coordinates?
Q5 - what are the 4 main weather conditions that help assist with and or that leads to beach erosion? (Try to include a weather condition not listed in the description that helps assist with and or that leads to beach erosion)
Logging Instructions: You may log your find immediately to maintain your TBs and Stats. However, please send us your answers via email or GC Messenger (DO NOT INCLUDE THEM IN YOUR LOG) within 10 to 14 days. Failure to comply may result in the deletion of your log. If you encounter any issues or require clarification, the cache owner will reach out to you.
FTF GOES TO: Wazza9 & Nana Nel
Congratulations 🥳 and we'll done!