Complexity Digest 2001.43 - 13

22-Oct-2001

They Waved Bye to Surf Idea, Wired News Bookmark and Share

Editor's Note: Control of coastal dynamics through currents and waves can have major impact on beach erosion, which can have a significant social implications, especially in combination with sea-level rise.

Excerpts: The reef was made of geotextile sandbags -- the type normally used to prevent landslides. (…)

The reef is located so that it's never exposed, even when at the lowest tides.

In the first part of the project 110 bags were laid and then, last April, another 90 were added as an additional $200,000 in funding was provided by the Coastal Conservancy.

Although it looked as if it would work in computer models, in practice the reef failed to deliver the waves.