The NuShore approach to Total Beach Management is to use Nature’s forces of Wind, Waves and Tidal Currents to reverse the effects of erosion and regenerate dry beachfront. It also effectively provides three levels of storm protection for upland structures and increases the habitat for marine life and shorebirds.
The first level of storm protection is provided by the installation of wave attenuation devices in the outer bounds of the nearshore. These pyramid structures constructed of marine grade concrete are initially positioned as emerged breakwaters.
Project Area With Artificial Reefs Installed...
Flat side of structure faces seaward. Pointed edge faces landward.
With the flat side of the structures facing the incoming waves, the greatest resistance is obtained. With the pointed side of the structures facing the shore, backwash from the reduced energy waves are passively dissipated between the structures.
*Two rows of structures three feet apart with the second row positioned between structures in the first. The resistance is 91.7% from a two-dimensional perspective. With the first row five feet apart, the resistance decreases to 82%.
The breakwater configuration is designed to force larger waves to break at the wave attenuation devices and refract around the breakwater on both sides scooping primarily cross-shore sand into the breakwater shadow between the structures and the shoreline. The breakwaters should be configured in such a manner as to create salients of sand at the shoreline.
These Wave Attenuation Devices provide the first level of storm protection for upland structures and provide a means to enhance the marine habitat giving shelter to fish and other marine life and providing surface area for the natural growth of coral, barnacles and oysters.
The second level of storm protection involves widening the beach and extending the shoreline seaward. This is accomplished through the temporary installation of a series of NuShore porous groynes from just above the mean high waterline seaward approximately 150 feet (50 meters).
Project Area Under Total Beach Management...
The porous groynes act as a catalyst to the change in currents created by the structures. The sand is naturally pushed into the groyne field from both directions, creating a salient.
When the beach widens to the desired width, the NuShore porous groynes may be removed and stored off the beach to be reinstalled in the event of a catastrophic storm event.
If the wave attenuation structures in the breakwaters cause too much sand buildup that would interfere with the longshore sand transport, the wave attenuation devices may be repositioned in deeper water, lessening the resistance to waves and putting the beach in a stable state of equilibrium. Repositioning these structures is accomplished by inserting an inflatable lift bag into the structure, inflating it until the structure rises, reposition the structure and deflate the liftbag. Widened beaches create the opportunity for windblown sand to travel to the dune system.
Dune fencing and native vegetation plantings capture the windblown sand to help regenerate dunes, the third and final level of storm protection for upland structures.
