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Shoreline Protection

Shoreline Protection

Shoreline Protection is the attenuation of wave energy by reefs that protects coastal communities against shoreline erosion and flooding during storms, hurricanes, and tsunamis that can cause property damage and loss of life.

CMap

Biological monitoring is the use of a biological entity as a detector and its response as a measure to determine environmental conditions. Construction codes and regulations control the location, number, and development of construction projects, including buildings, homes, and coastal structures. Contact Uses, such as biological additions, physical damage, and biological harvesting, are activities in which humans create pressures through direct contact with the ecosystem. Culture sectors contribute to the social, emotional, and intellectual well-being of the community. Discharges are the intentional or unintentional distribution of chemicals, debris, or other pollution, into the environment as a consequence of human activities. Economic markets and policies can influence financing and insurance, as well as drive consumer demand for certain types of goods and services. Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems . The Health sector includes groups which provide for human health through medical and social care, and maintenance and disposal of waste. Infrastructural policies are responses, including zoning, codes, or regulations, that impact the distribution and functioning of socio-economic sectors that provide infrastructure. Infrastructural sectors provide the physical, organizational, and technical support for the economy to function, including construction, utilities, transportation, finance, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and technical services. Landscape Changes are alterations of the natural landscape through human activities, including coastal development, shoreline armoring, impervious surfaces, deforestation, or soil disturbance, which can alter water flow patterns and lead to pollutant runoff into coastal systems. Landuse management pertains to responses that determine the use of land for development and construction. The Reef Ecosystem includes a suite of abiotic variables that form the physical and chemical environment. Pressures are human activities that create stress on the environment. The state of the Reef Ecosystem is the condition, in terms of quantity and quality, of the abiotic and biotic components including physical, chemical, and biological variables. Reef Habitat is the abundance, distribution, and condition of the benthic components of the reef ecosystem. Reef Inhabitants are all of the motile components of the reef ecosystem, including fish, invertebrates, marine reptiles and mammals, and are quantified by their abundance, distribution, and condition. Reef Life is the abundance, distribution, and condition of the biological components of the coral reef ecosystem. Regulating Services are benefits obtained from ecosystem processes that regulate the environment, including erosion regulation, natural hazard regulation, and climate regulation. Responses are actions taken by groups or individuals in society and government to prevent, compensate, ameliorate or adapt to changes in Ecosystem Services or their perceived value. Shelter includes sectors that provide for the comfort and protection of humans in relation to their living spaces. Shoreline armoring is the construction of bulkheads, seawalls, riprap or any other structure used to harden a shoreline against erosion. Shoreline Protection is the attenuation of wave energy by reefs that protects coastal communities against shoreline erosion and flooding during storms, hurricanes, and tsunamis that can cause property damage and loss of life. Socio-Economic Drivers include the sectors that fulfill human needs for Food & Raw Materials, Water, Shelter, Health, Culture, and Security, and the Infrastructure that supports the sectors. Scleractinian, or stony corals, are marine animals with hard skeletons composed of calcium carbonate. Storms and hurricanes are periodic events of high precipitation, winds, wave action, and flooding that can potentially cause damage to reef habitat, property, or human lives. Valuation is the process of estimating the worth, merit, or desirability of benefits derived from ecosystems. Wetland and reef restoration are activities to directly improve, reestablish, or repair degraded ecosystems. A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally.

CMap Description

Waves encountering reefs experience significant reductions in wave height and wave energy. Wave attenuation benefits coastal communities by reducing erosion of beaches, and reducing potential damage to property and loss of life during natural hazards, such as storms, hurricanes, or tsunamis. Many of the same socio-economic sectors that benefit from shoreline protection also create pressures on the reef through coastal development, pollution, and harvesting. Valuation methods and finance and insurance policies can be used to determine the value of shoreline protection in the presence of reefs. Landuse management, including zoning and construction codes, can reduce the risk of damage from flooding events and the dependence on shoreline protection. Artificial breakwaters can be constructed to replace or supplement natural reefs.

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