| Oceanography > Issues > Archive > Volume 14 > Issue 1 |
2001, Oceanography 14(1):90, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2001.55
BOOK REVIEW | Beaches and Dunes of Developed Coasts
Book Information | Reviewer | First Paragraph | Full Review | Citation
Book Information
Beaches and Dunes of Developed Coasts
By Karl F. Nordstrom, 338 pages, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-47013-7
Reviewer
Gary B. Griggs | University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA
First Paragraph
As more and more people migrate to the world's coasts, their impacts are increasingly felt. In many countries, the majority of the population now lives few tens of kilometers of the coastline and as a result, the pressure on the coasts are being intensified. This book is a very clearly written and descriptive treatment of how and to what extent human activities have altered coastal landforms and processes. It details the many ways beaches and dunes are eliminated, altered, and replaced and the differences between natural landforms and the human artifacts that replace them. While there are many examples of human impacts that are easily recognizable to us all, Karl Nordstrom's treatment of these varying impacts is very thorough and systematic and also includes a myriad of activities that are not commonly appreciated or recognized. Activities treated include elimination of landforms, stabilization and destabilization, sand mining and nourishment, construction of every type imaginable (from boardwalks to breakwaters), waste disposal, military activities, channel alterations, sand supply reduction and disruption.
Full Review
Citation
Griggs, G.B. 2001. Review of Beaches and Dunes of Developed Coasts, by K.F. Nordstrom. Oceanography 14(1):90, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2001.55.