COASTAL PROTECTION IN AVALON, NEW JERSEY: HARD AND SOFT STRUCTURING FROM 2005 TO 2014

Significant erosion on the north end of the barrier island of Avalon in southern New Jersey has resulted in the need for management practices on the coast in the form of beach nourishment. Several hard structures were built on the north end of Avalon prior to 2005, however their emplacement alone was not enough to control the erosion. Since 2005, nourishment events have been employed each year to build up the beach. These nourishment events have been accomplished by one of three methods – trucking, dredging, or backpassing. Using beach profiles, data tables of nourishment events, the costs and benefits of each nourishment method, and photographs, I studied the impacts and effectiveness of four specific nourishment events (2007, 2010, 2012, and 2014). The nourishment events in 2007 and 2014 took place after relatively benign storm seasons, whereas the 2010 and 2012 nourishment events took place after severe storm seasons. Although each nourishment event was beneficial, the 2012 nourishment event (after Hurricane Sandy) proved to be especially successful in terms of remediating the effects of erosion. Beach nourishment has been a major component of Avalon’s coastal protection plan over the last decade, and due to its past successes, will likely continue in the future.