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OceThe OFFiciaaL MaganZineog OF the Oceanographyra Spocietyhy CITATION Short, A.D. 2012. Review of The Beach Book: Science of the Shore by C.H. Hobbs. Oceanography 25(4):81–82, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.113. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.113 COPYRIGHT This article has been published inOceanography , Volume 25, Number 4, a quarterly journal of The Oceanography Society. Copyright 2012 by The Oceanography Society. All rights reserved. USAGE Permission is granted to copy this article for use in teaching and research. Republication, systematic reproduction, or collective redistribution of any portion of this article by photocopy machine, reposting, or other means is permitted only with the approval of The Oceanography Society. Send all correspondence to: [email protected] or The Oceanography Society, PO Box 1931, Rockville, MD 20849-1931, USA. doWNLoaded From http://WWW.tos.org/oceanography and atmosphere, and of related cur- treasure troves of fascinating research the dynamics of our ocean and atmo- rent modeling efforts. Furthermore, problems in the field of geophysical fluid sphere, and of being able to develop they illustrate nicely how a multifaceted mechanics, the accompanying lists of ref- predictive models for their behavior, it research approach combining field erences will prove helpful to investigators is essential that these lines of research observations with scaling analysis, model aiming to familiarize themselves more be sustained and expanded upon well laboratory experiments, and numeri- deeply with specific research areas. into the future. cal simulations has been successful in Finally, the accumulated body of advancing our understanding of a wide knowledge presented so accessibly in Eckart Meiburg (meiburg@engineering. range of natural phenomena. Perhaps this book provides a reminder of the ucsb.edu) is Professor, Department of the only topics that I would have liked to complexity of the processes at hand, and Mechanical Engineering, and Director, see covered in more depth, even by sepa- it impressively demonstrates the long- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in rate chapters, concern double-diffusive term progress that can been achieved Fluids, University of California at Santa processes and internal/surface waves. through sustained fundamental research. Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA. While the chapters themselves represent Given the importance of understanding The Beach Book: Science of the Shore By Carl H. Hobbs, Columbia University general public. Here, Hobbs states that Press, 2012, 192 pages, ISBN 978-0-23- it “will give readers a better appreciation 1160551, Softcover, $19.50 US of beaches,” and “appreciation” is the key word. Reading The Beach Book is rather REVIEWED BY AndrEW D. SHORT like strolling along the shore with the author, who points out and discusses The Beach Book is about beaches—but some of its most interesting features. also much more. An alternative title Hobbs prefers to have a conversation could be “The East Coast of the USA.” with the reader, covering the facts as well In addition to beaches, the book covers as anecdotes about his experiences from dunes, barriers, tidal inlets and jetties, a lifetime of working on the shore. marshes, sea level, and human occupa- The first chapter, “Beaches,” begins tion of a stretch of barrier island coast this conversation. With no internal head- hurricane ratings. It also covers air den- experiencing ongoing sea level rise, ing, it starts off by defining a beach and sity, duration, and direction, sea breeze, shoreline erosion, and the occasional associated nomenclature, then goes on to wind-driven circulation including the hurricane or nor’easter and their accom- describe beach profiles, which then leads Ekman spiral, and upwelling. panying waves and surges. If you want to to a discussion of closure depth. Next Chapter 3, titled “Wave Processes,” know how the US East and Gulf Coasts come the topics of alongshore sand trans- begins with a discussion of wave genera- work, then this book is for you, as most port, edge waves, and beach cusps, and tion. It is followed by wave motion, deep- of the examples, photographs, and illus- finally beach mineralogy and ecology. to shallow-water waves, and then wave trations are drawn from this region. Chapter 2, “Wind,” takes the reader characteristics, including speed, shoal- Though the title suggests a scientific through solar heating, albedo, atmo- ing, and refraction, all accompanied by approach, the brief introduction to the spheric pressure, and wind, the impact many helpful diagrams. It finishes with a book indicates that it is aimed at the of wind speed, damaging winds, and discussion of sea swell, wave decay, wave Oceanography | December 2012 81 breaking, and finally tsunamis. severe updrift erosion. both hard (seawalls, groins, and break- The next chapter, “Tides,” provides Chapter 7 treats what lies on and waters) and soft (beach nourishment, an excellent explanation of the roles that behind barriers. It focuses on topics in accommodation, and setback). the Moon and Sun play in tides. After the chapter’s title—“Sand Dunes and The Beach Book is illustrated with describing the attributes of a perfect Salt Marshes”—perhaps a strange com- many excellent diagrams, most by the water Earth, it then moves to a discus- bination, but they are both intimately author, and also with grainy black and sion about the real world and the impact linked to their vegetation. On the topic white photographs, together with several of shallow oceans and tidal systems. of dunes, the author covers the nature boxes and two appendices. It finishes This is followed by a conversation about and transport of wind-blown sand, dune with a glossary that, interestingly, does tidal range and tidal prisms. Here, types, and vegetation. The tidal marsh not contain the terms beach or shore or Hobbs spends some time explaining the section covers marsh relationship to sand but does include syzygy (the Sun- tides in the Bay of Fundy—the highest tides and the role of vegetation in the Moon-Earth alignment that gives rise to in the world—aiming to debunk tidal marshes’ nature and evolution. spring tides), a bibliography arranged by resonance theory, proposing instead Chapter 8 introduces the important chapter, and an index. that the high tides are due to bay con- topic of sea level and sea level rise, of This book is written for a lay audience striction. The chapter finishes with a interest to anyone who lives near the and would only be suitable in a univer- discussion of the effect of tide range on coast, especially on a beach or barrier, sity course as additional reading. It is an barrier island length. and surely relevant in the weeks follow- easy read for those who live by the shore Chapter 5 covers sediments, including ing the US East Coast’s “Superstorm and want a good, simple understanding their various types, their classification Sandy.” The chapter begins by review- of why it’s there, what is going on now, and sizes, and how to measure them ing the types and range of sea level rise, and what might happen in the future, using sieves and settling tubes. A discus- including eustatic and isostatic, and particularly for those living on the sion of the role of sediment size in sedi- glacial cycles, and how they are dated. It US East and Gulf Coasts. ment transport, mixed sediment, sand then moves on to potential “greenhouse shape, and frosting follows. Hobbs then impacts,” which are predicted to raise Andrew D. Short (andrew.short@sydney. talks about grain packing, porosity, and sea level between 1 to 1.6 m by 2100, edu.au) is Professor, School of Geosciences, density, which controls groundwater with attendant major environmental University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. and permeability, though it is not related and social impacts. back to its role in beach morphology. The Chapter 9, titled “Storms and Storm chapter finishes with questions like “How Surges,” is a short chapter that could many sand grains are there on a beach?” be named Hurricane Impacts on the and “Where does sand come from?” American East and Gulf Coasts. It first With the completion of the beach defines storm surges and then addresses components, Hobbs then starts a tour their causes, especially those generated by of coastal systems, beginning with the hurricanes and nor’easters. The chapter chapter called “Barrier Islands and Tidal also provides several well-known exam- Inlets,” describing features that are ubiq- ples of past and recent hurricanes, their uitous on the East and Gulf Coasts. This storm surges, and associated damage. chapter covers barrier processes, includ- The final Chapter 10, “Erosion and ing dunes, overwash, and washover fans, Shore Protection,” begins with the poli- before taking on tidal inlets in a section tics of shore protection, including the that also covers human impacts through cost-benefit of protection—is it econom- the construction of jetties intended to ically justified? The chapter mentions stabilize the inlets and often resulting in various approaches to shore protection, 82 Oceanography | Vol. 25, No. 4.

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