Posted by William on January 3, 2024, 7:37 am, in reply to "The Changed Beach"
I lived in the Caribbean for thirty years and made many observations on changes in beach consistencies.
I observed that whenever someone built a pier out into the water, especially but not limited to stone and concrete piers. The beach sand content changed.
When shoreline structures such as piers are built, they alter the effects of ocean waves, currents and sand movement. The construction, presence, and use of small docks and piers in the coastal environment almost always have potential consequences.
Have any structures been built anywhere in the bay water?
We also have to remember that the sea is rising about 3mm a year worldwide. So, each day, week, month, and year a little more sand is picked up at high tide and during storms and returned to the sea.
Re: The Changed Beach
Posted by david dagoli on January 3, 2024, 11:52 am, in reply to "Re: The Changed Beach"
There are no piers or structures built out into the bay of Tenacatita near La Manz. The rocks on the beach came from the arroyo (dry River bed) at the south end of the beach in La Manzanilla. There are always some rocks on the beach coming from the high stream flow in the arroyo following the rainy season.
This year there are stunningly many more rocks and a lot less sand below the tide line. The beach is sloped at a steeper angle.
There are two reasons for this change. First, the rocks and gravel in the arroyo were disturbed by heavy machine work to widen and deepen it.
Second, Hurricane Lidia hit the coast in October with an extremely high storm surge. Ocean water flooded the town and the arroyo. Wave after wave dragged out the previously loosened stones from the arroyo, and deposited them on the beach.
At the same time, tons of sand was displaced- a lot of it was pushed up into the mangrove and further up the beach. You can still see large piles of sand along the back road to Boca de Iguanas.
Re: The Changed Beach
Posted by Stephanie on January 3, 2024, 5:42 pm, in reply to "Re: The Changed Beach"
A bit of a correction here….there was major damage done to the arroyo again this year loosening lots of soil however, there was so little rain that the river only ran at about 2ft depth for a couple of days..the least I have ever seen during the rainy season here! So not sure all the rocks came from the arroyo but many were displaced by all the dredging that was done beyond the bar on the beach down by Helgas old place…MANY trucks took out LOTS of material there several years ago! Some went to fixing the roads after Hurricane Patricia and what happened to the column of other debris I imagine went to widening la breccia or the gravel pit for future use!
