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Celebrating 100 Years of Science! | 1925-2025
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Tree roots are underminded by wave action and eventually succumb while the shoreline is eroded.
Eroded shoreline with tree snags
Stone rip-rap installed by the property owners in an attempt to prevent shoreline erosion. Hardened edges along the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers reduces natural shoreline habitat that fish and other marine animals depend on for food and shelter.
Hardened shoreline prevents erosion
Conceptual diagram illustrating a hardened shoreline vs a natural shoreline. The hardened shoreline has concrete rip-rap or a sea wall. It can be very costly and can also interrupt natural shoreline processes and sand movement that can lead to increased erosion downdrift from the structure. A natural shoreline incorporates native vegetation with a buffer strip of sand and/or fiber logs. It filters runoff and traps sediment, actually widening the beach, and providing valuable shoreline habitat for wildlife.
Shoreline erosion control
Empty lifeguard chair at the beach and jetties along Clarks Cove, Buzzards Bay, near New Bedford, MA.
Empty Beach
This is an example of a hardended shoreline with residential development very close to the water. As an example, this type of development is often on septic systems which can leach and input nutrients into the nearby waters.
Hardened shoreline associated with development
Conceptual Diagram illustrating the components that contribute toward creating natural erosion of a shore, and further marsh creation including how sills and vents should be constructed.
Guidelines for natural shore erosion and marsh…
Conceptual Diagram illustrating the elements of a soft shoreline and how they can benefit a habitat, versus the elements of a hard shoreline that offer few benefits towards a habitat, and in some cases can be damaging.
Soft vs. hard shorelines
Illustration of a bulkhead
Civil Engineering: bulkhead

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