by Stever
on September 30, 2009
There are a lot of developed coastlines that have jetties and seawalls. Many of these were built years ago in an attempt to stem the erosion of the beach and to stabilize the coastline. Tides, seasonal winds and storms interact in ways that can move sand onto or off a beach. Barrier Islands, in particular, are especially succeptable to shifting shorelines caused by tidal movements of sand (see here to find out about changes to LBI).
Problems with this idea are well enough know that these types of public works are not constructed much anymore. With jetties a bad impact can be to trap sand in and around the jetty and in turn causing a place up or down the shoreline form the jetty to erode at a greater rate. So there may be a net plus for the jetty area but it can cause losses to the beach shoreline for an adjacent area.
A bad result often comes from seawalls that are made to protect property that is situated along the beach. Often this was done by placing a wall or barrier at the far back edge of the beach. Through time the beach erodes and often times the entire sandy beach is lost.
Shoreline erosion and rebuilding is natural, and occurs all the time. Putting barriers in place to protect beachfront homes and property is unnatural. The net effect of not letting nature takes its course, in other words not trying to stop sand movement, usually does not work well.
by Stever
on September 27, 2009
The last green valley is an area found in Massachusetts and Connecticut. It includes two river valleys the Quinebaug and Shetucket. Both of these river areas are designated as National Heritage Corriders, as set by Congress in 1994.
The name comes from the fact that this place is fairly sparsely settled when compared to many places that surround it. The entire region from Boston to Washington DC has become a megalopolis and the Green Valley is the one location that is not filled with people, buildings and dominated by what that does to the land.
The region shows up dark on night satellite photos due to its low population density. More than 75% of the land cover is forest or farmland.
by Stever
on September 26, 2009
I do so enjoy the end of the growing season activities that get going around this time of the year. The harvest has finished and it is time to celebrate, stock up and prepare for the winter. Just today I was going through town and there was a small craft fair going on. Not to big but enough to draw a nice crowd. It was nice too that the sun was shining brightly, despite the bit of coolness in the air.
The fair was mainly artisan stuff and, oddly, only seemed to cover a few trades. For every booth I saw there must have been at least three or more of that type. Jewelry, oil painting, photography of animals and hand made children’s clothing. There were a few odd things too, but not many.
Last fall I was able to go apple picking with some of my friends. That was fun and I would not mind going again. I am also in the mood, it seems, to get somewhere by the water. The ocean, a lake, or a place like that.
by Stever
on September 16, 2009
Hold onto your hat, or eat it if your hungry. The new incarnation of Broad Tide has begun. Our intention here is to write about the things we care about, spend time doing and things we come across that seem interesting. What does this cover? Family, the beach, getting by in the world, work, biology, babies, travel, the east coast, history, bugs, curtains………you name it. The bottom line is this blog will cover whatever we are moved to write about. It will be a little of this and a little of that. At some point it may develop some themes. We will just have to see how it works out.
We are based out of the Boston area so some of what shows up here is very likely to have a bias to this area. If you are coming along for the ride, just joining us along the way, or just stopping by for your one and only visit – Hello! If you leaving, best of luck in all and have fun out there. Come back again sometime if you like. We will be here if and when you do want to stop back. A proverbial pot of coffee is always on.