How Coastal Erosion Works
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- Опубликовано: 9 июн 2024
- Explaining the basics of coastal erosion with a homemade wave generator!
Want more? I did a follow-up live stream to answer questions and show off the wave generator here: • Live: Wave Generator D...
We humans are fascinated with the coast. There’s something inherently interesting about seeing the place where two things meet; where the vast expanse of ocean touches the land on which we live. It might not seem like it, but there’s an endless battle going on between land and sea along every coastline in the world (and just a hint: the sea is almost always winning).
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Rust never sleeps. Neither does erosion. And in the end, Gravity always wins.
I STRONGLY DISAGREE! Being as famous as I am on RUclips, I know that it gets hard to read every comment I get. I try my best, but I am just so famous, that I can't do it much longer. Sorry, dear bram
Gravity never sleeps, neither does rust. and in the end erosion always wins.
*Enthropy entered the chat
*Entropy always win
@@odd_shoe same idea! :)
GF: Wanna go to the beach for a swim?
Me: No...but I will go to witness the endless battle between land and sea
Well the sea will win when the earth finally cools
LMAO
@@thrifty1783 But then the sea becomes ice, or land. Land wins.
Groudon always loses in the end.
Oop 😳
Mrs. Practical Engineer going wild with the Dutch angles lol
Hitchcock would approve.
@@bstudentoflife And Alton Brown.
Trying to get to the sea level by imitating the Dutch.
@@DignusFerox And the Dutch? XD
only the dutch manage to out smart the sea
"Waves are destructive because water is heavy" now joins "you gotta have dirt under your concrete" as my favorite Practical Engineering quotes.
No mention of water's weight, which I remember from the imperial days as being 62.5 pounds per cubic foot.
@@loginregional or in metric about 1kg per 1L of water
@@Jesus_friggin_christ About? That's one well-hedged bet.
@@stevenclark2188 water is not always exactly 1kg per L, pressure, temperature and salt/ mineral content all play a role. Salt water is closer to 1.050kg/L and fresh water is closer to 0.950kg/L.
@@Jesus_friggin_christ Yep, but the standard for the Kilogram is 1L of water at 4°C and at normal pressure condition
Beach nourishment is the way the Netherlands keeps it coastline mostly constant. The interesting bit is that there are pretty much just 1 or 2 spots where it happens, and then natural currents are used to spread the sand along the whole coast line. Literally translated it's called the 'Sand Motor'.
It's all very well engineered. A sea dike is only used in one spot along the north sea coast, near Petten - ironically where one of our nuclear reactors is situated.
But when possible dunes are used to stop the sea. Grass is planted on top to keep it from blowing away, but you probably know that
It is important for the structural integrity of the land near the nuclear reactor to be sound, I suppose? So not that ironic? ^^
Nope that seadike is re-enforced with sand in 2014 similar to the concept of the Sand Motor.
That's amazing, I wouldn't have imagined that the currents can be used to spread the sand
If there's one thing Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur taught me, it's that there's no such thing as permanent and static solutions. Every problem has to be addressed and readdressed again and again. But as long as we have the energy and infrastructure to keep implementing dynamic solutions, then they will work indefinitely.
I've personally seen a beach disappear while I was growing up (in Sardinia, Italy). It wasn't a big beach in the first place but over the course of relatively few years it disappeared almost entirely, now most of it has been replaced by big rocks and concrete structures to prevent further erosion toward the beach houses.
Another famous beach was also disappearing but this time they brought back a large amount of sand from the seafloor to the dismay of many local citizens because the new sand was much darker (practically black) than the original white one which ruined the aesthetics of the beach for a while
I also find it interesting to see when the sea loses. Some 10-15 years ago a large piece of driftwood got stuck near the shore and that started to slowly accumulate sand: www.google.com/maps/@55.8437107,10.0476763,470m/data=!3m1!1e3 It will probably take 20-50 years before it is genuine land.
Many years ago, the "old beach" at Port Burwell, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Erie disappeared literally overnight during a big storm. While the Great Lakes don't have measurable tides, there are other phenomena at work: The lake levels cycle from low to high over decades (right now they are at record highs) plus winds can "heap" water from one side to the other. A stiff south wind can make over a 2 meter difference in water level between Cleveland Ohio and Port Stanley, Ontario. It was such a storm that took the beach away, during a period when lake levels were high. Later, sand was trucked in and the beach was remade.
A darker coloured sand instead of no beach at all? People always find something to complain about.
@@ivanskyttejrgensen7464, either the satellite view is much newer than the street view or it was taken at low tide; there is significantly less new beach visible in the street view.
@@questioner1596 Streetview isn't updated that often in danish rural areas, so I guess that the streetview for that patrcular road/beach is from 2009, and the satellite photo is more recent - probably 2018ish
yeah yeah yeah erosion. Let's see Grady cook!
Show us those unique angles!
Me, swiss: "Hmm maybe I should start building port infrastructure."
The ground you walk up on was once an ocean floor and one day will be again, if you begin today with port building then your grand ......................grand childeren can enjoy a few days of, because they won't have to build it them selves.
Thats a great 10000 year plan. Hahaha.
@@1911Zoey 10,000,000 year plan*
We need to be building offshore ports. We can stop destroying our coast lines and gain a security layer.
@@JoeOvercoat what a terrible idea lmao
THANK YOU for mentioning retreat!!
Most beaches could be left wild and zoning used to restrict permanent structures from being built too close. Much, much cheaper than trying to fight the sea.
There’s plenty of room inland.
Unless you're Dutch or Singaporean
Better option is to simply stop subsidizing building on the beach and the 'problem' will take care of itself.
There's a very good reason insurance companies are reluctant to insure properties on a beach unless they can charge extremely high premiums for the covered structures because erosion and hurricanes and such are a known danger along coastlines.
Politicians call this reluctance a "market failure" and decide to "fix the problem" by creating an "Other People's Money" fund to cover the losses of people who build on the beach by taking money from people who are smart enough to not build on the beach.
Shockingly where before structures on a beach were mostly limited to a handful of cheaply replaceable shacks, after creation of such a fund, structures built on beaches became more expensive and more common.
@@dorvinion
And sadly, the people who can afford to build a beach mansion could easily just rebuild and the tax money could be used for more important things. Large companies that have a fleet of vehicles will normally "self-insure" for property damage since the cost of premiums would far exceed their cost of claims. I think they do carry insurance for personal injury though.
Edit: no one should be able to build large permanent structures on barrier islands where the ocean beach is located. The islands serve a purpose to help protect the mainland.
@@swinde I'd rather they stop deciding what's "important" to spend money on and let me keep my share of the 'Federal keeping beaches built upon' fund.
We got to the situation where beach houses are multi-million dollar palaces instead of cheap shanties precisely because politicians have a poor record of deciding what is and is not "important"
being near to the sea is a huge economic advantage, and sadly when governments see a revenue nothing can stop them
This is almost as good as my favorite channel, impractical engineering
You’ve been watching my construction projects?
Or unreal engineering
@@notasgood459 I love that game!
As a coder, I often struggle with my relationship to the C.
@@rhekman read your message perfect synchron with him saying it😂
Broady: The see is almost always winning.
The Netherlands: Almost!
Also a bunch of places in Eastern Europe
Wildwood, New Jersey is another exception. The beach keeps accumulating sand, so the piers are no longer over water. The incline is also very low, which makes for long, steady waves that are fun to ride :)
What's interesting about Flevoland in the Netherlands is that is human made. The province exists because the construction of huge dam called Afsluitdijk which reduce the amount of sea water converting the closest to land sea area into lakes, then the land is reclaimed from those lakes. It is extremely slow process, but that makes the Netherlands' land area grows without invading another country. I will be really interested to see how that actually works.
I've seen them actually reverse the trend however. In the original plan the whole of Zuiderzee would've been reclaimed, but it's now left as a nature preserve. The most prominent is Markermeer which is lined by Houtribdijk. Many of the unused lands have also been allowed to once again be inundated with water (becoming a marshland), since it helps the environment and it slows the land subsidence due to compaction from being in the dry state.
Actually in the long run the land is winning. Earth was once almost entirely covered by oceans with only a few small continental shields above the sea. The continents keep accumulating sediment and rock, growing over geologic time. There is also a slight bit of water escape to space from cumulonimbus clouds injecting water into the stratosphere where UVC light breaks water into O2 and H2 which then rises further and can eventually escape.
I would love to have seen more detail and a longer video, diving into some of the man-made structures that are used to reduce the energy of the oceans.
I would like to see feature-length versions of all of Grady's videos
He has a video about those structure s already.
an ongoing battle: the oceans vs humans
One point that was left out is the illegal mining of coastal or ocean ground sand. Huge amounts are used in construction sites especially in the developing countries. (This sand having too much salt creates it's own problems)
Are you referring to China’s artificial islands?
@@monkeybandit222 Not directly. There is a good Arte documentation about mostly Morocco.
@@MrSaNF cool
🏝🏜⌛🏗🪟 🤔Sands are very different and special.
The other problem is that unlicensed sand is being mined from sea to built cities and desert sand ain't good enough for building materials.
"it might not seem like it, but there's an endless battle going on between land and sea"
i know that, i play pokemon
Groudon > Kyogre
@@twitertaker bad opinion
@@twitertaker Rayquaza slaps them both
@@thehistory9187 Air slaps water and fire and land.
@@Speed001 the avatar
🌊 Want to see more of that water demo? Watch the follow-up live stream here: ruclips.net/video/9i_Q2MhKSlw/видео.html
🥑 Take advantage of my HelloFresh discount here: bit.ly/3biJN59
👍🏼 Actually enjoyed the commercial! (The rest was great too!) 😎
That NOAA sea level prediction is based on very flawed climate models. Thus that information is mute.
See also salt water fish tank wave generators - small pump that fills a container that tips into the tank to create turbulence in the water column - delivering nutrients to the filter feeders all over.
hey man , i genuinely enjoyed all the unique angles
@@DawsonTyson That information isn’t mute. I heard it.
Having lived and worked near the Pacific Ocean for years, I think your post is a great reminder that the ocean is incredibly powerful and relentless.
Seeing you cook is like seeing a teacher outside of school.
Grady's new YT channel: "Practical Cooking" ...
Pro Tip. For your home-made wave flume, use a 'sand' that has much lower density, and larger grain size (Acrylic, PVC, or other plastic beads with 1.2 - 1.4 specific gravity work well). This will accelerate sediment transport. Also note that lower wave frequencies will drive sediment up the beach, while higher frequencies will pull it back down. To demonstrate this, start with a shoal that crests just under-water. The waves, which carry net momentum shoreward (by virtue of 2nd order skewness) will create a beach.
Another tip: Make an actuator that pivots at the bottom of the tank, rather than at the top. This will produce waves with a structure closer to that of natural waves.
The direction of sand transport is not solely related to the wave periods but to degree of breaking as well.
Huh?
"Just like campfires, we are drawn to the coast" - I've never seen my campfire attempt to migrate coastward though........
😂😂😂 I thought exactly the same!!
Why is this so funny?😂
i dont normally comment, but i followed you for a longer time now. Congrats on your child and greetings from germany. love your content :)
The image in the minute 3:37 is Badalona (Barcelona) my hometown! And we have really big problems in the bech with the storms. I love this video
Thank you, Grady. and Grady's wife, for your videos. Seeing you preparing meals in your cozy kitchen with the baby in the background reminds me of my own life at that point in time. You look like you are enjoying it as I did so many years ago. Keep up the good work!
This is giving me geography class nostalgia
6:52 Where is that?
I'm also looking for that!
I want to know that too
Also looking
“Water is heavy” - Practical Engineering, 2021. Seriously though, great video!
Me: You cant pump sand!
Engineers: Watch us
Thank you for taking the time to produce quality, informative content. I'm a nuclear engineering student, but this channel has definitely given me an appreciation for all of the civil engineers out there
Grady could have mentioned the effect of dams that permanently trap sediment from upland erosion from flowing to the ocean and settling on adjacent beaches. Also, dredging of river channels to facilitate shipping navigation to inland ports interrupts the natural sediment flow, especially here in SE Georgia (the US State).
Interesting point. In Louisiana there is a major subsidence problem due to upstream reservoirs that trap sediment(reduced sidement load) and levees that prevent the flooding that would naturally rebuild coastal lands. Oil and gas extraction also play major role, though the process itself is natural.
Would love to see a video on Oysterbreaks -a type of breakwater that uses a special concrete (expanded shale w/o sand) and depends on biological growth to rebuild coastlines.
@@Jason-Spice Yep I live in Louisiana and this is the real reason we’re losing land so fast. The Mississippi has been replenishing our coast line for so long, but we put levees all around it so the sediment is just dumped into the gulf now.
I wonder how Rio de Janeiro handles coastal erosion, specially Ipanema beach has huge waves and its already a narrow beach.
Also, how many small deserted islands are dissapearing due to erosion?
Beach nourishment. Rio has some of the biggest and strongest sand delivery boats in the world.
Even your ads are wholesome. I appreciate that.
I'm graduated in architecture but I went back to school to study engineering, and the content of this channel has been quite informative.
Today in class we saw exactly the theme presented in this video so I recommend this channel to them, I hope they find it as useful as I do.
We have mangrove forest near here, and so far they're the best barrier against coastal erosion.
Unfortunately, not many people like to see their white-sand beach turns into muddy mangrove 😂
I can’t remember if the trees produce fruit
Cow patties does wonders for the unsightly mangrove mud.
@@randomuser5443 it does.
Think of it like… small fruit, slowly growing into sapling while still being attached to the tree, then dropped down when it's already big enough.
Haha such an engineer response: I don't want any unique angles, horizontal is best
Grady is the most wholesome guy.
Your narration is always so eloquent. I can't imagine how much work goes into putting the script together
Finally realised that Grady and Destin from Smarter Every Day are actually the same person with or without a wig depending on the channel ! :)
By the way, for those looking to learn more about erosion control, it's spelled "groyne".
Thank you. I don't wish to confuse the algorithms more than I have already.
Man I just love seeing a new upload. I love everything engineering and you do such an awesome job presenting and talking about the subject. I just wish u and the family a happy safe new year and new uploads 🤙🤙
If we humans weren’t trying to control/mitigate/reverse/ or control that shore erosion what would ultimately be the result? Would all continents become smaller and smaller islands? Or is there a natural factor that would mitigate total erosion of land?
4:58 Hel Peninsula in Poland (Baltic Sea coast). It's 34 km long.
I did a semester of coastal geomorphology in uni and struggled with it, not because it was hard but because it was taught so boringly that staying awake in class was a challenge.
Wish I'd had your videos back then Grady, you make any topic easy to watch and understand, keep it up :)
Maybe the purpose of any lectures at the University level and of a show (excellent BTW) are not the same? Maybe you were not interested by geology at first ...
That time-lapse of the waves at the beach at 2:18 was terrifying at first , until i realized it was a time-lapse
Hi Grady! Would you be interested in doing a video going in to more nature-based solutions to beach erosion, not just mangroves? I'd love to see for example, how a dynamic provides a better match between particle size and wave energy to slow down sediment loss. Thank you for so many wonderful videos!
One thing for sure, life’s a Beach.
A wave hello
So, I’m from the Great Lakes region and have always noticed the period difference between waves in the Great Lakes vs. Oceans. Do the closer together waves affect how engineers would design structures to minimize erosion?
Ned to plat more mangroves in Great Lakes bra
I love this channel's solution oriented approach. Define the problem, yes, but then solve it (within the time and budget constraints of the entities affected). Kudos!
Theres something soothing and calming about your videos, love em.
seeing the title, I thought this was going to be about sand theft for concrete. But this was interesting nevertheless
I live in mainland away from sea , rivers or any other water bodies after watching your video I will think twice before buying or developing a property near water bodies.
Wow, I haven't checked in for a while and these have gotten even better, what great production quality!
I really like that you put the part where some attempts to prevent erosion, actually enhance the phenomenon.
Mechanisms of sediment transport are relatively well studied in flumes but the whole puzzle is way bigger and isn't solved yet. You mentionned groynes to break longshore currents, longshore currents are another piece of the puzzle.
This is a complex topic I've been working on for some years now and I'm glad you give it a good video.
Where does the sand come from? I thought it was ground up shells and rocks that got deposited by the sea. If erosion is mainly removing the shore, how did it get deposited in the first place?
Sand comes from river sediments, the crumbling of cliffs, breakdown of coral and shells and the digestion of some marine animals.
Sand comes from all different types of source rocks. Like Lucario said, sand is deposited mostly from rivers that carry sediments down from higher elevation source rocks. Glaciers can also dump huge amounts of sediments (a much slower process than rivers) when they melt. Have you ever seen a beach composed of pebbles or slightly larger stones with little to no sand? Over time, the wave action will break those rocks down into finer grains and eventually sand. Sand is also highly affected by wind. "Sand" formed by shells, coral, bones, plankton, fish poop, etc will over time become more like mud and slowly fall to the ocean floor, and may become limestone in the right depositional environment.
Tide goes in, tide goes out. You can’t explain that
Go back to grade school. Tides are explained there. Hint: it's astronomical.
@@frankmiller95 it's a quote from the mouth of national embarrassment Bill O'Reilly when he was attempting to disprove some scientist on his show
I was expecting the prime solution to this problem to be more elegant. Not just taking the sand and putting back.
Interesting as always, i really enjoy watching these vids, especially when water is involved, love it.
Another solid addition to your video library. Always appreciate the well thought out content. We have the opposite problem in my jurisdiction. We manage a lagoon and river mouth where littoral transport, riverine sediment deposition, and high surf builds sand up along the beach and causes the closure of the river mouth which can lead to localized flooding. Balancing ingress/egress and safety of the community that is impacted by the flooding vs ecological and environmental concerns has been an interesting dilemma. We recently mechanically breached the lagoon due to high surf and the atmospheric river that just hit CA.
id get the hellow fresh stuff but the food will rot by the time it gets across the ocean i assume
Grady: 3 feet
Me: ...
Grady: thats almost a meter.
Me: Oh thank you.
and?
@@odemata87 and what?
@@kurtsteiner7310 your comment. What was the gist of it?
@@odemata87
That he grew upmin one of the two only countries who are still not using the metrical system: the united states and bangladesh.
@@matthiaslipinsky501 but who cares really ? Why is this always a issue whenever a video has imperial measurements? Also if any one was really interested they would know the US uses the metric system in many day-to-day ways.
Another enjoyable and informative episode! I appreciate how GREAT your models are at explaining the subject matter. Thanks!
love all the footage you get for these grady!
Video: Why beaches disappear?
Me thinking: *Because they ain't loyal bruv*
"Claimed by the Sea" is the name of my Kaiju themed romance novel.
Here in the Netherlands for years now a massive project is ongoing to enlarge the beaches and increase the height of the dunes to cope with the rising sea levels. It seen coastal areas change completely where once you would walk on the road and look out over the sea, it is now a massive dune.
Thank you for this clear introduction to the science behind coastal erosion. It makes me appreciate the beauty of beaches that evolve naturally, and how difficult it is for men and machines to emulate them.
You seem like the guy that had a lot of Lego Technics as a kid.
l really need to stop watching youtube and get to class
The info in this video is so interesting and thought provoking. Thank you.
Also, your family is so cute!!
Here in Indonesia there is alot of lands already claimed by sea.
This is one of example of it -6.030285, 106.520971 on map
Some times you can see an abandoned building in middle of coast
I misread the title
For me it was because I didn't make enoughe money. Lol
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 lol
He compared beaches to bitches
I still don't understand why people continue to take the risk of making their homes on the edge of the sea or a waterway.
Because governments have created "Other Peoples Money" funds, taken from people smart enough to not build on a beach, to cover the losses of those people foolish enough to build on the beach, and to pay for erosion controls.
you know what happens if humans found some large flat land, and most of it can be found on waterfront areas.
People continue to build houses near forests, too. Knowing full well it burns every 10 to 20 years. They're nice temporary homes, and that's fine.
Yet another great video. Thank you for providing your content over all those years! :)
Always such informative well presented videos. Love them.
Beaches also disappear because mankind loves to build with concrete! And sand is an essential part of concrete 🙄
Wrong type of sand. Beach sand makes for terrible concrete
Very well put together video: informative along with quality editing. Thank you!
Nice video! Also, congratulations on the addition to your family! Thanks again!
Quite off topic but i had to say this: Your wife has one of the sweetest voices, if not thé sweetest voice i've ever heard. Oh and thanks for the video, very educational.
I've always thought it is so cool that all these world class surf spots, like the pipeline, are here today gone tomorrow- and what kind of past beaches had waves so perfect, that they made skeleton Bay in Namibia look like Pismo Pier
Coastal erosion is an amazing subject and fun to read about, thanks for making a video about it! So many different areas to look into with this subject.
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge.
I love sponsors that let the creators make funny segments out of it
I like these projects you make.
Very easy to understand.
Thank you very much!
All the best for you and your family 🤗
What an excellently presented informative segment
Find your videos so incredibly in-sighting !!! thank you very much!
This is such a helpful video, thank you!
Another fantastic video. Keep up great work.
Where I live they built a large harbour/port for shipping. This caused massive erosion of nearby coastline, which now has a massive rock wall to hold back the sea. You used to be able to see the remnants of house foundations sticking up at low tide.
this guy makes civil engineering cool
That was interesting. I always like the demos that you create for us. Also, this is the only channel where I actually enjoy the sponsor segment at the end.
Every time i see your video i realise how great you are at making people interested before actually discussing about certain topic.
Love your channel. Keep up the good work.
That wave tank demonstration was great!
I always learn so much from your videos. Thank you.
Awesome! Thanks for the video.
Another video of my favourite water channel!
thanks grady. coastal engineering is an often overlooked subfield of civil engineering. good to learn about this from you, I barely knew about it in college
Just planning a summer trip, how very timely of you!
Always brilliant videos!
Thx for the explanation. Helps me better understand what occurred in Surfside Florida last night.
Great info. Great visual props. Thanks
I always appreciate the *unique angles* 😂😁😀