More OR Less Sand? Which is it?

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

It certainly appears to me that Blue Mountain Beach and other beaches have gained significant sand after the recent hurricanes. However in an article this week's Walton Sun, Brad first states the following:

"There has not been erosion caused by the storms," said Brad Pickel, consultant for beach management for the Walton County Tourist Development Council. "The large waves actually pushed sand up onto the beaches, the same thing happened with Hurricane Katrina."

Then later in the article...

However, not every beach in Walton County received deposits of sand from the storms. According to Pickel, narrower beaches which were not previously restored did tend to have some erosion because there was not as much sand available to move landward.
"The two best examples were in Blue Mountain and Inlet Beach, where geotubes are exposed at the property adjacent to the east end of Rosemary Beach," Pickel said.

In the same article, Susan Lucas, a BMB resident said the following:

"It pilled up sand at the toe of the dunes," said Susan Lucas, longtime Walton County resident and artist. "The level of the beach is higher in elevation than it used to be, by about two or three feet maybe."

Keep in mind that BMB or any other beach east of 4 Mile Village has not been "restored". So is this an unusual event of nature that most of South Walton's beaches gained sand without being "restored"?

Click for article.

 

[Busta Hustle]

there was a 5 or 6 day sand shift event from gustav and ike. i observed a heavy east to west flow for about 42 and one half hours in which many cubic yards of sand moved from the beach to to the shallows slighly south and west of its previous location. i also observed a nipping of the bottoms of the dunes during high tide which left the illusion of sand being "pushed up" and elevating the beach. ike seemed to have covered the geotubes that gustav uncovered but after all was said and done the coloration of the waters at that location showed an oily brown cloud for several days.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

I would have certainly hoped that by now someone would have shed some light on this thread's topic.

The timing of this thread started by me was certainly COINCIDENTAL with the recent Florida Supreme Court decision regarding beach restoration.

However and even more so now, I'm suspicious of the "motives" of the statements that were made to the Sun regarding the state of the beaches and in particular, Blue Mountain Beach.

 

[John R]

Please. What 'motives' could you possibly be questioning? That someone who was quoted in an article maybe bought stock in a renourishment company? Or perhaps they developed a new sand rake? Maybe they're planning on opening a beach toy store at the corner of 30A and 83. Crazy, just like this topic.

This is your thread with your silly loaded question. Just come out of the closet and ask directly, or state your theory. No need to beat around the bush, we got passed that a long time ago.

 

[ASH]

Go to White Cliffs or Adagio and go down to the beach and see. There is no longer room left on the beach for TDC or sheriff trucks at some of the walkovers due to the cut into the bank from the surf

 

[greenroomsurfer]

Ah, now explain the huge jelly fish?

 

[Andy A]

Go to White Cliffs or Adagio and go down to the beach and see. There is no longer room left on the beach for TDC or sheriff trucks at some of the walkovers due to the cut into the bank from the surf

This is particularly true in front of Sea Bluff which is next to White Cliffs. But as I said on another thread, the beach changes constantly though I have never seen it as sparse as it is now. While the sand has definitely increased aroung the Inn at Blue Mt. and the Village of White Cliffs, it appears to have gone the other way further to the East near White Cliffs and Sea Bluff.