on a side note to this I just saw in the PC Herald online edition
Hope for dunes
Air Force biologists, however, are exploring ways to allow dune systems on the beaches it controls to rebuild themselves naturally, according to Eglin biologist Bruce Hagedorn.
The responsibility for shoring up the base property south of U.S. 98 most recently has fallen to Rip Kirby, a University of South Florida student who has patented a sand fence he believes can rebuild a dune system within a couple of years.
Eglin has given Kirby permission to use its property to test his asterisk-shaped fence, which he says catches windblown sand no matter which way the wind is blowing.
?It?s like stirring sugar in coffee. The sand sits in the center until it dissolves. The vortex of the fence holds sand inside until it drops,? Kirby said.
While the old-fashioned sand fences take about two years to establish four feet of dune, Kirby believes he can accomplish the same thing in six to 12 months.
Kirby said he will field test his fence for the next 18 months at one of the Okaloosa Island sites where storm surge has most impacted U.S. 98. He?s advertising on eBay for corporate sponsors to help him fund the project.
?Hopefully we?ll have a lot of sand dunes to show for it,? he said of the project.
hmmmmmmm, and what happens to the fences when the next dennis comes along
really must get back to work, c u l8r
). Thing is it (backing wall) would cost a bundle - iceberg like with foundation depth in excess of wall height (below tide line) and arc lines would have to be modeled to encourage sand dumping rather than scavenging - dissipation and diffusion of wave energy - [and that's a set of equations I sure can't run anymore, even assuming anybody could isolate all of the primary dependent variables] - and you'd still have to dump the sand in front after a major pounder - nothing rigid can stand up to long term abrasion. Now mitigation for structures (like in my pix) 15 yds from the high tide line - that I'd move to the impossible slot - at least impossible without eventually obliterating the beach.
