Posts Tagged ‘barrier island erosion’

High tides and strong wind in October have caused quite a bit of beachfront erosion here in Hilton Head, and on Thursday the island experienced the highest tide of 2011 at a whopping nine feet high! If you have recently completed moving to Hilton Head, the recent news of beach land erosion may worry you a bit, but in actuality erosion is a normal part of being a barrier island. Just as sand moves away due to erosion, sand also gathers due to the natural ebb and flow of the elements. In other Hilton Head news, the area known as our island’s heel will soon undergo operations to replenish beach land. Roughly one million cubic yards of sand will be added to the beach as soon as this week; special equipment will be moved to the island’s heel soon so that work may begin. The project should be finished on or before February 15th, and will be very advantageous considering that erosion of the island’s heel causes 100 feet or so of sand to move away each year. Barrier island life sure is interesting, isn’t it?