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Myrtle Beach Erosion Could Explain East Coast Sand Loss

from Scientific American

Myrtle Beach's popular oceanfront is retreating at a rate of up to 30 centimeters per year. But visitors who flock to that part of South Carolina's Atlantic coast continue to enjoy its wide, sandy stretches, because the state refills them every seven years or so with sediment dredged from the sea bottom.

Deciding whether to re-sand an area of beach is one impetus behind a study by researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, who are presenting its findings this week at the International Geological Program Annual Conference in Myrtle Beach.

... By gathering information for the entire bay area, the scientists can make better predictions about erosion rates and the best ways to restore beaches. Moreover, the study's wide-scale approach could be applied to improve erosion projections in other areas.