Journal of Coastal Zone Management

Beach Nourishment

Beach nourishment is the process of dumping or pumping sand from elsewhere onto an eroding shoreline to create a new beach or to widen the existing beach. Beach nourishment does not stop erosion, it simply gives the erosional forces something else to "chew on" for a while. Beach nourishment is typically part of a larger coastal defense scheme. Nourishment is typically a repetitive process, since it does not remove the physical forces that cause erosion, but simply mitigates their effects.