ABSTRACT
This chapter recognizes four major types of adverse interaction between man and the shoreline. These four are fairweather activation, storm activation, long distance activation; and political activation. Fairweather adverse interaction of man on the shoreline refers to situations where structures and objects built by man interface with the dynamics of the shoreline during typical or normal fairweather conditions. Certain types of coastal stabilization structures, in particular bulkheads and revetments, are basically supposed to work only in time of storm activity. Long distance activation refers to adverse effects caused by "upstream" stabilization projects. In this fashion, political activation leads in the long range to fairweather activation. In a longer-range and perhaps more fundamental sense, seawalls cause problems because they hold the shoreline in place as the sea level rises and the equilibrium shoreline position moves landward. The consequences of responding to rising sea level by shoreline stabilization are so serious that the chapter explores totally new approaches to shoreline management.
