2021-11-15 GC Agenda - Item 7 - Attachment 2 - Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan with tracked changes

Coastal erosion occurs when high winds, waves and tides combine to remove sand away from the
shoreline and dunes. This can be a short-term movement (called a ‘storm bite’), where the sand
gets pulled offshore and gradually returns the beach during calm conditions over many months.

Erosion sometimes occurs more gradually as water levels and currents change, causing the
shoreline to recede further inland relative to a previous position; this is called ‘shoreline recession’.
It can also occur when a hard structure is built within the active beach zone, and instead of
dissipating the wave energy like a sand dune would, it simply reflects that energy in-front (i.e.
seaward) of the structure, thereby preventing the sand to settle in that area and build up.

Figure 3 shows what happens during a storm event to the shore of the beach, as well as the likely
effect of significant increases in mean sea level. That is, as the local sea level increases so to does
the ocean’s ability to erode our sandy shorelines impacting the frontal dunes that form a protective
buffer between the force of the ocean and coastal development.




Noosa Council – Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan                                                  Page 20