Abstract
Coastal stabilization, mostly involving coastal dune cordon destruction, has been practised on the KwaZulu-Natal coast for the last two decades. During this time no major swells occurred. The last Lunar Nodal Cycle (LNC) tidal peak was associated with a series of unusually high swells. The temporal coincidence of exceptionally high tide and large swell led to catastrophic coastal erosion and underlined the folly of coastal stabilization, especially at reversing erosion hotspots, many of which are urbanized and defended. These locations remain at risk and will experience future erosion.
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Smith, A.M., Bundy, S.C., Mather, A.A. (2012). Failed Coastal Stabilization: Examples from the KwaZulu-Natal Coast, South Africa. In: Cooper, J., Pilkey, O. (eds) Pitfalls of Shoreline Stabilization. Coastal Research Library, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4123-2_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4123-2_8
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