Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-18-2025
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Abstract
Beach nourishment is a widely used strategy to mitigate coastal erosion, yet its long-term geological impacts remain poorly understood. This study provides a multi-decadal synthesis of shoreline change and sedimentological evolution on the nourished beaches of Cape May and Wildwood, New Jersey, USA. Using shoreline positions from 1991 to 2024, we identify contrasting trajectories: Wildwood exhibits ‘persistent transition’ with severe northern erosion (EPR: −10.0 m/yr) feeding southwards accretion, while Cape May demonstrates a ‘managed equilibrium’ with widespread accretion (mean EPR: +1.15 m/yr). Wave energy correlations account for less than 15% of shoreline variability, indicating natural drivers have been superseded by human sediment inputs. Direct sediment comparison shows substantial textural transformation, with median grain sizes increasing from 153 to 435 μm to 467–982 μm and sorting degrading from very well to moderately well sorted, reflecting sustained disequilibrium. These findings are synthesized into a conceptual model where nourishment initiates feedback cycles that create human-dependent morphodynamic trajectories. This study concludes that the long-term resilience of developed coasts will depend on a strategic evolution from managing ‘sand as volume’ toward stewarding ‘sediment as a system,’ where textural compatibility is a primary determinant of success.
DOI
10.3390/jmse13122408
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Balasuriya, Divomi and Pope, Greg, "Linking Shoreline Change, Environmental Forcings, and Sedimentological Resilience in Nourished Beaches of Cape May and Wildwood, New Jersey, USA: A Multi-Decadal Synthesis" (2025). Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 795.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/earth-environ-studies-facpubs/795
Rights
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Published Citation
Balasuriya, D., & Pope, G. (2025). Linking Shoreline Change, Environmental Forcings, and Sedimentological Resilience in Nourished Beaches of Cape May and Wildwood, New Jersey, USA: A Multi-Decadal Synthesis. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 13(12), 2408. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13122408