{"id":2644,"date":"2020-06-04T11:46:18","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T11:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/?p=2644"},"modified":"2020-06-08T07:33:54","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T07:33:54","slug":"israeli-scientists-working-to-save-the-countries-coastline-from-rising-tide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/en\/ocean_beach\/israeli-scientists-working-to-save-the-countries-coastline-from-rising-tide\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli scientists work to save the country&#8217;s coastline from rising tide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Israeli scientists working to save the countries coastline from rising tide\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8pjaXZRjsBU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Israeli coastline has been changing for centuries, and the prehistoric evidence can be seen in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/mg20427361-400-atlit-yam-israel\/\">submerged settlements<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/Israel-News\/Culture\/Ancient-Roman-treasure-trove-found-off-coast-of-Caesarea-454096\">ancient artifacts<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/history\/oldest-known-seawall-discovered-along-submerged-mediterranean-villages-180973819\/\">sea walls<\/a> buried just offshore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the global mean sea\nlevel has been rising more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/115\/9\/2022\">7 cm<\/a> in the last 25 years \u2013 forcing coastal settlements to build\ndefenses and retreat to higher ground \u2013 the 21<sup>st<\/sup> century predicted rising\nrate of sea level along the Israeli coast will force the construction of\ncoastal defenses, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/271486234_The_effect_of_sea-level_rise_in_the_21st_century_on_marine_structures_along_the_Mediterranean_coast_of_Israel_An_evaluation_of_physical_damage_and_adaptation_cost\/figures?lo=1\">breakwaters<\/a> and submerged\nbreakwaters. However, engineered structures rarely solve all problems and\nregularly create new problems. As the sea level rises and human interference\ncontinues, the Israeli coast will experience more intense flooding,\ndisappearing beaches, and intensifying coastal erosion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A place that is already experiencing\nintense damage is one of Israel\u2019s most well-known ancient sites: Caesarea. Named\nby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.travelandleisure.com\/trip-ideas\/best-places-to-travel-in-2020\">Travel &amp;\nLeisure<\/a>\nas 2020\u2019s best tourist spot in the Middle East, Caesarea, as described by\nTourist Israel, is \u201ca magnificent site, a national park where amazing ancient\nharbor ruins, beautiful beaches, and impressive modern residences sit side by\nside.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists in Israel, like\nUniversity of Haifa\u2019s Beverly Goodman-Tchernov, have endeavored to uncover the\ncountry\u2019s past through underwater archaeology techniques and excavating sites,\none of which is Caesarea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Goodman-Tchernov\u2019s\nresearch focuses on coastlines and how they have changed, along with\nreconstructing excavated sites that show evidence of ancient tsunamis. Over the\nyears in the field, she\u2019s witnessed intensifying winter storms <a href=\"https:\/\/mfa.gov.il\/MFA\/InnovativeIsrael\/Pages\/Israel_stops_coastal_erosion-May_2011.aspx\">destroying what\nshe\u2019s previously documented<\/a>, which means\nracing against the clock to document historical sites before they are destroyed\nby the relentless tides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When chatting with Dr.\nGoodman-Tchernov, who has studied the changing coastlines of Israel, she\nequated her understanding of coastlines to the old saying: \u201cyou never step in\nthe same river twice.\u201d This is because the beaches \u201care in constant flux,\u201d but\nthe overall trend Dr. Goodman-Tchernov has seen is \u201cwe\u2019re losing sand and\nlosing coast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As coastal cities prepare against the rising tide, defenses are built that remedy erosion from constant wave action, but only for a short while. Unfortunately, these structures, which were designed to preserve the coast, inadvertently trap sand around them and thereby exacerbating the rate at which other beaches are disappearing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yaopey-yong-Y9aHAIHPkNI-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2649\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yaopey-yong-Y9aHAIHPkNI-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yaopey-yong-Y9aHAIHPkNI-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yaopey-yong-Y9aHAIHPkNI-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yaopey-yong-Y9aHAIHPkNI-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yaopey-yong-Y9aHAIHPkNI-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>As the sea level rises and human interference continues, the Israeli coast will experience more intense flooding, disappearing beaches, and intensifying coastal erosion. Photo by&nbsp;Yaopey Yong&nbsp;on&nbsp;Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Where\nis the sand going?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with the disappearance\nof timeless artifacts, beaches are vanishing before our very eyes, as sand is impeded\nfrom its northward migration from the Nile delta. Artificial structures along\nIsrael\u2019s coast trap sand that would otherwise travel northward along the\nMediterranean Sea, but the development of coastal cities has resulted in sand\npiling on the south of coastal construction sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>What\u2019s\nbeing done?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2015, artificial\nbreakwaters were approved in the coastal cities of Netanya, Herzliya, and\nAshkelon in an effort to mitigate the impact of winter storms on their coastal\nsandstone cliffs, and 2019 marked the year a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geoace.com\/products\/Geotextile-Bags%2C-Tubes-and-Containers\/lists\">submerged\ngeotube<\/a>\n\u2013 which is a fabric tube full of sand to aid in restoring the beach\u2013 was\napproved for installation off the north coast of Tel Aviv\u2019s last non-protected\nbeach. While these developments aim to lessen coastal erosion, they are met by\nlocal surfers and environmentalists with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/surfers-protest-plans-for-breakwater-off-last-open-beach-in-tel-aviv\/\">skepticism and\ncontention<\/a> as they counterintuitively encourage the loss of sand along\nother parts of the coast and create dangerous swimming conditions for\nunsuspecting beach-goers.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (IMFA) released a statement on the threat of coastal erosion for antiquity sites like Caesarea, Tel Ashkelon, and Apollonia. The statement described a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/life\/.premium-israel-turning-to-breakwaters-in-bid-to-stem-cliff-erosion-1.5376569\">plan<\/a> funded by the prime minister\u2019s office to create a series of coastal parks where sand will be channeled to beaches and protected from the relentless waves by building breakwaters with additional reinforcements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"687\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-LhD5L1m5rMo-unsplash-1024x687.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2653\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-LhD5L1m5rMo-unsplash-1024x687.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-LhD5L1m5rMo-unsplash-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-LhD5L1m5rMo-unsplash-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-LhD5L1m5rMo-unsplash-1536x1031.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-LhD5L1m5rMo-unsplash-2048x1374.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em><br>Artificial breakwaters in the coastal cities of Netanya, Herzliya, and Ashkelon are supposed to mitigate the impact of winter storms on their coastal sandstone cliffs. Photo by Shai Pal on Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>A\nglobal issue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Erosion threatens coastal\ncommunities worldwide, but human interference in an effort to remedy the\nproblem appears to exacerbate sand loss and coastal erosion in adjacent unprotected\nsites. Relentless beating from ocean waves is a difficult opponent to battle,\nbut some communities have found small successes in slowing the rising problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/montereybay.noaa.gov\/resourcepro\/resmanissues\/coastal.html\">Monterey Bay\nNational Marine Sanctuary<\/a> along the central California coast in the United States\nboasts a sweeping coastline and has been home to a destructive beach-front sand\nmining operation where the coast has eroded by an estimated 4 feet each year.\nSince mining began in 1906, sand has been removed from these shores at an\nalarming rate, and years of protesting and grass-roots movements have ordered\nall sand mining in the area to shut down by the end of 2020. This small win\nwill drastically slow the rate at which nearby beaches have been eroding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the opposite coast of the\nUnited States, Florida\u2019s Miami Beach is fighting a losing battle to keep its billion-dollar\ninfrastructure above water by allocating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/community\/miami-dade\/miami-beach\/article239077713.html\">$16 million to\npurchase 16,000 tons of sand<\/a> to delay the inevitable\nrising tide. Federally funded \u201cbeach re-nourishment\u201d projects at this scale are\na routine event and will continue to occur as coastal erosion continues to\nthreaten the citizens and tourists that visit Miami Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The issue of thinning beaches\nand coastal erosion leads to an exposed coastline that is vulnerable to natural\ndisasters that are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yaleclimateconnections.org\/2019\/07\/how-climate-change-is-making-hurricanes-more-dangerous\/\">increasing with\nintensity and severity due to a changing climate<\/a>. Concerns over\nrising tides and erosion for coastal cities must be considered for the success\nof future communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The coastal city of Marina located near the center of Monterey Bay is doing just that by implementing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2020-02-24\/marina-sea-level-rise?fbclid=IwAR12-2YXheKrUDpfX3n0D86Gu-u2ZH0bn6kwHRRAqBXMHlhl0rkEn69Nges\">comprehensive strategy<\/a> to level with the rising seas by minimizing nearshore development. By managing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityofmarina.org\/888\/Local-Coastal-Program-Update\">controlled retreat<\/a> from the encroaching tide rather than build expensive ocean-front homes, hotels, and restaurants and coastal barriers, this quaint, nature-centered city is growing and adapting to a future where a higher sea level is certain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/guillaume-merle-gMk6UejgyAE-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2657\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/guillaume-merle-gMk6UejgyAE-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/guillaume-merle-gMk6UejgyAE-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/guillaume-merle-gMk6UejgyAE-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/guillaume-merle-gMk6UejgyAE-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/guillaume-merle-gMk6UejgyAE-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary along the central California coast in the United States boasts a sweeping coastline and has been home to a destructive beach-front sand mining operation where the coast has eroded by an estimated 4 feet each year. Photo by&nbsp;Guillaume Merle&nbsp;on&nbsp;Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>What\ndoes this mean for the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A future with a relentlessly rising ocean threatens the stability and safety of coastal communities. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/srocc\/\">report<\/a> by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global mean sea level (GMSL) will rise between 0.43 m and 0.84 m until 2100. Israel\u2019s government is constructing artificial structures to protect the coast, but these measures impede the migration of sand northwards from the Nile Delta. Dr. Beverly Goodman-Tchernov has studied the changing coastline and has noticed \u201cless sediment coming to our beaches.\u201d The coming years will be for trial and error with necessary adaptation to infrastructure to accommodate the dynamic ocean forces, not least to ensure a future for ancient marvels like Caesarea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This ZAVIT article was also published in&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/nocamels.com\/2020\/05\/israeli-scientists-coastline-rising-tides\/\">NoCamels<\/a> on 05\/24\/2020.<\/em><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Israeli coastline has been changing for centuries, and the prehistoric evidence can be seen in submerged settlements, ancient artifacts, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":2665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14,12],"tags":[],"acf":[],"post-meta-fields":{"_edit_lock":["1591604716:11"],"_oembed_26513570af800f1c58d202ef0cc85f77":["<iframe title=\"Israeli scientists working to save the countries coastline from rising tide\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8pjaXZRjsBU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>"],"_oembed_time_26513570af800f1c58d202ef0cc85f77":["1591271544"],"_edit_last":["11"],"subtitle":["Ancient escarpments along Israel\u2019s coast are being broken down by the constant wave action while the sea level rises and beaches disappear. What does this mean for Israel\u2019s changing coastline?"],"_subtitle":["field_59d3d36ea7fe1"],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"_wpml_media_featured":["1"],"_thumbnail_id":["2665"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2644"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2674,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644\/revisions\/2674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}