Goleta Beach Restoration Project
Sand Berm After the Jan. 2001 Storm
| Waves from a powerful Pacific storm attacked the sand berm in the period 8-12 January 2001 and almost washed it away completely. The waves were expected to be 3-7' high and rode in on astronomical tides up to 7.1'. Bulldozers pushed sand back up onto the berm between tides, but all of the sand eventually eroded away except for a stretch about 200 m long in what had been a berm about 400 m in length. Where the berm had been eroded, the waves attacked the compacted fill that underlies the park and parking lots, compounding the severe erosion initially caused by storms in 1997. |
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| Goleta Beach, 12 Jan 2001. View east of remnants of white sand berm in foreground and brown sand berm in background upon shelf of brown, pebbly, artificially compacted fill. Waves not only removed the sand, but are also attacking and actively eroding the compacted fill. Note black dredge outflow pipe in upper middle of image. The berm was rebuilt in the days following the storm. ©AGS2001. |