Size and Erosion Characteristics
The hotspots for which we have information are the following: Miami Beach, FL; Sea Gate/Coney Island, NY; Surfside, CA; Monmouth Beach, NJ; Ocean City, NJ; and Spring Lake, NJ. Most of the hotspots reported were greater than 750m in length along the shoreline. A large percentage of the hotspots experienced both chronic and post-storm erosion, demonstrating the importance of investigating hotspot behavior over short (weeks to months) and long (years to decades) time scales. In all reported cases, the long-term (annual) erosion rate at the hotspot was greater than that of the surrounding beach. On average, the erosion rate was 14.3 m/yr (± 13.7) higher at the hotspot. It is also interesting to note that short-term erosion rates (m/day) were not reported from any of the sites.
