The World\'s Beaches (gnv64)

The World's Beaches: A Global Guide to the Science of the Shoreline
by Orrin H. Pilkey, William J. Neal, James Andrew Graham Cooper and Joseph T. Kelley
University of California Press | July 2011 | ISBN-10: 0520268725 | PDF | 302 pages | 46.3 mb
http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Beaches-Global-Science-Shoreline/dp/0520268725

Take this book to the beach; it will open up a whole new world. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, maps, and graphics, it explores one of the planet's most dynamic environments--from tourist beaches to Arctic beaches strewn with ice chunks to steaming hot tropical shores. The World's Beaches tells how beaches work, explains why they vary so much, and shows how dramatic changes can occur on them in a matter of hours. It discusses tides, waves, and wind; the patterns of dunes, washover fans, and wrack lines; and the shape of berms, bars, shell lags, cusps, ripples, and blisters. What is the world's longest beach? Why do some beaches sing when you walk on them? Why do some have dark rings on their surface and tiny holes scattered far and wide? This fascinating, comprehensive guide also considers the future of beaches, and explains how extensively people have affected them--from coastal engineering to pollution, oil spills, and rising sea levels.

CONTENTS
Foreword by the Donor, The Santa Aguila Foundation • xi
Preface • xiii

I: THE GLOBAL CHARACTER OF BEACHES • 1
1 A World of Beaches • 5
2 Beaches of the World • 27
3 Of What Are Beaches Made? Sediments • 51
4 How Beaches Work: Waves, Currents, Tides, and Wind • 81
5 The Form of the Beach: Crab’s-Eye and Bird’s-Eye Views • 103

PART II: HOW TO READ A BEACH • 115
6 The Beach Surface Up Close: Imprints of Tides, Currents, and Waves • 119
7 Escape from Within: Air and Water in the Beach • 139
8 Whichever Way the Wind Blows: Reworking the Beach Surface • 153
9 Beach Creatures: Tracks, Trails, and Traces • 169
10 Carbonate Beaches: Seashells and the Stories They Tell • 185
11 Digging the Beach: Into the Third Dimension • 213

PART III: THE GLOBAL THREAT TO BEACHES • 223
12 Beaches at Risk: Sea-Level Rise and the Human Response • 227
13 The Urbanized Beach: From Middens to the Maelstrom of Development • 251
Glossary • 259
Selected References for Further Reading • 273
Index • 279