Dr Amber Dunn is a qualified coastal scientist and currently works as the Environment and Science Manager at Gisborne District Council. She completed both her Masters and PhD degrees at the University of Waikato and this included studying the coastal erosion hazard at Wainui Beach and coastal storm activity along the eastern North Island. Amber is also a former New Zealand surfing champion and happily calls Wainui Beach ‘home’.
Making the invisible visible: the nature of sand is to move
The Tairāwhiti region is rich in golden sand beaches lined with small and large sand dunes between prominent headlands. The sand our beaches and dunes are made of is designed to move, and as a result, our beach and dune ecosystems are highly dynamic – they constantly change or adjust their form and shape with changes in wave energy, nearshore currents, and winds. These changes in shape or morphology manifest as the natural processes of erosion and accretion and represent the natural functioning of beaches and dunes.
The preservation, protection and restoration of beaches and dunes (and their associated natural character and surf breaks) requires a good understanding of the interconnected natural shoreline processes that span high wave energy, generation of ocean currents, the incessant movement of sand and the resulting changes in beach morphology. This paper focuses on the importance and purpose of natural sand movement and makes visible the invisible ‘underwater’ component of sand movement.
