Beach replenishment and surf-zone injuries along the coast of Delmarva, USA

Beach replenishment is a common practice to repair eroded beaches along the beach communities of Delmarva. A consequence of beach replenishment is a significant increase in the slope of the beach within the surf-zone. Steepening of the beach slope can create conditions conducive to shorebreak. Shorebreak occurs when a wave approaches a beach unabated and breaks in shallow water near the shoreline. Accident reports are investigated to determine the statistics of shorebreak related injuries. From 2006 to 2015 shorebreak was a contributing factor in over 82% of reported surf-zone injuries in Ocean City, Maryland. Furthermore, this paper examines a beach slope before and after a beach replenishment project. The beach slopes are then utilized in a computational fluid dynamics model and solitary wave run-ups are simulated. It is determined that the beach replenishment project increased the beach slope enough to create shorebreak conditions as simulated in the computational model. Beach replenishment is linked to surf-zone injuries and alternative beach replenishment methods are proposed to reduce or eliminate shorebreak and shorebreak related injuries.