How do beaches get bigger?

Over time a positive sediment budget drives growth on the coast—and beaches expand further into the ocean. Sea level rise, on the other hand, erodes sand from the beach and places it elsewhere on the coast. This can lead to a loss of sand from the beach—and the shoreline retreats inland.



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During the summer, waves retrieve sand from sandbars and build the beach back up again. These seasonal changes cause beaches to be wider and have a gentle slope in the summer, and be narrower and steeper in the winter.

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Over time a positive sediment budget drives growth on the coast—and beaches expand further into the ocean. Sea level rise, on the other hand, erodes sand from the beach and places it elsewhere on the coast. This can lead to a loss of sand from the beach—and the shoreline retreats inland.

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England's Beaches Are Surprisingly Beautiful (In the Right Weather) England is blessed with thousands of miles of coastline and hundreds of beaches.

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