The good news: The drive to the beach may be shorter in coming years.

The bad news weve already seen. Especially last winter. Homes falling into the ocean. Beaches scoured of sand. Seawalls and jetties degraded or destroyed. Roads washed out or buried in sand and debris.

Its difficult to say if last winters damage was a seasonal fluctuation or a definite, long-term trend, say experts. Coastlines, by their nature, change. Storm patterns, too, vary.

But experts agree on one point: Sea levels are rising, increasing the likelihood of long-term coastal flooding, erosion and storm damage.

Last winter may be an outlier. Four major noreasters rocked Massachusetts from October to March. From year to year, storms vary in severity and impact. Because the commonwealths coast suffered through a severe winter last year, doesnt necessarily mean this winter will be equally severe.

At the same time, barrier beaches can be very dynamic. They can narrow and shrink for a number of years. And then they can suddenly blossom again and widen. One beach can lose significant sand, while another, not far away, can gain.

There are areas where weve seen significant erosion and others where weve seen accretion, said Bruce Carlisle, director of the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. Between 2001 and 2008, where weve done the actual mapping, within that small decade, the shoreline has moved up and back a little bit.

Its important to distinguish between the loss of a beach and the migration of a beach or barrier island, when an entire system can respond by changing its location, said Rob Thieler, a research geologist with United States Geological Survey in Woods Hole. Sometimes coastal changes are asymmetric. There can be narrowing for a decade or two, followed by widening, depending on how the overall system is changing.

Hurricanes cause some damage, said Bill Sargent, a NOVA consultant and author of numerous books about the environment and science including Beach Wars: 10,000 Years on a Barrier Beach and The View From Strawberry Hill: Reflections on the Hottest Year on Record, but Sargent argues noreasters can actually do more damage because theyll hang around for three or four days. They linger over far more high tides than a hurricane would and thats when you get a cumulative effect.

Read more from the original source:

Coastal changes: Beaches on the move