Researchers studying beach erosion in the Virgin Islands are reviewing recent findings by a University of the Virgin Islands marine science student. The findings, part of a master’s thesis, were developed with support from the university’s Caribbean Green Technology Center.
Among those findings was a cause for concern. The loss of shoreline near the Cyril E. King Airport is so severe that if a natural disaster were to occur, it could leave the adjacent roadway open to destruction. A collection of large rocks lines a portion of the road — now called Ambassador Terrence A. Todman Drive — as a means of protection.
The airport road is seen as an important thoroughfare for delivery of emergency supplies as part of disaster response.
Graduate student Zoe Price’s report examined conditions along the shore of Lindbergh Bay Beach on St. Thomas and other beaches territory-wide. According to Green Tech Center Director Gregory Guannel, the findings showed that beaches in the V.I. experienced less severe erosion than previously predicted.
Price said the Lindbergh Beach erosion was part of a wider study of factors that contributed to shoreline change.
“There were two main components of the study: Number One, the beach erosion overall in the territory … the beaches are erosive but it’s not dramatic. And then, there was a deeper dive into some of the erosion in Lindbergh Bay,” Guannel said.
Price and her team sought to determine how a 35-foot dredge hole dug up in the bay in the 1930s had on shoreline stability. The hole was created to provide construction material for the then-St. Thomas Airport. Concerns about changes in wave action in the bay have been under discussion for more than 20 years.
The director said the findings are of particular concern for coastal zone managers. A storm surge caused by a major hurricane could be strong enough to move the rock revetment out of the way.
Researchers say one way of mitigating potential problems may be to replace the revetment with larger, sturdier rocks that would be more likely to stay in place.
Guannel added that the wider study showed other V.I. beaches have experienced less shoreline loss due to erosion, and in the case of north shore beaches on St. Thomas and St. John, the beaches show signs of coastal replenishment
