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Biological and physical coastal surveys are traditionally separated by disciplines but the integration of apparently disparate surveys into cohesive biophysical surveys has comparative advantage. The paper reviews methods of assessment and offers an integrated approach to realistic short-term goals of sustainable management within the overarching context of unsustainable long-term sustainability.

Although the direct involvement of nitrogen and phosphorus has been shown, eutrophication remains poorly managed to this day. The excessive growth of some opportunist seaweeds is the consequence in coastal ecosystems close to agricultural or strongly urbanized and industrialized zones. In Brittany, a leading tourist region of France, green tides set down on the beaches big quantities of Ulva, of which some 100,000 m3 are harvested annually, with significant ecological and economic consequences. In Florida, although the macroalgae (notably Codium) drift about with the currents, they are of sufficient mass and spread over such areal extent to inhibit penetration of sunlight through the water column to the coral reef surface. They strand also on the beaches. Stabilization of algae by composting and methanization of hydrolyzed and pressed algae juice are two methods which have been studied in Brittany and can be used to enhance the value of the harvested seaweed, depending on local conditions and on evolution...

Erosion of sandy beaches is a worldwide problem that elicits innovative geoengineer‐ing techniques to reduce adverse impacts of shoreline retreat. Beach replenishment has emerged as the “soft”; shore‐stabilization technique of choice for mitigating beach erosion. This method of shore protection involves the addition of sand to the littoral sediment budget for sacrificial purposes. Because inland sand sources are often uneconomical or impractical to use, and known nearshore sources are limited, finding adequate quantities of suitable sand on the inner continental shelf is often vital to beach replenishment projects. The technical studies of survey and materials analysis that identify and delineate usable sand sources are sometimes almost as expensive as small‐project dredging, pumping, and placing the sand on the beach as fill. Inadequate quantity or substandard quality of shelf sand, as well as often‐prohibitive overhead expenses, thus compel shoreline managers to seek suitable sand sources offshore. In t...

edited by Bill McGuire and Mark Maslin, The Royal Society and John Wiley & Sons, London, UK, 2013, xiii + 311 pp., €93.00, hbk (ISBN 978-0-470-65865-9). There is nothing new in this book! This work...

Landscapes in southwestern Australia are associated with variable proportions of a deep mantle of chemical weathering. By recognizing a continuum of landscapes showing a minimal amount of erosional modification of the deep mantle through to surfaces exhibiting intrusive stripping, broad soil-landscape units have been delineated. A descriptive classification of these units is proposed, based on the application of the concept of etch landsurfaces, the central theme of which incorporates both deep chemical weathering and differential stripping of the resultant saprolite.