A task force in San Diego wants to use fluorescent sand to help understand the role ocean movement is playing in California’s vanishing beaches.
Why It Matters
Beaches in the Golden State have been shrinking due to coastal erosion, researchers say.
A 2023 study suggested that between one and three quarters of California’s beaches could disappear by the end of the century, according to the Guardian.
What to Know
The recommendation was proposed in a report earlier this month to the San Diego Association of Governments’ (SANDAG) Shoreline Preservation Working Group by the Sediment Management Technical Taskforce, formed in 2023 to understand how sediment moves within the Oceanside littoral cell—a self-contained coastal unit that includes the sources, transport paths and sinks of sediment. It is one of three in the San Diego region.
It was also set up with the goal of identifying “gaps in data or policies, and challenges with sediment management,” according to the report.
The task force comprises technical experts, coastal managers and “interested parties located within the Oceanside Littoral Cell.”
“It was a specific dive into how the sand’s moving and what we can do to maximize the sand on… beaches,” said Keith Greer, deputy director of regional planning for the San Diego Regional Association of Governments, who presented the report at the meeting on December 5.
After meeting over a 12-month period, one of the recommendations of the task force was to conduct a “sand tracer study,” which would help analyze where sand moves within sub-littoral cells.
Greer described the movement of sand as a “complex dance.”
He said there was an “information gap” in understanding why some locations seemingly retain sand better than others.
To remedy this, the task force’s report proposed a tracer study to help understand the movement of sand in erosional areas.
“The tracer study is really just taking this fluorescent, non-toxic sand, placing it out there, and then watching where it goes,” Greer said. “It’s been done all over the world.”
Such studies tend to involve “tracers,” which are often tagged with fluorescent dyes or rare earth elements to distinguish them from the natural sediment.
After introducing the tracers at specific locations, the study area is periodically sampled to detect and quantify the tracers’ distribution, providing insights into sediment movement over time.
What People Are Saying
Greer said, as reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune: “The information would contribute to the design of beach nourishment programs, sand bypassing operations, and design and siting of sediment retention measures.”
What Happens Next
SANDAG will reportedly include the task force’s recommendations in its Shoreline Management Program for the 2026 fiscal year.
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