When Divina Cox was a child, the beaches in her home country of the Bahamas were typically postcard-perfect landscapes of fine white (and sometimes pink) sand at the edge of turquoise waters. But with the seas rising and storms intensifying due to the effects of a warming Earth, this idyllic scenery is changing.
“Having grown up there I’ve seen that the beaches have changed a lot,” said Cox, now a UC Santa Barbara Ph.D. student. The changes are particularly evident after big storms, where the sand is washed away, leaving rocky terrain. Cox, who is conducting her doctoral studies in geography under advisor Ian Walker, wanted to understand this phenomenon and other geomorphic effects of sea level rise. To do so would mean taking time in the Bahamas to monitor conditions throughout the year, time she didn’t have.
Fortunately, citizen science is poised to help.
With the smartphone application CoastSnap, Cox can now monitor conditions at Bahamian beaches year-round, with the help of locals and beach visitors who are handy with their smartphone cameras. The data from these photos will allow her to interpret what is happening at these beaches, and derive information that could help mitigate problems of, and find solutions for, coastal erosion.