Answer to Question #77681 in Physical geography for Shreya

Question

How do groynes affect the beach profile? Do they make the beach steeper as you move further along the coastline and why is it that it does this?

Answer 1

Groynes are cross-shore structures. They are designed to reduce longshore transport on open beaches or to deflect nearshore currents within an estuary. They trap beach material and cause the beach orientation to change relative to the dominant wave directions.