Kurt, you are, of course, correct, I didnât detail those storms that went inland before OC since they typically werenât involved in significant sea cliff erosion. I believe that is part of the 93 I charted
Location: Really deep in the heart of South California Gender:
Posted:
Nov 2, 2026 - 8:20pm
geoff_morphini wrote:
I disagree with this. Is there factual information that you can provide to back this? Iâll make an effort to show this is NOT a once in a lifetime event. There have been several similar events in the historical past, with increasing intensities of your bullets 1, 2, 4 and 5; we will likely see this again.
As a followup - Here is your earlier statement about the recent hurricane.
Hurricane Rachael only the second time SoCal has had a tropical storm warning in California history. If memory serves me right the other was the legendary âHurricane of â39â Hurricane Rachael was extra special because as it moved north it took a right turn into the coast instead of the usual left turn out to sea.
There have been others. I used the NOAA Historical Hurricane guide to find earthquakes in the general area of Los Angeles. These 5 showed up. I specifically looked for the 1939 event but it isnât in the database. I did, however, find it and some other noteworthy storms that impacted the Orange County area.
October 2, 1858 â The San Diego hurricane. Documented damage from SD north to San Pedro. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-85-11-1689 September 1939 - The Tropical Cyclones of the El Nino of 1938-39. This is the storm I believe you are referring to. It was a set of 4 tropical storms âLow-lying coastal regions from Malibu to Huntington Beach were flooded, and thousands of people were stranded in their homes. There was heavy street flooding - up to 3 feet (1 meter) in places. Ten homes were washed away by waves in Belmont Shore. There was significant agricultural damage. The pier at Point Mugu was destroyed. September 1997 - Linda - also an El Nino year, brought one colossal near-miss to Southern California with Hurricane Linda, the strongest eastern Pacific hurricane on record. This Category 5 hurricane at one point had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (161 knots). Fortunately, the storm turned westward away from land. Still, Linda brought significant rainfall across parts of Southern California and waves up to 18 feet (5.5 meters), and caused several million dollars in property damage. https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/OceanEvents/Hurricane_SouthernCalifornia_Oct2012?utm_source=chatgpt.com August 2014 - Marie - this is a hurricane that was more than 500 km offshore but caused considerable coastal erosion in the Orange County area. At Newport Beach wave heights reached 15-20 feet. It was referred to as an exceptional swell by the National Weather Service. This significance of this is that a hurricane doesnât have to be a direct hit on OC to cause considerable damage. These hurricanes, as you pointed out, that move northward and then west away from the shore are more the norm. https://www.surfline.com/surf-news/anatomy-of-a-swell-hurricane-marie-august-2014
Additionally, here are several others that have occurred in the area. Here are 5 that are direct hits (Hilary, 2023, Norman, 1978, Doreen 1977, Hyacyinth, 1972, Jen-Kath, 1963) No all caused massive destruction, but they did occur and suggest that hurricanes are more frequent than you assert. In fact, I just used the NOAA historical storm track site with a radius of 500 km around Los Angeles county to see how many historic storms (hurricanes and tropical storms) have been recorded. Here is the link to that search. 93 events have been recorded historically. Were they all destructive? NO, but to make it seem like they donât occur is not accurate.
Location: Really deep in the heart of South California Gender:
Posted:
Nov 2, 2026 - 8:10pm
kurtster wrote:
Sorry to inform you this is not A I. It's all me. From memory. I did google a few things like finding the actual name of the Channel, the dimensions and speed of this Kelvin Wave and to confirm the existence and type of of the bedrock in Laguna Beach.
Regarding trucking in sand, you're thinking East Coast. That is what the littoral flow I mentioned is all about, It is how the sand on the West Coast ebbs and replenishes itself naturally. The East Coast and the Gulf for that matter are littered with jetties. Jetties and harbours alter the natural littoral sand machine and cause deficits downstream. I can go off about how ACE or the Army Core of Engineers has screwed up SoCal, but no one cares.
Regarding how the government treats people in "paradise" try this video on for size that I uncovered noodling around.
I remember surf fishing with my dad, brother and uncles back in the very early 60's pretty much where before they built San Onofre nuclear plant. Way before they "put" I-5 there. It was a two lane expressway. We went there numerous times during the summer months.
I was amazed when we'd show up sometimes and the beach was just solid "river rock". When we returned a few weeks later... it was all sand.
My dad said that's been happening since he was a kid. He was born in Anaheim, California in '27.
By the way... my brother and I would go body surfing after fishing for almost an hour because the fish weren't biting anyway.
My dad would chase us away from where he was fishing to scare the fish his direction. He was THE fish killer.
That video is cool. We see a lot of this with our ever changing beaches.
In Cabo, there is a place at the very end of the peninsula that has underwater 'sandfalls'. It's a ~ 100ft deep dive - really cool (and some cool pelagics down there too).
The whole peninsula is pretty interesting geologically and botanically. I used to think there were some cool glacial erratics there, but I learned it was never glaciated. There are giant (like size of a car +) out of place boulders, that have been moved by flash floods (and some other things, but mostly floods). You would probably enjoy it.
Ok, sorry for the delay. I didn't want to reply without getting some information to back it up, plus I've had a pretty busy few days. Although my expertise is in earthquake-related geomorphology and tectonics I have taught classes from undergraduate to graduate level on coastal geomorphology, paleoclimate and process geomorphology. This has also allowed me to be well-acquainted with some of the coastal researchers that are cited in the following discussion. I've also taught a class for more than 20 years where we kept records of sea cliff erosion for more than 30 years. We have concluded that the main contributing factors were high-tide, big-storm surge, and an unprotected beach, usually as a result of sand being moved offshore during fall/winter allowing unfettered access of storm waves to the base of the sea cliff. As sea level rises those cliffs will be more vulnerable.
My comments are in bold.
Also, I'm sure you've seen this but others may not have, it is a classic explanation of how sand moves along a beach, it was created in 1965 by Scripps Institute of Oceanography. This isn't meant to refute any of your statement.
The Kelvin Wave and the OC.
The coastal erosion going on in the OC and in particular Laguna Beach is the result of an extremely unusual confluence of separate events and the local geology. An event such as this is pretty much a once in a lifetime event.Will discuss this later, this is my main issue with your post.
The ingredients: I agree with all of the ingredients except for the Santa Ana winds.
Super El Nino (climate induced)
Larger than normal Kelvin Waves (El Niño induced)
A full moon affecting already regular high tides - not critical but I did recall a full moon only a few days ago, so, I looked it up and it was a new moon during Rachel - a new moon still can influence tides significantly
Hurricane Rachael and only the second time SoCal has had a tropical storm warning in California history. If memory serves me right the other was the legendary âHurricane of â39â Hurricane Rachael was extra special because as it moved north it took a right turn into the coast instead of the usual left turn out to sea. (See discussion below)
And for extra fun, a Santana Santa Ana Wind and fire event in the San Clemente area which by their very nature are strong, hot and offshore that adds even more fun and energy to all the water. And affect the currents and water circulation all by itself. I wasnât aware of the Santa Ana winds occurring during the hurricane but they were, in fact, about 6 days after. Having said that, if they had occurred during the hurricane, and Iâm not sure that would be meteorologically possible, the winds probably would affect water temperature by causing minor upwelling, thus cooling the water. But this is a moot point here.
Iâm adding this ingredient, sea level rise
The mixing bowl: The Channel Island Bight, the name of the channel between the offshore Channel Islands and the SoCal mainland south of Point Conception and extending farther south to around San Clemente
The geography of Orange County that makes it extremely vulnerable to South Swells. The geology of the coast of Orange County and the coastal bluffs being mostly sandstone.
The interruption of the normal currents and the littoral sand flow along the coast line.
So all the videos of the waves, flooding and destruction of property are pretty scary and impressive to behold. But this is not and will not be a new normal. It is a once in a lifetime local event that can only happen at this locality. I disagree with this. Is there factual information that you can provide to back this? Iâll make an effort to show this is NOT a once in a lifetime event. There have been several similar events in the historical past, with increasing intensities of your bullets 1, 2, 4 and 5; we will likely see this again.
All by itself the OC is exposed to the south and the regular summer storms off the coast of Mexico, generally around the Acapulco region. It is protected from western and northern swells by the Channel Islands in the fall, winter and spring which is why surfing in these seasons sucks in the OC. And then the orientation of the coastline make these westerly swells very weak without the blocking of the islands. No disagreement.
So we have a confluence of high energy events due south of SoCal and especially the OC headed due north. This energy and the actual mass of the Kelvin Wave enter into the Bight at the first island in the chain, San Clemente. It was used for bombing practice during the Viet Nam war. Every once in a while you could see the flashes of the bombs exploding from my house. The tide had to be pretty low for the island to be visible above the curvature of the earth. Not a regular event but something that you notice anyway. No disagreement.
With all of this energy headed directly into the Bight which is a bottle neck for all of this energy, the Bight essentially turns into a washing machine. And amplifying everything already going on in orders of magnitude- Do you have anything to support this statement? Orders of magnitude implies a measurable quantity. And with the extra mass and energy of the Kelvin Wave, the washing machine is overloaded and leaking, causing flooding on top of the regularly cycled yet coincidental high tides and normal tidal flooding. And due to the shape of the Bight this energy almost stops moving taking several times as long for the Kelvin Wave to leak out once it overcomes the top of the bottle, Point Conception and gets back to heading north.
The washing machine is churning faster and more violently than normal causing abnormal yet predictable erosion in the OC. The OC is pretty much flat land from Long Beach to Newport Beach which is where the sandstone bluffs head out to the coast at Corona del Mar down to Oceanside, south of Camp Pendelton in northern San Diego county and then returns again at Del Mar all the rest of the way to Mexico. But the real fun weâre having starts in San Clemente which is opposite of San Clemente Island which is the entry point into the Channel Bight. Due to the location of the next island north Santa Catalina Island, this is where the Kelvin Wave really meets its first resistance and begins stacking up on itself and changing everything in its path. The distance from the shoreline in Newport Beach to Santa Catalina Island is only 26 miles. The Kelvin Wave moves through the Bight two to 3 or 4 times slower than in the open water, prolonging the increased water levels. - Iâve looked all though the literature for this research and can find none that describes the reduction of velocity of a Kelvin Wave through the SC Bight, could you please provide a reference. It is an extremely slow pulse of warm water, calling it a wave is a bit misleading (not your fault, that's what it is called. The width or length of the wave along the coastline is about 100 miles so the entire Bight ends up being completely filled with the Kelvin Wave all at once. Unimpeded the wave moves northward at about 5 or 6 mph. The coastal location of this point happens to be the coast 10 miles to the north which is Dana Point which then becomes Laguna Beach.
The washing machine is an interesting analogy and I agree that there are unique and well-known currents in the area. Also, there has been a substantial amount of research conducted along the SC Bight to understand the influence of bathymetry, existing currents and other influences on long-wavelength ocean currents (though none specifically regarding Kelvin Waves). Most of these currents (including tides) are faster and shorter-wavelength, thus more prone to stacking up. The Kelvin Wave is, in fact quite slow as you pointed out and would not be expected to stack up in the Bight. Iâve done a little research on this looking as some tide-gauge data along the coast through the Bight and they recorded a ~ 0.5 - 1 foot rise above forecast tides, not an extreme elevation that you describe here. This elevation started before the hurricane and persisted after it diminished so it was the Kelvin Wave. The importance of this elevated sea level is that the tide and storm were elevated that much more. Also, it is likely that the wave will be present along the entire CA coast at once and possibly the entire west coast at the same time so I like to think of it less like a surge of warm water and more of a temporary change in water temperature and elevation.
Geologically, Laguna Beach is different from most parts of the OC coast line. The exposed rock seen at certain beaches is actually bedrock, not sandstone. This bedrock is called San Onofre Breccia. It is only found in certain locations along the OC coastline and was formed long ago from a massive collapse of part of Santa Catalina Island into the Bight. That is the primary reason the beach structures at the water line taking the beating of the wave action are still standing as they are built directly on this bedrock as opposed to crumbling sandstone bluffs. Harder surfaces also will amplify wave force and action. The water moves faster on these surfaces than on sand. Another reason for the major backwash action seen at the waterline. So a tremendous amount of energy is being spent as well as being created and the energy waves start bouncing off the boundary surfaces of the Bight in all directions creating energy chaos. Just a point of contention here, I have no problem with your assertion that the more resistant San Onofre Breccia is less likely to erode AND reflect wave energy, however, it doesnât increase the energy it just redirects it.
Like channel chop at a whole different level. Which is why I call it a washing machine action. This high energy wave action is harder on the sandstone bluffs than normal and with the bluffs being thoroughly soaked from Hurricane Rachael even more prone to collapsing than normal. And they are.
This is what is going on in the areas of the OC from which this discussion originated. It is highly unique with so many variables coming together all at once in one place. This will not be a regular event anytime soon in the coming future. Again, you say this with no attribution to anything that one can reference. This is an unusual event but there have been destructive hurricanes and tropical storms in the greater Los Angeles/San Diego area in our lives (See below). The science suggests this is not a one-off event. Most of the eroded sand will return when the normal currents and littoral flow are restored. The collapsed bluffs are forever changed which is normal for such a dynamic coastline with this type of geology. To blame this specific current event on Climate Change is a reach. It may be a contributing factor but far from the primary cause. Again, this is your opinion, or that of someone you havenât cited. I donât see a scientific basis for your assertion. In fact, your âingredientsâ are, for the most part, except for the moon, all climate-related events. We know climate is changing based on strong scientific discovery, if you want to refute it based solely on your opinion I donât value that much. I do value the science. Here are the CA Coastal Commission and California Ocean Protection Council reports on future sea level https://documents.coastal.ca.gov/assets/slr/guidance/2024/2024AdoptedSLRPolicyGuidanceUpdate.pdf https://opc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/California-Sea-Level-Rise-Guidance-2024-508.pdf
I went ahead and captured this entire section from a paper that investigates Sea Level Rise and coastline erosion/sea cliff retreat in Southern California. I believe the entire statement is informative. In short, sea level rise is happening and will affect coastal erosion. Your ingredients listed above all sit on top of a rising sea level. If SL is higher, more of the coast is exposed and erosion is more likely to happen. If you put more storms, larger Kelvin Waves, etc. on top of an elevated SL there will be more erosion. Also, as ocean temperatures rise in southern CA it is more likely that tropical storms will track there as that warmer water is what feeds them.
âSLR during the 21st century is likely to increase the exposure of Californiaâs coastal cliffs to wave impacts, thereby increasing the vulnerability of cliff-top coastal infrastructure. Our results suggest that depending on the amount of SLR, cliff retreat rates could increase on average in Southern California by 27â185% abovehistorically observed retreat rates, leading to a total of 19â41 m of coastal land loss by 2100. Oceanfront property owners (Figures 1b and 1c) often react to increased vulnerability by armoring the coast with sea walls ortemporary rock walls (e.g., rip rap and revetments). About 20% of the Southern California coast is alreadyarmored (Barnard et al., 2015), and that number is likely to increase. But, an increase in armoring comes withseveral possible consequences, including a decrease to the beach sediment supply (Mushkin et al., 2016;Runyan & Griggs, 2003), possible eventual loss of the beach (if present) due to gradual inundation, and continuing development in already vulnerable locationsâwhich, in turn, will further increase the risk (Armstronget al., 2016). â
This quote is from Limber, P.W., Barnard, P.L., Vitousek, S., and Erikson, L.H., 2018, A Model Ensemble for Projecting Multidecadal Coastal Cliff Retreat During the 21st Century: Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, v. 123, p. 1566â1589, doi:10.1029/2017JF004401.
Thatâs my story the best as I can tell it and Iâm gonna stick to it.
You may now have your way with me if you since you actually read this down to here.
TLDNR may not apply.
As a followup - Here is your earlier statement about the recent hurricane.
Hurricane Rachael only the second time SoCal has had a tropical storm warning in California history. If memory serves me right the other was the legendary âHurricane of â39â Hurricane Rachael was extra special because as it moved north it took a right turn into the coast instead of the usual left turn out to sea.
There have been others. I used the NOAA Historical Hurricane guide to find earthquakes in the general area of Los Angeles. These 5 showed up. I specifically looked for the 1939 event but it isnât in the database. I did, however, find it and some other noteworthy storms that impacted the Orange County area.
October 2, 1858 â The San Diego hurricane. Documented damage from SD north to San Pedro. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-85-11-1689 September 1939 - The Tropical Cyclones of the El Nino of 1938-39. This is the storm I believe you are referring to. It was a set of 4 tropical storms âLow-lying coastal regions from Malibu to Huntington Beach were flooded, and thousands of people were stranded in their homes. There was heavy street flooding - up to 3 feet (1 meter) in places. Ten homes were washed away by waves in Belmont Shore. There was significant agricultural damage. The pier at Point Mugu was destroyed. September 1997 - Linda - also an El Nino year, brought one colossal near-miss to Southern California with Hurricane Linda, the strongest eastern Pacific hurricane on record. This Category 5 hurricane at one point had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (161 knots). Fortunately, the storm turned westward away from land. Still, Linda brought significant rainfall across parts of Southern California and waves up to 18 feet (5.5 meters), and caused several million dollars in property damage. https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/OceanEvents/Hurricane_SouthernCalifornia_Oct2012?utm_source=chatgpt.com August 2014 - Marie - this is a hurricane that was more than 500 km offshore but caused considerable coastal erosion in the Orange County area. At Newport Beach wave heights reached 15-20 feet. It was referred to as an exceptional swell by the National Weather Service. This significance of this is that a hurricane doesnât have to be a direct hit on OC to cause considerable damage. These hurricanes, as you pointed out, that move northward and then west away from the shore are more the norm. https://www.surfline.com/surf-news/anatomy-of-a-swell-hurricane-marie-august-2014
Additionally, here are several others that have occurred in the area. Here are 5 that are direct hits (Hilary, 2023, Norman, 1978, Doreen 1977, Hyacyinth, 1972, Jen-Kath, 1963) No all caused massive destruction, but they did occur and suggest that hurricanes are more frequent than you assert. In fact, I just used the NOAA historical storm track site with a radius of 500 km around Los Angeles county to see how many historic storms (hurricanes and tropical storms) have been recorded. Here is the link to that search. 93 events have been recorded historically. Were they all destructive? NO, but to make it seem like they donât occur is not accurate.
Sorry to inform you this is not A I. It's all me. From memory. I did google a few things like finding the actual name of the Channel, the dimensions and speed of this Kelvin Wave and to confirm the existence and type of of the bedrock in Laguna Beach.
Regarding trucking in sand, you're thinking East Coast. That is what the littoral flow I mentioned is all about, It is how the sand on the West Coast ebbs and replenishes itself naturally. The East Coast and the Gulf for that matter are littered with jetties. Jetties and harbours alter the natural littoral sand machine and cause deficits downstream. I can go off about how ACE or the Army Core of Engineers has screwed up SoCal, but no one cares.
Regarding how the government treats people in "paradise" try this video on for size that I uncovered noodling around.
I'm pretty sure your video aligns with my comments. You bought the view for yourself... you deal with the loss.
Your posting also supports my comments about climate change. The collapse in the video was caused by "record-breaking rainfall from a historic atmospheric river". How many natural disasters do you recall from the 60s? Warm + water issues in CA the last 10 years include 4 atmospheric rivers... 2017, then 2023, 2024, and 2025. There is also the first tropical storm to make landfall in 80 years hit SoCal. Ask the folks at Burning Man.
I don't much care about "this wave" or "that landslide"... my comments were focused on your statements that this was rare and not to be expected again. It'll happen again. Sooner than you think.
The ocean is warmer. The air is warmer. The Kelvin wave is...? Warm water? The past is no indicator for the future.
But since the bookâs original 1963 publication, a new wave â the wave of climate change â has vastly impacted ocean dynamics, coastlines and coastal communities. Refreshed for the 21st Century, Patagonia announces a new edition of Waves and Beaches to help readers take action in protecting our shores.
Kurtster, thanks for posting your thoughts, itâs clear you have a long personal history in the area. I will respond but canât do it thoughtfully right now due to other obligations.
Thank you. Looking forward to your response. Cheers !
Your use of AI is delivering incomplete, or maybe I should say isolated reasoning in your responses.
"Once in your lifetime" and historically rare events now happen more regularly, with amplifications in frequency and impact. That is by definition a climate change.
You want to outlaw socialism? Get rid of the state and federal insurance backstops and public assistance after a disaster for those living in "paradise".
The greatest thing about America is that we encourage failure. Our bankruptcy laws are why we have been the greatest innovation engine in history this past 150 years. We apply that same sort of "social support" for disasters. In the past it made sense, but it is increasingly supporting activities that are going to end badly. Pumping the sand back to the beach every few years is a fools errand.
Sadly, events that we've grown up with as "rare" are quickly becoming "regular".
Sorry to inform you this is not A I. It's all me. From memory. I did google a few things like finding the actual name of the Channel, the dimensions and speed of this Kelvin Wave and to confirm the existence and type of of the bedrock in Laguna Beach.
Regarding trucking in sand, you're thinking East Coast. That is what the littoral flow I mentioned is all about, It is how the sand on the West Coast ebbs and replenishes itself naturally. The East Coast and the Gulf for that matter are littered with jetties. Jetties and harbours alter the natural littoral sand machine and cause deficits downstream. I can go off about how ACE or the Army Core of Engineers has screwed up SoCal, but no one cares.
Regarding how the government treats people in "paradise" try this video on for size that I uncovered noodling around.
Kurtster, thanks for posting your thoughts, itâs clear you have a long personal history in the area. I will respond but canât do it thoughtfully right now due to other obligations.
An event such as this is pretty much a once in a lifetime event...
... This will not be a regular event anytime soon in the coming future.
Your use of AI is delivering incomplete, or maybe I should say isolated reasoning in your responses.
"Once in your lifetime" and historically rare events now happen more regularly, with amplifications in frequency and impact. That is by definition a climate change.
You want to outlaw socialism? Get rid of the state and federal insurance backstops and public assistance after a disaster for those living in "paradise".
The greatest thing about America is that we encourage failure. Our bankruptcy laws are why we have been the greatest innovation engine in history this past 150 years. We apply that same sort of "social support" for disasters. In the past it made sense, but it is increasingly supporting activities that are going to end badly. Pumping the sand back to the beach every few years is a fools errand.
Sadly, events that we've grown up with as "rare" are quickly becoming "regular".
The California Coastal Commission has some good info on climate change, sea level rise (incl. erosion, etc.), and El Niño.
The 2026/27 El Niño is continuing to strengthen, with a strong possibility that it could become a historically strong or âsuperâ El Niño. It is expected to pick up during the DecemberâFebruary period, when coastal communities may experience more frequent and intense storms, rainfall, and high wave conditions.
I'd be happy to discuss the geology/oceanography v. Kelvin wave v. climate change if you want kurster. You seem to suggest you have some expertise in this.
Here ya go.
10/30/2026
The Kelvin Wave and the OC.
The coastal erosion going on in the OC and in particular Laguna Beach is the result of an extremely unusual confluence of separate events and the local geology. An event such as this is pretty much a once in a lifetime event.
The ingredients:
Super El Nino
Larger than normal Kelvin Waves
A full moon affecting already regular high tides
Hurricane Rachael and only the second time SoCal has had a tropical storm warning in California history. If memory serves me right the other was the legendary âHurricane of â39â Hurricane Rachael was extra special because as it moved north it took a right turn into the coast instead of the usual left turn out to sea.
And for extra fun, a Santana Wind and fire event in the San Clemente area which by their very nature are strong, hot and offshore that adds even more fun and energy to all the water. And affect the currents and water circulation all by itself.
The mixing bowl: The Channel Island Bight, the name of the channel between the offshore Channel Islands and the SoCal mainland south of Point Conception and extending farther south to around San Clemente
The geography of Orange County that makes it extremely vulnerable to South Swells.
The geology of the coast of Orange County and the coastal bluffs being mostly sandstone.
The interruption of the normal currents and the littoral sand flow along the coast line.
So all the videos of the waves, flooding and destruction of property are pretty scary and impressive to behold. But this is not and will not be a new normal. It is a once in a lifetime local event that can only happen at this locality.
All by itself the OC is exposed to the south and the regular summer storms off the coast of Mexico, generally around the Acapulco region. It is protected from western and northern swells by the Channel Islands in the fall, winter and spring which is why surfing in these seasons sucks in the OC. And then the orientation of the coastline make these westerly swells very weak without the blocking of the islands.
So we have a confluence of high energy events due south of SoCal and especially the OC headed due north. This energy and the actual mass of the Kelvin Wave enter into the Bight at the first island in the chain, San Clemente. It was used for bombing practice during the Viet Nam war. Every once in a while you could see the flashes of the bombs exploding from my house. The tide had to be pretty low for the island to be visible above the curvature of the earth. Not a regular event but something that you notice anyway.
With all of this energy headed directly into the Bight which is a bottle neck for all of this energy, the Bight essentially turns into a washing machine. And amplifying everything already going on in orders of magnitude. And with the extra mass and energy of the Kelvin Wave, the washing machine is overloaded and leaking, causing flooding on top of the regularly cycled yet coincidental high tides and normal tidal flooding. And due to the shape of the Bight this energy almost stops moving taking several times as long for the Kelvin Wave to leak out once it overcomes the top of the bottle, Point Conception and gets back to heading north.
The washing machine is churning faster and more violently than normal causing abnormal yet predictable erosion in the OC. The OC is pretty much flat land from Long Beach to Newport Beach which is where the sandstone bluffs head out to the coast at Corona del Mar down to Oceanside, south of Camp Pendelton in northern San Diego county and then returns again at Del Mar all the rest of the way to Mexico. But the real fun weâre having starts in San Clemente which is opposite of San Clemente Island which is the entry point into the Channel Bight. Due to the location of the next island north Santa Catalina Island, this is where the Kelvin Wave really meets its first resistance and begins stacking up on itself and changing everything in its path. The distance from the shoreline in Newport Beach to Santa Catalina Island is only 26 miles. The Kelvin Wave moves through the Bight two to 3 or 4 times slower than in the open water, prolonging the increased water levels. The width or length of the wave along the coastline is about 100 miles so the entire Bight ends up being completely filled with the Kelvin Wave all at once. Unimpeded the wave moves northward at about 5 or 6 mph. The coastal location of this point happens to be the coast 10 miles to the north which is Dana Point which then becomes Laguna Beach.
Geologically, Laguna Beach is different from most parts of the OC coast line. The exposed rock seen at certain beaches is actually bedrock, not sandstone. This bedrock is called San Onofre Breccia. It is only found in certain locations along the OC coastline and was formed long ago from a massive collapse of part of Santa Catalina Island into the Bight. That is the primary reason the beach structures at the water line taking the beating of the wave action are still standing as they are built directly on this bedrock as opposed to crumbling sandstone bluffs. Harder surfaces also will amplify wave force and action. The water moves faster on these surfaces than on sand. Another reason for the major backwash action seen at the waterline. So a tremendous amount of energy is being spent as well as being created and the energy waves start bouncing off the boundary surfaces of the Bight in all directions creating energy chaos. Like channel chop at a whole different level. Which is why I call it a washing machine action. This high energy wave action is harder on the sandstone bluffs than normal and with the bluffs being thoroughly soaked from Hurricane Rachael even more prone to collapsing than normal. And they are.
This is what is going on in the areas of the OC from which this discussion originated. It is highly unique with so many variables coming together all at once in one place. This will not be a regular event anytime soon in the coming future. Most of the eroded sand will return when the normal currents and littoral flow are restored. The collapsed bluffs are forever changed which is normal for such a dynamic coastline with this type of geology. To blame this specific current event on Climate Change is a reach. It may be a contributing factor but far from the primary cause.
Thatâs my story the best as I can tell it and Iâm gonna stick to it.
You may now have your way with me if you since you actually read this down to here.
No expertise or formal education like you, just knowledge acquired over time. Since you are late to the party here I can only assume that you looking to tear apart whatever I may have to offer and ridicule me rather than engage in an honest conversation on the subject as the only contact we seem to have with each other is after I post something and then you are openly insulting and dismissive of me with your comments about my posts. Having said and knowing this I will stupidly put forth my explanation of what is happening in Orange County.
I know that I am wasting my time doing this as no one here really cares about this anyway. Give me a little bit of time to come up with a proper response since I need to drop everything I am doing in order to put something together. I did not know that my opinion would be subject to professional scrutiny. But the subject does interest me and if for only that it is worth seeing if I can put forth an actual observation that makes sense to me, which in the big picture is all that matters.
FWIW, other than observation, the foundation of most of my knowledge comes from a book you've likely never heard of, Waves and Beaches, by Willard Bascom that I read at around the age of 13 or 14. I have put that knowledge to use nearly my entire life.
But since the bookâs original 1963 publication, a new wave â the wave of climate change â has vastly impacted ocean dynamics, coastlines and coastal communities. Refreshed for the 21st Century, Patagonia announces a new edition of Waves and Beaches to help readers take action in protecting our shores.
