The Rate of Change can Change. The Direction of Change can Change.
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Progressive steady change, toward erosion or land building, is present along about 1/3 of the Atlnatic Coast. Elsewhere the chagne is not steady. The magnitude of the change changes with passing time. With non-steady change we can flip back and forth from erosion to accretion. In the illustration above such a change is shown. In the early years the the position of the shoreline was seaward of the current position and moved landward (erosion) as time passed. As some point the shoreline got as far landward as it would go. Change was slow around this time. Later the shoreline moved seaward (accretion) to its current positon.
About two thirds of the coast has a history where there was switching from erosion to accretion or accretion to erosion. How much of the coast did one way or the other is summarized below.
Change along the Coast from New Jersey to Florida: A Summary.
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