Time lag between reduction of sediment supply and coastal erosion

The disruption of sediment supply from river to coast by dam development has been a topic of global concern.In Japan,among the top 30 dams in terms of height,14 dams were constructed prior to 1970 and another 6 dams before 1980.However,the coastline erosion did not surface up as a grievous problem until the 1980s.According to the River Bureau of Japan,the overall erosion rate along the coastline of Japan was 0.72×10~6 m~2/yr prior to 1980,but sharply increased to 1.6×10~6 m~2/yr since 1980.Therefore,there was a time lag between the disruption of sediment supply by dam and beach erosion.This paper presents a case study on what may have delayed the response of beach to the effect of dam construction.