Beachgoers’ ability to identify rip currents at a beach in situ

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dc.contributor.authorPitman S
dc.contributor.authorThompson K
dc.contributor.authorHart D
dc.contributor.authorMoran K
dc.contributor.authorGallop S
dc.contributor.authorBrander R
dc.contributor.authorWooler A
dc.date.accessioned2020-09-25T00:08:34Z
dc.date.available2020-09-25T00:08:34Z
dc.date.issued2020en
dc.date.updated2020-09-01T04:29:39Z
dc.description.abstractRip currents (“rips”) are the leading cause of drowning on surf beaches worldwide. A major contributing factor is that many beachgoers are unable to identify rip currents. Previous research has attempted to quantify beachgoers’ rip spotting ability using photographs of rip currents, without identifying whether this usefully translates into an ability to spot a rip current in situ at the beach. This study is the first to compare beachgoers ability to spot rip currents in photographs and in situ at a beach 5 in New Zealand (Muriwai Beach) where a channel rip current was present. Only 22% of respondents were able to identify the in situ rip current. The highest rates of success were for males (33%), New Zealand residents (25%), and local beach users (29%). Of all respondents who were successful at identifying the rip current in situ, 62% were active surfers/bodyboarders and 28% were active beach swimmers. Of the respondents who were able to identify a rip current in two photographs, only 34% were unable to translate this into a successful in situ rip identification, which suggests that the ability to identify rip currents by 10 beachgoers is worse than reported by previous studies involving photographs. This study highlights the difficulty of successfully identifying a rip current in reality and that photographs are not necessarily a useful means of teaching individuals to spot rip currents. It advocates for the use of more immersive and realistic education strategies, such as the use of virtual reality headsets showing moving imagery (videos) of rip currents in order to improve rip spotting ability.en
dc.identifier.citationPitman S, Thompson K, Hart D, Moran K, Gallop S, Brander R, Wooler A (2020). Beachgoers’ ability to identify rip currents at a beach in situ. Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences.en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2020-244
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10092/101081
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAll rights reserved unless otherwise stateden
dc.rights.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10092/17651en
dc.subject.anzsrcFields of Research::37 - Earth sciences::3708 - Oceanography::370803 - Physical oceanographyen
dc.titleBeachgoers’ ability to identify rip currents at a beach in situen
dc.typeDiscussion / Working Papersen
uc.collegeFaculty of Science
uc.departmentSchool of Earth and Environment
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