Chapter 15 

 GEOLOGY IN SHORE-CONTROL PROBLEMS 



Martin A. Mason 



Chief, Engineering and Research Branch 



Beach Erosion Board 



Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army 



Washington, D. C. 



The development of knowledge of shore processes has been due 

 traditionally to the interest of geologists and others working in related 

 fields. However, in the application of that knowledge to the increas- 

 ingly important practical problems of shore-control, contributions by 

 geologists have been notable for their absence. This chapter purposes 

 to call the attention of geologists to some of the challenging practical 

 problems encountered by engineers concerned with shore control and 

 the manner in which geologists may contribute to the solution of the 

 problems. 



SHORE-CONTROL PROBLEMS 



The problems of stabilization and rehabilitation of beach areas are 

 the most widespread of shore-control problems. Stabilization is of 

 high economic significance in resort areas, such as the New Jersey 

 coast or the Miami-Palm Beach coast of Florida, but the significance 

 varies only in degree in the case of individual property owners. In the 

 typical instance, highways, homes, hotels, business establishments, and 

 other structures pertinent to beach utilization in American society are 

 located, during the development period, immediately adjacent to the 

 beach. Little, if any, allowance is made for the possibility of en- 

 croachment by the sea (Fig. 1). When erosion of the beach occurs, 

 as it normally does, the structures are endangered or damaged, and 

 the engineer is called in to prevent further erosion and rehabilitate the 

 beach. Both planners, where they have participated in beach devel- 

 opments, and property owners are at fault in such situations for not 

 having provided an adequate marginal area to allow for the inevitable 

 encroachment of the sea. The shore-control engineer is consulted after 



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