on coastal ecosystems, since response in this case is unquestionably 

 contingent upon hydrodynamic and sedimentary forcing. 



These considerations amply demonstrated the complexities of the 

 interaction between sea- level change and loose boundary shoreline, their 

 site-specif icity , and the inadequacy of inundation models. It was also 

 concluded that, with some minor exceptions, the basic knowledge of coastal 

 processes and the available data base, including hydrodynamics, sedimentary 

 processes, and their interaction, are inadequate for predictive modeling. 

 Apart from difficulties in modeling boundary layer turbulence and 

 associated mixing processes, sediment transport formulations require 

 knowledge of a host of free coefficients which tend to be highly site- 

 specific and therefore difficult to evaluate in the complex coastal 

 environment. As a case in point, our ability to predict long-term 

 shoreline evolution is hampered by the accuracy with which local littoral 

 drift distribution can be predicted, despite great strides made in this 

 area of research in the past couple of decades. Besides further 

 improvements in theory, the need for a better definition of wave forcing 

 through adequate long-term monitoring of the coastal wave field via field 

 measurements cannot be overemphasized. 



To critique the conclusions of the UF report and to reach a broader 

 consensus on research needs to vastly improve shoreline response predictive 

 capabilities, a Workshop on Sea Level Rise and Coastal Processes was held 

 at Palm Coast, Florida, on March 9-11, 1988. After the workshop the UF 

 report was modified by the authors to constitute the bulk of the present 

 report. An appendix to the report contains comments by the workshop 

 participants, excluding the authors of the UF report. These comments 

 comprise reviews of the UF document and views of individual participants 

 regarding specific subject areas of their expertise, including research 

 needs. While all the participants were chosen for their international 

 experience and awareness of the problem, specific mention must be made of 

 the contribution of John de Ronde, who was invited to present his view of 

 the Dutch experience, which in many ways should provide insight into what 

 may occur in other parts of the world at higher relative sea level. 



Participant comments largely reinforce the conclusions of the UF 

 contribution through additional illustrative examples, clarifications, and 



XVI LL 



