Section I. INTRODUCTION 



1 . Background 



Ocean beaches and dunes constitute a vital buffer zone between 

 the sea and coastal areas and provide at the same time much needed recrea- 

 tional areas for the public. Neglect of the ocean beaches can result, and 

 indeed often has resulted, in disastrous consequences either through long- 

 term progressive erosion or through sudden overwhelming of coastal lands 

 by storm waves and surges . 



Under authority of Federal Laws the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers 

 is directly involved in the study of beach erosion and storm protection 

 problems. Through its various division and district offices and research 

 facilities, the Corps conducts basic studies in coastal phenomena and 

 coastal engineering techniques, develops plans of improvement for specific 

 shoreline areas, designs protective structures, and in some instances, 

 undertakes the project construction. Types of shore protection structures 

 and methods, means of obtaining design criteria, and planning analysis 

 are presented in Technical Report No. 4 (1966) of the Coastal Engineering 

 Research Center (CERC) . As indicated in Technical Report No. 4, the con- 

 struction, improvement, and maintenance of beaches through the artificial 

 placement (nourishment) of sand on the shore is one of several protection 

 methods . This technique has gained prominence in coastal engineering 

 largely as a result of the successful program initiated at Santa Barbara, 

 California, in 1938 (Hall, 1952)*. 



IVhere the specified plan of improvement involves shore restoration 

 and periodic nourishment, large volumes of sand fill may be involved. In 

 recent years it has become increasingly difficult to obtain suitable sand 

 from lagoonal or inland sources in sufficient quantities and at an economi- 

 cal cost for beach fill purposes. This is due in part to increased land 

 value, diminution and depletion of previously used nearby sources^and added 

 cost of transporting sand from areas increasingly remote. Material com- 

 posing the bottom and subbottom of estuaries, lagoons, and bays, in many 

 instances is too fine-grained and not suitable for long-term protection, 

 because the fines are immediately winnowed out and removed. While the loss 

 of some fines is inevitable as the new beach sediment seeks equilibrium 

 with its environment, it is possible to estimate the stability of the beach 

 fill and therefore keep the loss to a minimum through selection of the most 

 suitable fill material (Krumbein and James, 1965). Regardless of suitabil- 

 ity of material in shallow back bay areas, the potential ecological damage 

 consequent to dredging in shallow back bay areas made exploitation of these 

 sources highly undesirable. 



The problem of locating suitable and economical sand supply led the 

 Corps to a search for new unexploited sand supplies. The search focused 

 offshore with the intent to explore and inventory deposits suitable for 

 future fill requirements, and subsequently to develop and refine techniques 

 for transferring offshore sand to the beach. The exploration program is 

 conducted through the Corps of Engineers' Coastal Engineering Research 

 Center. Referred to as the Sand Inventory Program, it started in 1964 v>rith 



*Refers to LITERATURE CITED. 



