GEOMORPHOLOGY AND SEDIMENTS OF THE INNER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

 PALM BEACH TO CAPE KENNEDY, FLORIDA 



by 



Edward P. Meisburger 



and 



David B. Duane 



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 recreation 

 areas for the public. The construction, 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]. 



Where 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 

 composing the bottom and subbottora of estuaries, lagoons, and bays, in many 

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

 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 selec- 

 tion of the most suitable fill material (Krumbein and James, 1965). 



The problem of locating a suitable and economical sand supply led 

 the Corps of Engineers to a search for new unexploited deposits of sand. 

 The search focused offshore with the intent to explore and inventory de- 

 posits 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 U. S. Army Coastal Engineering 

 Research Center (CERC) . An initial phase in developing techniques for 

 transferring offshore sand to the beach is described by Mauriello (1967) . 



Formerly called the sand inventory program, it was begun in 1964 with 

 a survey off the New Jersey Coast. Subsequent surveys included the in- 

 shore waters off New England, New York, Florida, Maryland, and parts of 

 Delaware and Virginia. Recognizing the broader application of the informa- 

 tion collected in the conduct of the research program toward the CERC 



