A GEOLOGICAL PROCESS-RESPONSE MODEL FOR 
ANALYSIS OF BEACH PHENOMENA 
by 
W. C. Krumbein 
Northwestern University 
Evanston, Illinois 
This paper is based on material presented before the ASCE 
Water Resources Engineering Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 
May 15,.1963. As presented in Milwaukee, this was the first of 
two papers that considered the topic of beach engineering within 
the geological framework of shore processes, The second paper, 
by J. V. Hall, Jr., immediately follows this in publication 
sequence. Research on which this paper is based was supported 
in part by the Beach Erosion Board, Corps of Engineers, and by 
the Office of Naval Research under Contract Number Nonr-1228(26), 
Task Number NR 389-135. 
SYNOPSIS 
This paper describes beach processes and deposits in terms of a con- 
ceptual process-response model that considers the processes and deposits 
as separate though closely related aspects of shoreline phenomena. The 
model provides a formal framework for analysis of natural beaches as they 
may be modified or controlled by the beach engineer. 
INTRODUCTION 
Engineers and geologists look at beaches from somewhat different 
points of view. To the geologist the beach is the result of natural 
forces operating on natural materials within the geometric framework of 
a particular stretch of shore. To the engineer the beach is a buffer 
zone that protects private or public property along the shore from ero- 
sive action by waves, currents, and tides. The engineer is thus con- 
cerned with the stability of the beach, and even with its enlargement, 
in terms either of protective action, or of the use of the beach for 
recreational purposes, This latter aspect of beach engineering has 
grown rapidly in the past several decades. 
The beach engineer must have a clear understanding of natural pro- 
cesses along shorelines in order to develop enlarged beaches or to design 
protective shore structures. The geologist needs to understand these same 
processes in order to evaluate relations among source areas of natural 
