600 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 20 feet deep, and. a coast mocjel test 

 basin 3 feet deep, 300 feet long and I50 feet wide. In the large tank, 

 we hope to study at full scale the action of waves up to six~feet in 

 heighto It is expected that these two new facilities will provide the 

 means to answer many troublesome problems. 



Our work in the laboratory at the present time is principally con- 

 cerned with studying beach slopes of maximum stability under particular 

 wave conditions, with special attention being given to the effects of 

 sand grain size, initial beach shape, and wave character. Several other 

 related studies are being carried on at the same time, and our objective 

 is to develop criteria for modifjdng natural beaches so as to obtain 

 slopes that will be more stable within the range of wave conditions which 

 exist in each section of the shore line. 



Another important activity in the laboratory is the development of 

 new or improved instruments for taking essential measurements in the 

 field. Some of the instruments which have been developed are wave height 

 and wave direction recording gauges, devices for sampling the suspended 

 sand load in the sea, and for sampling the bed load (or sand in move- 

 ment on the sea bottom), and an apparatus for measuring the settling 

 velocity of beach sands. It might be mentioned that our current feeling 

 is that the settling velocity of sand in water is a more reliable in- 

 dication of its probable behavior on a beach than is the grain size alone. 



It will be obvious that we must know a great deal about the height, 

 frequency, and direction of waves reaching the shore if we are to es- 

 tablish dependable quantitative information about rates of littoral 

 drift. For this reason, one of the key objectives in our entire general 

 investigative program is to obtain accurate statistics on waves for long 

 periods of time at selected points along each of the principal shore 

 lines of the United States, and particularly at locations where we are 

 gathering data on sand movement. Wave stations are now located at 

 Huntington Beach and El Segundo, California; at Long Branch, New Jersey; 

 and on an oil drilling p]a tf orm seven mile s or so offshore from the 

 coast of Louisiana. These stations have been in operation for approx- 

 imately one year, and already a tremendous mass of wave data is on hand 

 and is being analyzed by our Engineering and Research Branch. 



A project that is closely tied in to the program of recording wave 

 conditions is that of developing and testing methods of forecasting 

 waves from weather reports and synoptic charts . If a satisfactory 

 method can be devised and perfected, it would be of untold benefit to 

 everyone whose occupation or avocation is connected with the sea and 

 its changeable moods. We are carrying on this study partly by means 

 of a contract with the New York University. 



An account of the current activities of our field research groups 

 might be of interest. One party is now on the Fest Coast and on» on 

 the East. The West Coast group has three projects, two of which Wll 

 be described briefly to illustrate the type of work being dpne. '^ 



