ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF OFFSHORE DREDGING AND BEACH NOURISHMENT: 



A REVIEW 



by 

 John R. Thompson 



I. INTRODUCTION 



This report examines on two principal phases of interest to the Corps of Engineers: 

 Effects upon the environment of (a) the removal from offshore areas of parts of the 

 substrate, and (b) deposition of these materials ashore, primarily for nourishment or 

 development of beach areas. 



1. Aims and Objectives. 



To provide a frame of reference for the remainder of the report, certain aims and 

 objectives should be stated. Specifically they are to: 



(a) Review ecological knowledge pertinent to offshore dredging and beach 

 nourishment by examining, digesting, summarizing, and interpreting work completed or in 

 progress. 



(b) Delineate and discuss areas of insufficient knowledge where research is needed 

 for rational planning. 



(c) Suggest specific and general long- and short- range research projects needed to 

 serve as bases for future action. 



(d) Discuss possible management of commercial dredging contracts to reduce dredge 

 damage. 



(e) Determine possible beneficial ecological aspects of dredging activities. 



(f) Provide an annotated bibliography. 



In pursuing these aims, it was found that little work directly pointed at offshore 

 dredging or beach nourishment has been accomplished. Nonetheless, many works provide 

 some bases for decisions connected with these activities. 



The study also has turned up many areas where research is needed. Research to be 

 accomplished depends on a review of methods, instrumentation, and development of 

 principles. Ecology is a relatively young science. It is only now coming into its own as a 

 quantitive science distinct from natural history. 



2. Compilation. 



The literature in a field as wide as ecology is scattered and voluminous. Important 

 papers are published in journals, major and obscure, in more than a dozen languages, and 

 under several disciplines— geology, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, engineering, and 

 others in addition to ecology itself. 



Three catagories of aides have been used: (1) professional abstracts (Biological 

 Abstracts, Oceanic Index, Water Pollution Abstracts, and others); (2) review papers with 

 comprehensive bibliographies; and (3) authorities familiar with the more important 

 literature sources. 



