Elta-2 total station surveying system described by Birkemeier and Mason 
(1984). Each profile extended seaward from the baseline behind the dune to a 
water depth of about 10 m, within 0.6 km north and south of the FRF pier. 
Their locations are shown in Figure C1. The survey accuracy was +3 cm 
horizontally and vertically. Soundings along both sides of the FRF pier were 
included. The technique consisted of lowering a weighted measuring tape to 
the bottom and then recording the distance below the established pier deck 
elevation. Measurements were made midway between the pier pilings to minimize 
errors due to scour near the pilings. 
Analysis 
52. The pier, beach, nearshore, and offshore data were reduced to posi- 
tion (X,Y) and depth (Z) triplets relative to established monumentation and 
NGVD, respectively. The data were listed, and a display of the profiles (i.e. 
distance along the range versus elevation) were generated for visual inspec- 
tion. After the data were edited, another set of routines was used to compute 
contour diagrams of the bottom topography and time sequences of bottom eleva- 
tions at selected locations along the pier. 
Sediment Data 
Collection 
53. Sediment data were not collected routinely at the FRF during the 
year. However, a sediment survey was conducted in March, and sediment samples 
were obtained along a shore normal profile line located 517 m south of the 
pier in October. Between 14 and 19 March, a graduate class from the Univer- 
sity of Virginia, led by Professor Robert Dolan in cooperation with the FRF 
staff, examined the spatial variation of sediments across the littoral zone at 
the FRF. Sediment samples (274) were collected and analyzed from 11 of the 
bathymetric survey profile lines and along the pier. The samples were col- 
lected from the top of the dune to the 9-m depth contour. Onshore samples 
were collected by hand, and care was taken not to penetrate more than 5 ecm 
deep. Ninety percent of the offshore samples were taken from the CRAB with a 
gravity release clamshell device that could recover up to 1,000 g of bottom 
sediment. In 10 percent of the sampling locations, the hard bottom prevented 
proper operation of the clamshell, so a pipe dredge sampler was dragged along 
the bottom. 
27 
