3 Beach Profile Evolution 
Beach-fill material placed along a shoreline is typically constructed in the 
form of a simple, predefined template in which the design berm elevation is 
extended some distance seaward of the prescribed berm width. Side slopes of 
the construction template are considerably steeper than the natural profile. This 
construction practice allows easier placement of the beach-fill material and 
facilitates the estimation of placed volume during construction. Adjustment of 
this oversteepened construction template towards an equilibrium beach profile is 
anticipated in the design of beach fills. Transport of material from the upper 
portions of the beach-fill construction template to the offshore portions of the 
beach profile is accomplished through cross-shore transport processes. 
Hypothesizing that cross-shore processes could produce greater than 
anticipated profile adjustment, the accelerated retreat of the shoreline at the 
Monmouth Beach hot spot could be attributed to beach-fill sediments moving 
offshore along the beach profile. As part of this study, the available profile 
survey data are evaluated to determine if cross-shore transport is a significant 
contributing factor to the shoreline erosion at the hot spot. In addition, the 
equilibrium profiles for several locations alongshore are computed and compared 
with the most recent beach profile surveys to determine whether additional 
cross-shore adjustment should be anticipated, further reducing the beach width in 
the vicinity of the hot spot. 
Profile Survey Data 
Data used in the beach profile analysis were collected to compute beach-fill 
pay quantities. These data were collected at various stages of completion of the 
project (between June 1994 and October 1995) at 100-ft, alongshore intervals 
over the particular reach of the project being surveyed. The profile surveys 
typically extend from the seawall or revetment approximately 1,000 ft seaward 
with depths ranging from 20-25 ft in the National Geodetic Vertical Datum 
(NGVD). 
Chapter 3. Beach Profile Evolution 
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