Reprinted from: 



ProceediiiRS of Coastal Zone '89 , 

 American Society of Civil Engineers 

 pp. 553-567, 1989. 



BEACH CHANGE MODELING AND THE COASTAL PLANNING PROCESS 



Nicholas C. Kraus 1 



ABSTRACT 



This paper describes the role of beach change numerical modeling 

 in the process of planning, design, and evaluation of shore 

 protection projects. Topics discussed include the capabilities of 

 models, selection of the appropriate model, applications of models 

 to coastal planning, and how coastal managers can create condi- 

 tions which will maximize returns from models and lead to improved 

 predictions of project performance. The paper also serves as a 

 general introduction to more detailed papers on model applications 

 given in a special session of the Coastal Zone '89 conference 

 entitled "Shoreline Change and Storm-Induced Erosion Modeling." 



INTRODUCTION 



Beach stabilization and coastal flood protection are two major areas of 

 concern in the field of coastal engineering. Erosion, accretion, and change 

 in offshore bottom topography occur naturally through the transport of sedi- 

 ment by waves and currents. Additional changes result from perturbations 

 introduced by coastal structures, beach fills, and other engineering 

 activities. Beach change is controlled by wind, waves, currents, water level, 

 nature of the sediment and its supply, and constraints on sediment movement, 

 such as those imposed by coastal structures. These sediment processes are 

 nonlinear and have great variability in space and time. Although it is a 

 challenging problem to predict the course of beach change, such estimations 

 are necessary to design and maintain shore protection projects. 



Prediction of beach evolution with numerical models has proven to be a 

 powerful technique that can be applied to assist in the determination of 

 project design. Models provide a framework for developing project problem 

 formulation and solution statements, for organizing data collection and 



(1) Senior Research Scientist, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment 

 Station, Coastal Engineering Research Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, 

 Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180-6199. 



