INFORMATION 

 COLLECTION 



1. GEOLOGIC DATA 

 Reports: geology and 



groundwater, USACE 

 Technical literature: 



journals, dissertations 

 Maps: geologic, shoreline 



change 

 Soils/rock surveys: USGS 



2. TERRAIN/BATHYMETRY 

 Topographic: USGS 

 Bathymetric: NOAA, USACE 

 Imagery: SPOT, LANDSAT, 



AVHRR, NASA, SOYUZ 

 Photographs: Controlled 



aerial, NASA U2 



3. ENVIRONMENTAL: 



Meteorology 



Wave: WIS hindcasts or 



gage if avail. 

 Tide: NOAA or USACE 

 Stream gaging: USGS 



PRELIMI- 

 NARY 

 SITE VISIT 



FIELD DATA 

 COLLECTION 



ANALYSIS 



PRODUCTS 



Assess existing 

 data 



4. ENGINEERING: 

 Boring logs: USACE and local 

 Project reports: USACE 

 and local 



SITE VISIT 

 Aerial 



overflight 

 Limited data 



collection 

 Seek local 



archives 



OCEANOGRAPHIC 

 Wave gages 

 Current meters 

 Drifters, dye 

 Salinity, temperature 



METEOROLOGY 



Currents 

 Spectral analysis 



of waves 

 Circulation/mixing 

 Suspended sediment 



TOPOGRAPHIC/ 



BATHYMETRIC 

 Beach profiles 

 Hydrographlc surveys 

 Sidescan sonar 

 LIDAR 



REMOTE SENSING 

 Aerial photography 

 Satellite Images 



GEOLOGIC 



Trenches 



Core borings 



Surface samples 



Rock boring 



Sub bottom profiling 



Sediment traps 



Shoreline changes 

 Volumetric 



changes 

 Shoal growth 

 Erosion/deposition 

 Longshore drift 

 Channel migration 

 Sand wave 



migration 



Sediment properties 

 Atterburg limits/ 



shear strength 

 Heavy minerals 

 Tracers (forams, 



oolites) 

 Dating (C1 4, K-Ar) 



GEOLOGICAL MODELS 

 Inlet migration 

 Shoreline retreat/ 



advance 

 Sediment budgets 

 Geologic maps 



PHYSICAL MODELS 

 Shoreline configurations 

 Harbor circulation 

 E fleets of structures 

 Dredging modifications 



NUMERICAL MODELS 

 Shoreline configurations 

 Effects of structures 

 Predict future changes 



If existing data sufficient 



ENGINEERING 



CONCLUSIONS 

 Channel location 

 Structure design 

 Harbor design 

 Dredging practice 

 Dredged material disposal 

 Residential construction 



Figure 51 . Flowchart for studies of coastal geology 



scanner images. If such a search is not conducted, assessment of geologic 

 history is likely to be less reliable and more difficult. 



Many recent developments and techniques are used in the analysis of 

 coastal data sets. The evaluation of geologic and geomorphic history is 

 largely dependent upon the availability and quality of research equipment, 

 techniques, and facilities. New techniques are constantly being introduced, 

 and it is important that the coastal geologist and engineer stay abreast of new 

 techniques and methods, such as remote sensing and geophysical methods, 

 computer software and hardware developments, and new laboratory methods. 



In addition to keeping up with recent developments, the coastal scientist or 

 engineer has the serious responsibility for making accurate interpretations of 

 the geologic and geomorphic history of coasts. It is vital that the important 

 research problem and objectives be clearly defined, that important variables be 

 incorporated in the study, and that the inherent limits and errors of the 

 research techniques and technologies be recognized, including problems and 

 assumptions involved in data collection and analysis. To some extent, the 

 coastal scientist or engineer can make some adjustments for various sources of 

 error. However, because of the geologic and geomorphic variability of 



Chapter 6 Summary and Conclusions 



125 



