Coastal Processes &

Structures

OCE 582 November 19 & 24 2003

 Coastal Sediment
Properties
Important for:

dredging

environmental questions

beach fills

scour protection

sediment transport predictions

 Dredging
A hydraulic dredge entrains sediment from the bottom and pumps it
through a pipe

Entrainment and the pumping controlled by the properties of the

sediment

Sediments are classified for entrainment as:

fluid: very soft muds (easily entrained)

loose: loose silt and sand (easily entrained)

firm: dense sand and stiff clay (needs a cutterhead dredge to

loosen)

hard: rock or corals (unsuitable for dredging)

 Dredging

Sediment can also be classified as cohesive, noncohesive, or mitigated

Cohesive sediments get transported through the pipe as lumps and nodules

Noncohesive sediments disperse as a slurry, which is more easily pumped

through the pipe

Mitigated sediments consist mainly of noncohesive sediments with a small

amount of clay, which increases the transport efficiency of the pipe
 Dredging “Rules”
1. The diameter of the pump limit the size of the material which can be
pumped

2. Oversize material is prevented from entering the pipeline of a suction

dredge by
grid placed across the draghead
cutterhead

3. Degree of cohesiveness allows the sediment to stand in near-vertical

banks while being dredge increasing efficiency

4. Hydraulic dredges may not be efficient - mechanical dredges may be

required:
grab bucket operated from a derrick for softer sediments
dipper dredge (power shovel on a barge) for harder sediments
 Environmental
Environmental problems are associated with the handling and deposition
of sediment

Most frequently associated with dredging operations

BUT, concerns occur anytime sediment is introduced into the marine

environment

Burial of bottom-dwelling organisms most problematic

Other issues: blockage of light to all organisms and the toxicity

of the sediments
 Environmental
Environmental problems are associated with the handling and deposition
of sediment

Most frequently associated with dredging operations

BUT, concerns occur anytime sediment is introduced into the marine

environment

Burial of bottom-dwelling organisms most problematic

Other issues: blockage of light to all organisms and the toxicity

of the sediments
 Environmental

Sediment property most critical is: grain size

Turbidity in the water column depends on fall velocity

Fall velocity is a function of grain size

What grain sizes are most problematic? why?

 Environmental: What
do you do?
Know the local, state, and Fed regulations

Conduct an early site investigation including sediment sampling

Assess the sediment for size, composition and toxicity

 Beaches

Beach fills have 2 functions: 1) upland protection and 2) increase

recreational space (temporary)

Sand size or greater is ESSENTIAL

Sand size is required for recreational purposes

 Beaches
Source for beach fills is called “borrow” material

Try to match the grain size distributions of native and borrow

materials; if not possible - skew to a coarser borrow

Can select a borrow with small amount of fines because they tend to be
lost in the dredging and placement process

Borrow > 2 mm is not suitable for recreational

Color and odor must also be considered in selection of borrow

 Scour Protection
Scour: localized removal of bed material below its natural elevation or
bathymetry

Occurs: marine structures (jetties, seawalls, bridge pilings, seafloor

installations)

Prevention: revetment aka scour blanket

Revetment: e.g., broken rock (rip rap) that provides a layer resistant to
scour

Revetment properties: size distribution, density, porosity, permeability

 Scour Protection

Density: must be heavy enough to resist motion under design currents

What density do we mean here?

Porosity and layer thickness must be able to dissipate fluid energy

Permeability must be adequate to relieve pore pressure

 Scour Protection

Riprap ideally: dense, durable blocky

Bad riprap: coral, limestones, shales
 Sediment Transport
physics of sediment transport poorly known

functions relate fluid properties (shear stress) to sediment properties

(shear resistance)

shear resistance is approximated by; grain size, grain density, angle of

repose

empirical methods generally provide better information:

tracers (trace and/or heavy minerals)

optical sensors
Coastal Survey
Estimate of Velocity
 Shore Protection
Issues

storm damage reduction

coastal erosion

ecosystem restoration
 Storm Damage
Flooding: probably causes more damage than any
other mechanism; caused by storm surge - more of
a problem in the NE US

hurricanes

nor’ easters

Wave damage: damage is a nonlinear function of

wave height - more of a problem on the west coast
US
 Storm Damage Mitigation

After a devastating flood in 1953, the Dutch began the Delta Project: barriers (dams)
across the estuarine openings to the North Sea. It is one of the largest coastal
engineering projects ever completed.
 Coastal Erosion
Storms create short-term erosional events

Natural recovery after the storm and seasonal fluctuations may not be in balance

Shore protection projects moderate the long-term average erosion rate of shoreline change
from natural or manmade causes

Reduced erosion means a wider sediment buffer zone between the land and
the sea

Erosion mitigation = damage reduction from flooding and wave

attack

Natural shorelines remain stable and mitigate upland damage

Control of coastal flooding and erosion is a myth

We cannot control nature

Mitigation (reduction in levels of flooding and erosion) means storm damage reduction

Therefore risk-based design is essential

Natural Beaches
 Minimum Beach Width

Naturally open and pocket beaches have a minimum stable

beach width

Ymin is defined as the horizontal distance between the mean

highwater (mhw) shoreline and the landward boundary
Minimum Beach Width
Erosion Mitigation Structures
Infrequent storms will reach the foredune, cliffs, structure or vegetation line.

Beach stabilization structures are designed to provide the minimum, dry beach width
for shore protection under extreme conditions

3 common beach erosion mitigation structures: headland breakwaters, nearshore

breakwaters, and a groin field

Each has a Ymin required for design located in the gap area with greatest wave
energy

EST method determines the probability distribution of minimum dry beach widths
including the minimum for normal storm conditions

Functional designs depend on two factors: minimum dry beach width (or volume) and the
natural, sediment transport processes at the site design
Natural Beaches
 Empirical Design
Parameters

For Chesapeake Bay Yg/Lg = 1.7

it takes several years to reach the predicted embayment shoreline

shape

Hardaway, Thomas, & Li (1991) present minimum design parameters for

medium wave energy shorelines
Offshore Breakwaters
Breakwater
 Breakwater

Y = Distance of breakwater from nourished shoreline

Ls = Length of breakwater structure
Lg = Gap distance between adjacent breakwater segments
ds = Depth (average) at breakwater structure below mean water level

When the breakwater is long and/or located close to shore, conditions

favor tombolo formation

Ls/Y > 1-2 for tombolo formation

Dally and Pope (1986) recommend:

Ls/Y is 1.5 to 2 for a single breakwater
Ls/Y = 1.5 for a segmented breakwater
 Breakwater
short breakwaters at greater distance from shore favor salient formation

for salient formation: Ls/Y is 0.5 to 0.67

tombolos do not form: Ls/Y = 0.12

permeable structure systems (partly submerged, large gaps) also allow

sufficient wave energy to minimize the chance for tombolo formation

Ahrens and Cox (1990) defined a beach response index, Is = exp (1.72 - 0.41
Ls/Y):
Permanent tombolo formation, Is=1
Periodic tombolos, Is=2
Well-developed salients, Is=3
Subdued salients, Is=4
No sinuosity, Is=5
Empirical Results
 Coastal Structures

Seawalls & Dikes

Bulkheads

Revetments
Coastal Structures
Seawall
New Tech. Structures

Pre-cast, concrete units

Geotextile filled bags

Beach drains
 Talks
Sampling Disturbance

Mallik Gas Hydrates

Storegga

Ekofisk Pore Pressure

Ekofisk Subsidence

Hurricanes

Intro to Tsunamis

PNG Tsunamogenic Landslides

Puerto Rican Trench Tsunamis