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Geomorphic Investigations of Tidal Inlets:
Applications in Coastal Engineering

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Principal Investigators at Florida Tech:

Sponsored by:


This work focuses on relationships between wave climate, tides, sediment distributions, sea level, anthropogenic structures, and tidal inlets. The main objective of this project is to study the effects of inlet stabilization by engineering works on inlet geomorphology and inlet behavior over a fifty-year time scale. Sebastian Inlet on the Atlantic Coast of Florida and Shinnecock Inlet on Long Island, New York will be used as case studies.click The project methodology includes shoreline extraction from a database of aerial photography and the creation of gridded topographic surfaces from hydrographic surveys and beach profiles.  From these datasets, volume and spatial change calculations will be performed. It is thought that spatial and temporal changes in the ebb/flood shoal system and associated sediment pathways can be statistically correlated to variations in sea level, wave climate, and engineering activities such as channel dredging and beach nourishment.

Recommendations on inlet design as well as scheduling and placement of dredge/fill operations can then be passed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Preliminary results at Sebastian Inlet indicate the possibility of a link between the geotropic effect of seasonal variations of Gulf Stream flow on mean sea level and ebb/flood shoal volumes.

Some examples of work in progress are provided on the project's Aerial Photography and Topographic Analysis Pages. 

Click here to view  Sebastian Inlet's History Pages


 


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Page created by Ron Hoeke
rhoeke@fit.edu

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