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Cheng, J. and Wang, P., 2022. Factors controlling storm-induced morphology changes at an erosional hot spot on a nourished beach, Sand Key barrier island, west-central Florida. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(4), 750–765. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Beach nourishment has become the dominant sandy shore protection method over the past 40 years. The performance of nourished beaches and therefore the design of renourishment projects are significantly controlled by the presence of erosional hot spots and storm impacts. Based on 5.5-year bimonthly beach profile surveys, along a nourished beach spanning an erosional hot spot, this study examines the hydrodynamic conditions of extratropical (winter) and tropical (summer) storms that cause significant morphology changes. The sand volume loss above the short-term closure depth averaged along the 1.8-km stretch erosional hot spot was 178 m3/m over the 5.5 years after the nourishment. A large portion of this volume loss was caused by several extratropical storms and Hurricane Irma in 2017, when the high, northerly approaching waves were associated with a depressed water level. The northerly approaching waves induced a large longshore sediment transport gradient along the generally north-south trending coast due to wave refraction over a nearby ebb tidal delta. The energetic Hurricane Irma induced a large negative surge and also transported sediment seaward beyond the short-term closure depth. On the other hand, during the passages of typical tropical storms, the southerly approaching waves superimposed on elevated water levels caused substantial beach volume loss above the mean sea level. The eroded sediment deposited on the nearshore sandbar, resulting in conserved sand volume above the short-term closure depth. Understanding the different beach response to extratropical and tropical storms would benefit beach management, especially under the circumstance of increasing storm activities due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beck, T.M.; Wang, P.; Li, H., and Wu, W., 2020. Sediment bypassing pathways between tidal inlets and adjacent beaches. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(5), 897–914. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. This study investigated the sediment transport pathways in three sandy barrier, tidal inlet systems through sediment tracking within a numerical model that simulates hydrodynamics and morphodynamics. The three tidal inlet systems, Coos Bay, Oregon, Shark River Inlet, New Jersey, and John's Pass, Florida, represented high-, medium-, and low-wave energy regimes for U.S. inlets (Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico Coasts, respectively). Three methods employed to define sediment pathways from the results of a numerical morphology model were evaluated: (1) morphodynamic interpretation, (2) mean transport vectors across the modeled inlet, and (3) sediment tracer migration. The sediment tracing methodology employed in this study allowed for an evaluation of the sediment transport pathways between the various morphologic features of a tidal inlet, as well as their respective processes that drive the exchange of sediments. Characterizing and correlating the dominant and subdominant, or seasonal, sediment pathways between tidal inlet morphologic features (sediment reservoirs) can improve long-term models of an inlet sediment system. Divergences in pathways to subfeature shoals of a complex tidal inlet shoal, such as the updrift and downdrift shoals of an ebb-tidal delta, can be resolved through tracking sediment migration. The results of this study illustrate the value of including sediment-tracking techniques in simulating sediment bypassing and the potential of this application to inform coastal engineering and design modifications to the sediment reservoirs of tidal inlet systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cheng, J. and Wang, P., 2019. Unusual beach changes induced by Hurricane Irma with a negative storm surge and poststorm recovery. Journal of Coastal Research, 35(6), 1185–1199. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The coast of west-central Florida, facing the Gulf of Mexico, experienced Hurricane Irma with a negative surge of 1.1 m and a highly oblique northerly approaching wave in September 2017. This unusual hydrodynamic condition provides an opportunity to investigate the effect of surge and incident wave direction on morphology changes. Beach profiles, spaced at 300 m apart, along a 15-km stretch of beach were surveyed 2 weeks prior to the passage of Hurricane Irma and 1 week after and continued for up to 5 months after the passage to obtain Irma-induced erosion as well as post-Irma recovery. Owing to the occurrence of negative surge, the profile volume of the dune field remained mostly stable. The majority of beach erosion occurred below mean sea level, with a considerable amount of sediment transported seaward of the depth of closure. This is opposite to the conservation of beach profile volume above depth of closure under several earlier storms with a positive surge. The alongshore variation of overall beach profile volume erosion demonstrates a southward decreasing trend, due to a southward decreasing wave height as controlled by the northerly incident wave. After the passage of Irma, minor beach volume recovery occurred during the calm period of the fall season. Opposite to the typical erosive beach in winter, the most substantial beach accretion and onshore bar movement were observed during the following peak winter season as beach/bar evolved toward equilibrium. The profile volume in the dry beach region experienced a complete recovery in the first 5 months after Hurricane Irma. Shoreline change is a valid proxy for beach volume change during both the erosive and the recovery phase of Irma. The systematically measured beach profiles provide a solid dataset to calibrate process-based models to study beach morphodynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the recently developed resource "Characteristics of the Shoreline Change along the Sandy Beaches of the State of Florida: An Atlas" (available on the web). The shoreline positions on which the Atlas is based encompass 2F coastal counties extending over 1162 km of shoreline and averages over almost 140 years. The data were analyzed over three different periods (early, recent, and total) to distinguish mainly beach nourishment and sand bypassing projects, primarily in the recent period. The east and west coastlines of Florida have advanced significantly in the recent period relative to the early period, with the recent and early period average shoreline change rates being +23 cm/y and +18 cm/y on the east coast and +27 cm/y and -7 cm/y on the west coast, respectively. This improvement is attributable to, in part the large quantities of sand placed during nourishment and sand bypass projects. Shoreline changes in the vicinity of the inlets were examined, and it was found that shoreline fluctuations decreased significantly with increasing distance from the inlets, and that sand bypass and nourishment projects reduced the shoreline variability during the recent period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

St. Augustine Inlet is located on the NE coast of Florida, connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Tolomato and Matanzas rivers. The inlet is unique because it was relocated in the 1940s, resulting in considerable perturbations to the adjacent coastal system, especially the downdrift (southern) shoreline. The relatively low, permeable, and short north jet has allowed sediment to move around, through, and over the jetty, resulting in deposits on the interior lagoon/bay and on the ebb shoal system. Since 2001, dredging has occurred on the ebb shoal and bypassed to the downdrift side of the inlet on St. Augustine Beach. At present, dredging and bypassing have occurred on an irregular schedule, although questions remain about what a reasonable schedule would be to prevent excessive problems on both the updrift and downdrift beaches. This article presents an evaluation of a potential approach for use in addressing the dredging and bypassing schedules to assess how various intervals of dredging/bypassing can affect an idealized downdrift beach having the same net sand transport as that near the St. Augustine Inlet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a methodology for modeling long-term evolution of multiple inlet systems in southwest and central Florida. The paper discusses the application of this methodology to two inlets within Sarasota Bay system in southwest Florida. The case studies of Longboat Pass and Venice Inlet demonstrate the importance of considering large temporal and spatial scales in multiple inlet systems. The results describe the evolution of Longboat Pass and Venice Inlet from 1880 to present. The analysis begins with natural conditions that existed before dredging or inlet modifications and investigates how inlet evolution can be influenced by navigation improvements or mining of ebb shoals for beach nourishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantification of the sediment transport processes in the Fort Pierce Inlet, Florida area and the influence of the inlet onto the adjacent beaches was performed by means of analytical methods. This analysis is formalized as a sediment budget and is based on available survey data, nourishment events, and dredging records of the navigational channel at Fort Pierce Inlet, which cover the period from 1972 to 2002. Available survey data encompass shoreline distances approximately 9.7 km north and 24.7 km south of Fort Pierce Inlet. Three intersurvey periods were examined in this study: 1972 to 1987, 1987 to 1997, and 1997 to 2002. Average annual sediment volume and shoreline changes derived from the profile data collected during these three periods were analyzed. Application of general sediment budget principles established that for the total period from 1972 to 2002, there was an average annual deficit of approximately 12,500 m3/y on the beach south (downdrift) of Fort Pierce Inlet. The general sediment budget suggests that 88,700 m3/y enter the north boundary of Riomar Beach some 18 km north of the inlet; 62,700 m3/y enter the north boundary of St. Lucie County some 10 km north of the inlet; and 43,600 m3/y leave the south boundary of St. Lucie County some 25 km south of the inlet. Application of numerical modeling to develop an understanding and predictability of the performance of beach nourishment south of the inlet was carried out as a supporting method to better understand the littoral processes in the area. Recommendations to improve the sediment management practices, including sand bypassing to restore balance to the south beaches, are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During Hurricane Ivan (2004), dunes in undeveloped sections of northwest Florida were significantly reduced in height through direct wave erosion and the transfer of sediment to the backbarrier by overwash. The poststorm morphology of the island consists of a narrow beach face, multiple breach corridors, a washover terrace, and a remnant secondary dune that was further eroded in 2005 by Tropical Storm Arlene and Hurricanes Dennis and Katrina. The redevelopment of this dune will direct the response of the island to future storms, but the mechanisms of posthurricane dune recovery are unclear, particularly in this low-energy coastal environment. The recovery is further complicated by a swale that was created through a knickpoint effect on an adjacent road. The swale was reinforced when the road surface was removed and as a berm developed during the recovery of the beach face. Field observations suggest that sediment transport across the narrow beach face and berm is limited by a lag of shells and gravel from the pre-Ivan roadbed. As a consequence, sediment input to the dune is relatively minor with onshore winds, despite the presence of fans deposited during frontal storms in the swale behind the berm. The resulting sediment transport gradient across the seaward slope of the dune is more reflective of the expanding fetch than topographic acceleration and the drag imposed by the sparse vegetation. In contrast, there is a larger sediment input to the dune during offshore winds in response to the larger fetch across the washover terrace, despite the presence of a lag. It is concluded that posthurricane dune recovery in this area is strongly dependent on the deposition of sediment during frontal storms and the resulting development of a sand ramp through the swale. This will increase both the availability of sediment and the fetch for winds directly or obliquely onshore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marsh surface deposition, suspended sediment concentrations, tidal hydrodynamics, and marsh surface characteristics were measured within a tidal creek system of a west-central Florida, microtidal, open marine Juncus roemerianus marsh to examine the depositional relationship between a creek system and the surrounding marsh during nonstorm conditions. Results suggest that short-term marsh deposition is highly episodic with deposition showing an inverse relationship with marsh surface inundation. Deposition was greatest at marsh sites adjacent to secondary creek segments over all examined timescales. Variations in hydroperiod, time-velocity asymmetry, vegetation density, and sediment availability could not explain the observed differences in short-term deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beach erosion, a problem along most sandy shores, can be caused by man-induced interventions to the coast or natural processes. Remediation of beach erosion (i.e., beach restoration) along eroding developed beachfronts is commonly practiced in the United States by periodic beach renourishment with or without coastal structures. Rates of erosion within beach fills generally vary greatly, and areas that erode faster than the nourishment average are commonly termed erosional hot spots (EHSs). Delray Beach, located on the southeast coast of Florida, was renourished for the fourth time on December of 1992 with about 914,000 m³ of sand dredged from offshore and placed along 2.7 km of beach. About 448,000 m³ of the fill had eroded away by 2001, about eight and a half years after initial construction. Two beach segments with erosion rates higher than the nourishment average were identified based on analysis of annual beach profile data. About 40% of the eroded volume accrued from one of these beach segments, a 600-m long EHS located on the downdrift end of the nourishment. We evaluated hypotheses to explain EHS development; these included the influence of nearshore features (reefs and borrows) on nearshore wave propagation, variability of grain size alongshore, and changes in shoreline orientation induced by the placement of fill. The nearshore reefs have little to negligible influence on the nearshore waves and are not the cause of the EHSs. Borrow areas significantly influence nearshore waves along the beach. Grain-size differences alongshore were also not the cause of increased erosion of EHS segments since grain sizes are not persistently finer where higher erosion is observed or vice versa. Change in shoreline orientation in the south end of the fill (EHS segment) causes an acceleration of the alongshore currents and an increase in sediment transport potential. Shoreline orientation effects appear to play a relatively more significant role in the development of the EHS in the south end of the fill than the other processes evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ivan, a strong Category 4 hurricane (downgraded to a Category 3 at landfall), caused widespread erosion and overwash along the northwestern Florida barrier-island beaches. This study examines the storm impact and short-term poststorm recovery along a 200-km stretch of coast from Fort Walton Beach eastward to St. George Island. One prestorm and three poststorm beach-profile surveys were conducted to quantify the storm-induced morphological changes and poststorm recovery. Forty-six trenches were excavated to study the characteristics and thickness of subaerial storm deposits. Extensive inundation and overwash occurred within 100 km from the storm center at landfall. Significant beach/dune erosion was measured as far as 300 km east of the storm center. The highest elevation of beach erosion extended considerably above the measured storm-surge level, indicating that storm-wave setup and swash run-up played significant roles in controlling the elevation of beach erosion. A simple empirical formula reproduced the wave setup and swash run-up reasonably well. Beach recovery began immediately after the storm. Within 90 days, the berm crest recovered to its prestorm elevation, although it was now located approximately 15 m landward for nonoverwashed sites and 30 to 40 m for overwashed sites. The steep prestorm foreshore slope was restored from the gentle storm profile within 30 days. An apparent erosional surface was observed along the impacted foredune and backbeach, extending over 300 km eastward from the storm center. This erosional surface represents a net elevation loss ranging from 0.5 to over 2.0 m. A storm layer of up to 50 cm thick was deposited above the erosional surface. Generally, the storm-layer thickness decreases away from the storm center, as well as landward from the high tide line. Local factors such as beach width and orientation, and sediment properties and supply caused variations in the thickness of storm deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution bathymetry surveys of Egmont Channel were conducted in 1999 and 2001 using a Kongsberg Simrad EM 3000 multibeam bathymetric system. These data were supplemented with other bathymetry data, seismic profiles, underwater scuba observations, and current velocity data, in order to investigate the geologic and hydrodynamic characteristics of Egmont Channel. Bounded to the north by a linear steep scarp ( ∼ 38°) and by a more gradual .slope (>10°) to the south Egmont Channel is an asymmetric tidal inlet and the main .shipping channel for Tampa Bay, Florida. The cross sectional area (17,964 m2) land the tidal prism (6X108 m3) for Egmont Channel were derived in this study. Currents measured at Egmont Deep and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge ( ∼ 11 km away I with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers, have a high correlation (97%) indicating the current velocities at Sunshine Skyway Bridge can be used as a proxy for current velocities at Egmont Deep. Seismic profile data indicate that both tbe mouth of Tampa Bay and the bay proper contain many stratigraphically controlled depressions. Egmont Deep is located at one of these depressions. Bathymetry and seismic data indicate that the main ebb jet for Egmont Channel is deflected northward by a local stratigraphic high located at the north end of Egmont Key. The repeated high-resolution multibeam bathymetric surveys document sediment bedform migration. The bottom characteristics of the deep fluctuate due to the erosion and deposition of gravelwaves. Analysis of seismic data and SCUBA observations suggest that the most likely origin for Egmont Deep is a combination of erosion-resistant limestone strata interspersed with pockets of dissolution which is overlain by an irregular bed of mobile sediments. The strong tidal current scour maintains the depth of the feature and assures that any sediment that becomes incorporated in the deep is short-lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the winter of 1997-98, the El Niño weather pattern was a major influence on the beaches of the Gulf Coast of the Florida peninsula. Cyclonic storm patterns influenced by El Niño moved across the Gulf of Mexico from the southwest, approaching the coast of Florida from the southwest, a direction that differs from that of the usual winter frontal passage direction. The El Niño effects along the Florida Gulf Coast are in the form of subtropical, low-pressure systems including mild temperatures, frequent storms with sustained winds, high wave energy, and record amounts of rainfall. The winds and waves generated by these systems initially came from the south or west. As the storm passed over the coast, barometric pressure increased and winds shifted to the west or northwest, Ten occurrences of this weather pattern look place from late December 1997 through March 1998. An atypical south to north littoral drift was recognized in localized areas along the Florida Gulf Coast during the winter of 1997-98, instead of the typical winter pattern of north to south sediment transport. Evidence for this reversal of sediment transport is the accumulation of sediment and shoreline progradation along the southern face of coastal structures and in a concave area that is oriented northwest to south-southeast. Waves due to the El Niño winter storms approached ebb-tidal deltas at the mouth of inlets from the west or southwest. Beach shorelines on islands located adjacent to the inlets responded differently than their normal winter response as recorded in surveyed beach changes. Beaches with a north-northwest shoreline orientation (between 330 and 345 degrees) had an increased rate of shoreline erosion and volume loss. Other effects of El Niño-influenced weather included erosion at typically prograding areas, and progradation or reduced rates of erosion in typically eroding location. Such deviations from normal patterns are important factors to include in long-term beach management plans, especially if the El Niño phenomenon continues to be a frequent occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data from six synoptic surveys are combined with current meter, bottom pressure and wind data to describe tidal and low-frequency exchanges through four tidal channels in the Middle Florida Keys. ADCP crossings provide transport rates for Channel 2, Channel 5, Long Key Channel and the Seven Mile Bridge channels. Predictions of tidal current speed and water level provide mid-channel, vertically-integrated transport for times corresponding to total channel transport given by the ADCP data. For Channel 2, Channel 5 and Long Key Channel, flood and ebb tide data are separated, and results from the surveys are pooled. Total channel transport is regressed against mid-channel transport, and the slope of the regression equation serves as a conversion factor to translate time series of mid-channel transport into time series of total channel transport. Tidal transport is estimated for the principal tidal constituents in each channel. M[sub 2] total flood and ebb discharges vary from 13.13 × 10[sup 6] m³ for Channel 2 to 122.60 × 10[sup 6] m³ for the Seven Mile Bridge channels. Time series of mid-channel current speed and bottom pressure from Long Key Channel are used to investigate the response to wind forcing. The mean mid-channel current speed is an inflow of 2.4 cm s[sup -1], and the mean transport is an inflow of 32 m³ s[sup -1]. Both are the result of forcing by strong east-northeasterly winds typical of the fall season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]