Beach-Inlet Interaction and Sediment Management

Description

Beaches, barrier islands and tidal inlets are valuable coastal resources and provide desirable environments that are often densely populated. They are dynamic landforms that change constantly, driven by both normal processes and energetic storms. They behave as one interconnected system and must be understood and managed as such. This book discusses their various morphologic features, as well as the processes that shape them and future challenges due to environmental change. A major focus is placed on the interaction between sandy beaches and tidal inlets, and the sediment exchange among various morphologic features. Balancing these valuable sediment resources while maintaining the natural sediment exchange constitutes a major goal of modern shore protection and coastal management. Illustrated with numerous aerial photographs to demonstrate how beaches and tidal inlets interact, this book provides a valuable reference for graduate students, researchers and professionals working in coastal management and geomorphology.

Dr Ping Wang is a Professor of Geology at the University of South Florida. He has been teaching and conducting research on barrier-inlet systems for over twenty years. He has over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals, edited books and conference proceedings. The practical aspect of his research focuses on shore protection and coastal management. Dr Tanya M. Beck is the Program Manager for the Coastal Inlets Research Program, in the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). She obtained her PhD in Geology from the University of South Florida and has published numerous technical reports and peer-reviewed articles. Her research focuses on the coastal environment related to geomorphic long-term evolution, erosion and sedimentation, and regional management of coastlines.