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Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... i

List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. vi

List of Tables............................................................................................................................... xii

List of Symbols............................................................................................................................xiii

Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................... xvi

Glossary...............................................................................................................Glossary: 1 of 18

Part 1 – Background & Context ....................................................................................................1

Chapter 1 - Introduction ................................................................................................................3

1.1 Purpose .......................................................................................................................3
1.2 Target Audience ..........................................................................................................3
1.3 Organization ................................................................................................................4
1.4 Units in this Document ................................................................................................5

Chapter 2 - Coastal Highways ......................................................................................................7

2.1 What are Coastal Highways? ......................................................................................7
2.2 Estimating the Extent of Coastal Roads and Bridges..................................................8
2.3 Societal Demand for Coastal Highways ......................................................................8
2.4 Natural Coastal Processes Impacting Highways.........................................................9
2.4.1 Water Level Change......................................................................................10
2.4.2 Storm Surge ..................................................................................................10
2.4.3 Major Weather Events ...................................................................................10
2.4.4 Waves............................................................................................................13
2.4.5 Shoreline Erosion ..........................................................................................13
2.4.6 Littoral Drift ....................................................................................................13
2.4.7 Shoreline Recession......................................................................................14
2.4.8 Tsunamis .......................................................................................................14
2.4.9 Upland Runoff................................................................................................15
2.4.10 High-Velocity Flows .......................................................................................15
2.4.11 Other Processes............................................................................................15
2.5 Coastal Highway Planning and Design .....................................................................15

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2.6 Coastal Engineering as a Specialty Area ..................................................................16

2.6.1 Education.......................................................................................................16
2.6.2 State-of-Practice............................................................................................16
2.6.3 Resources .....................................................................................................17
2.7 Coastal Engineering in the Highway Community ......................................................17

Part 2 – Principles of Coastal Science & Engineering ................................................................19

Chapter 3 - Tides, Storm Surge and Water Levels .....................................................................21

3.1 Astronomical Tides....................................................................................................21
3.1.1 Characteristics of Astronomical Tides ...........................................................21
3.1.2 Tidal and Survey Datums ..............................................................................23
3.2 Storm Surge ..............................................................................................................24
3.2.1 Modeling Approaches....................................................................................25
3.2.2 Design Water Levels .....................................................................................28
3.3 Sea Level Rise ..........................................................................................................29
3.4 Lake Water Level Fluctuations ..................................................................................32

Chapter 4 - Waves ......................................................................................................................33

4.1 Definitions, Theories, and Properties of Waves ........................................................33
4.2 Wave Transformation and Breaking..........................................................................41
4.3 Irregular Waves .........................................................................................................47
4.3.1 Numerical Models..........................................................................................50
4.4 Wave Generation ......................................................................................................51
4.5 Tsunamis...................................................................................................................53
4.6 Ship Wakes ...............................................................................................................54

Chapter 5 - Coastal Sediment Processes...................................................................................55

5.1 Overview of Coastal Geomorphology........................................................................55
5.2 Beach Terminology ...................................................................................................59
5.3 Coastal Sediment Characteristics .............................................................................63
5.4 Cross-Shore Sand Transport and Dune Erosion Modeling .......................................65
5.5 Longshore Sand Transport and Shoreline Change Modeling ...................................69
5.6 Tidal Inlets .................................................................................................................71
5.7 Physical Models in Coastal Engineering ...................................................................76

Part 3 – Issues and Approaches in Coastal Highway Design.....................................................79

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