Nearshore Dredged Spoil Mounds for Beach Erosion Prevention and Mitigation

摘要

Five months of field measurements of waves, sediments, and velocities at a dredged spoil mound are analyzed to determine rate of bathymetric evolution and direction of net sediment transport. The site is near the Brunswick Harbor Entrance Channel in Georgia. The mound was placed to investigate the feasibility of providing material to nourish the downdrift beach on Jekyll Island. Four computational techniques are employed to describe the fate of the placed sediments. Results indicate that the channel steers the flows of water and sediments, with net transport of sediments primarily along the channel axis as they leave the mound. Placing the disposal area farther downdrift of the entrance channel might increase the likelihood of indirect nourishment of the downdrift beaches after disposal.