24 Apr 2026

Conceptual Sediment Budget Creation Using CorpsCam Imagery: Holland Harbor, Michigan

Abstract: This Regional Sediment Management (RSM) technical note (TN) discusses the development of a conceptual sediment budget at Holland Harbor, Michigan, using CorpsCam imagery. Imagery from May 2020 through October 2021 was analyzed to calculate volume change along Ottawa Beach, just north of the entrance to Holland Harbor. Shoaling rates and longshore sediment transport rates were calculated to supplement the beach volume change rates, with a sediment budget developed as the final product. This is a companion piece to the ERDC/TN RSM-26-1, Conceptual Sediment Budget Creation Using CorpsCam Imagery: Lynnhaven Inlet, Virginia.

24 Apr 2026

Conceptual Sediment Budget Creation Using CorpsCam Imagery: Lynnhaven Inlet, Virginia

Abstract: This Regional Sediment Management technical note (RSM TN) discusses the development of a conceptual sediment budget at Lynnhaven Inlet, Virginia, using CorpsCam imagery. Analysis of imagery collected between September 2022 and July 2024 is used to calculate the volume change along the beaches adjacent to the inlet. The final budget incorporates shoaling change rates and estimated longshore-sediment transport rates. This is a companion piece to the ERDC/TN RSM-26-2 Conceptual Sediment Budget Creation Using CorpsCam Imagery: Holland, Michigan.

9 Sep 2025

Projecting the Longevity of Coastal Foredunes Under Stochastic Meteorological and Oceanographic Forcing

Abstract: Coastal foredunes serve as critical buffers between the ocean and beach-adjacent infrastructure, yet these features are at increasing risk of destruction from future storms and changes in sea level. Quantifying potential future hazards to dunes is complicated by an inability to forecast the exact sequencing and magnitude of future oceanographic and meteorological forcings. We used a stochastic weather emulator capable of generating time series of wind and wave properties to force a reduced complexity morphologic model to assess potential accretional and erosional dune volume changes over the next century. Inclusion of background beach erosion rates and sea level changes instead drives more frequent net volumetric dune erosion. At decadal scales, volume changes of the dune are shown to be dominated by the magnitude of shoreline change rate in locations rapidly retreating. For stable and mildly eroding shorelines, shoreline changes and changes in the still water level influence timescales of dune destruction. Sets of probabilistic simulations are used to show gradual wind-driven sediment gains can compensate for episodic wave-driven losses over the long term. However, in the case of higher sea levels, more frequent dune collision results in less time for dune recovery between major storms.

26 Aug 2025

The Quick Response Toolbox User’s Guide

Abstract: Regional-scale beach morphology, volume, and shoreline changes are quantified using the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX) ArcGIS Python toolboxes. This user’s guide details the JALBTCX toolbox framework and the operation of the Quick Response Toolbox. A walkthrough for each individual step within the toolbox will be presented along with example data from Homer, Alaska. Best practices and example data and figures are included as additional documentation for new users.

4 Apr 2025

Living Shoreline in USACE Projects: A Review

Abstract: The term living shoreline (LS) refers to the practice of shoreline stabilization using natural elements (e.g., vegetation, oysters, logs, etc.) in a way that maintains continuity and connectivity between terrestrial and aquatic habitats. This report provides a review of LS practices to assess the applicability of these engineering techniques for US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) projects. Specifically, this review examines the current state of knowledge regarding LS efforts through evaluation of peer-reviewed literature, agency reports, web tools, applications, and relevant guidance. It is important to gain a deeper understanding of the potential ecological, engineering, environmental, and socioeconomic benefits in comparison with traditional gray infrastructure shoreline stabilization techniques. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) encourages the use of LS as a shoreline stabilization technique along sheltered coasts (i.e., coasts not exposed to open ocean wave energy) to preserve and improve habitats and maintain their ecosystem services at the land–water interface. Research has examined aspects of LSs, but there are relevant knowledge gaps yet to be explored. Overall, there is a lot of information from different sources on LSs with limited application to USACE projects. Therefore, a consolidated planning and design consideration report specific to USACE is recommended.

2 Dec 2024

Comparison of Run-Up Models with Field Data

Abstract: Run-up predictions are inherently uncertain, owing to ambiguities in phase-averaged models and inherent complexities of surf and swash-zone hydrodynamics. As a result, different approaches, ranging from simple algebraic expressions to computationally intensive phase-resolving models, have been used in attempt to capture the most relevant run-up processes. Studies quantifiably comparing these methods in terms of physical accuracy and computational speed are needed as new observation technologies and models become available. The current study tests the capability of the new swash formulation of the Coastal Modeling System (CMS) to predict 1D run-up statistics (R2%) collected during an energetic 3 week period on sandy dune-backed beach in Duck, North Carolina. The accuracy and speed of the debut CMS swash formulation is compared with one algebraic model and three other numerical models. Of the four tested numerical models, the CSHORE model computed the results fastest, and the CMS model results had the greatest accuracy. All four numerical models, including XBeach in surfbeat and nonhydrostatic modes, yielded half the error of the algebraic model tested. These findings present an encouraging advancement for phase-averaged coastal models, a critical step towards rapid prediction for near-time deterministic or long-term stochastic guidance.

11 Sep 2024

Evaluating Topographic Reconstruction Accuracy of Planet Lab’s Stereo Satellite Imagery

Abstract: The goal of this Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) is to document initial results to derive topography on the beachface in the northern Outer Banks, North Carolina, utilizing Planet Labs’ SkySat stereo panchromatic imagery processed in Agisoft Metashape. This technical note will provide an initial evaluation into whether Planet Lab’s SkySat imagery is a suitable image source for satellite Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms as well as whether these data should be explored as a federal beach project monitoring tool. Depending on required accuracy, these data have the potential to aid coastal scientists, managers, and US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) engineers in understanding the now-state of their coastlines and employ cost-effective adaptive management techniques.

6 Aug 2024

Tools and Technical Guidelines for Delineating the Extent of Tidal Waters: Proof of Concept

Abstract: The delineation of shorelines in tidally influenced waters, as well as the inland extent of tidal influence of those waters, is often used to define the extent of federal and/or state jurisdictional boundaries, including the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) limits of jurisdiction under the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA) and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. At present, USACE and other practitioners use a variety of field observations and desktop-based data sets, tools, and techniques to identify and delineate the lateral and longitudinal extent of USACE’s jurisdiction under the RHA for tidally influenced waters. Tidal waters, and thus federal jurisdiction under the RHA, “end where the rise and fall of the water surface can no longer be practically measured in a predictable rhythm.” However, the technical standards, definitions, and data to delineate tidal extent are also lacking. The uncertainty and ambiguity in what constitute tidal extent increases litigation risk and decreases repeatability and technical defensibility of USACE decisions. Nationally applicable technical guidance and rapid tools and techniques are needed to increase defensibility and consistency across all coastal USACE districts while also accelerating USACE Regulatory decision-making.

5 Aug 2024

Analysis of Beach Cusp Formation and Evolution Using High-Frequency 3D Lidar Scans

Abstract: Beach cusp characteristics were explored using 15 months of 3D lidar scans collected hourly at the Duck, NC, Field Research Facility. Fourier analyses performed on lidar-derived beach elevation contours generated spatial cusp spectra. Active cusp events identified from the location and magnitude of each spectrum’s peak were used to evaluate conditions during cusp formation and evolution. Cusps primarily developed during normally-incident, long-period, low-energy wave conditions with low frequency spread and reflective beach conditions. Often, however, persistent upper-beach cusps lasted days to months and dynamic lower-beach cusps evolved over individual tidal cycles. At times, beaches exhibiting multiple cusp systems reverted to a single cusp system extending the entire beach when the high-tide waterline reached the upper-beach cusps, with the location and spacing of the resulting lower-beach cusps controlled by the upper-beach cusps. This is consistent with a “morphological coupling” hypothesis that hydrodynamic-morphodynamic feedbacks between the swash and upper-beach cusps can form lower-beach cusps with a related wavelength as the tide falls. However, sometimes the high-tide waterline reaching the upper-beach cusps did not result in a unified beach state. This suggest that morphological coupling is often an important factor in controlling the development of new lower-beach cusps but cannot initiate cusp formation in hydrodynamic conditions outside those favorable for cusp activity.

14 Jun 2024

Application of Coastal Resilience Metrics at Panama City Beach, Florida

Abstract: This study, for the first time, combines the Coastal Engineering Resilience Index (CERI) and Buffer Width (BW) metrics to better understand the historic, current, and future resilience of the coastal system at Panama City Beach, Florida. After the construction of the US Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) project at Panama City Beach, the CERI resilience metric has increased up to 21.3%, while negative storm impacts in the same have been less than 8%. The frequency of nourishment efforts moving forward is justified by a 24.3% increase in the BW metric when comparing cases that are nourished frequently with cases that are not nourished frequently. Moreover, there is a 129.2% increase in the BW metric when comparing the frequently nourished cases with the cases that are nourished only on an emergency basis. While the CERI and BW metrics have both been considered previously, their combined application provides an understanding of a broader temporal view of how storm events, CSRM projects, and nourishments have played a part in the resilience of the system at Panama City Beach over the last two decades and how they may play a role in the next half century.