ERDC/CHL CETN-IV-24
March 2000
Field Data Collection at Coastal Inlets
by Thad C. Pratt, Timothy L. Fagerburg, and Darla C. McVan
PURPOSE: The Coastal Engineering Technical Note (CETN) described herein provides
overview guidance on the collection of field data at coastal inlets. It contains a method for
planning a data collection program and identifies parameters, methods, and equipment useful for
analyzing conditions at the site.
BACKGROUND: Coastal inlets are the conduits for water, material, and small waterborne
animals and plants between the oceans and bays, estuaries, and lagoons. The Operation and
Maintenance (O&M) activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) involve
navigation channel dredging and preservation of the beaches adjacent to inlets, as well as
preservation of water quality and environmental conditions (USACE Engineer Manual 1993).
These activities frequently require field measurements in support of numerical and physical
modeling efforts associated with inlet processes. This CETN concerns techniques and strategies
for making measurements in the energetic and complex inlet environment, based on experience
and developments of the Coastal Inlets Research Program (CIRP) and mission-support activities.
Because each inlet has its particular combination of hydraulic processes, configuration, and
engineering structures (or absence of structures), a data collection program is adapted to capture
the leading parameters at the appropriate location at each inlet.
DEVELOPING A PLAN FOR AN INLET FIELD INVESTIGATION: This section gives an
overview of the order of steps and associated activities in developing a data collection program.
1. Site reconnaissance. An office visit or other discussion phase will bring to light the concerns
at the inlet and the general physical and engineering conditions. A site visit can then be made by
those responsible for the collection effort and the local USACE staff familiar with the project.
The visit will allow discussion of the past and existing conditions, define the problem, and
document the area with general information on the acting physical processes and potential
locations for deploying instruments.
Questions that can be addressed during the field reconnaissance include:
a. What is the local use around the problem site?
b. What studies where conducted in the region?
c. What types of construction projects have occurred at the site?
d. Are there any existing ongoing collection efforts by local agencies, universities, or other
Federal agencies?
e. Are staging and deployment sites (USACE or U.S. Coast Guard equipment yards,
marinas, etc.) available for preparing equipment?
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