Combining Geological and Numerical Models to Evaluate Sand Resources of the Northeast Florida Inner Continental Shelf

Abstract

Abstract Reconnaissance studies conducted in the 1960's and 1970's by the U.S. Army Coastal Engineering Center showed that most of the sand available in Federal waters occurs in discrete linear sand shoals or in fields of several sand ridges. A geological model of continental shelf sand ridges can be combined with a numerical model of physical processes to assess the potential for recovering beach quality sand and to assess potential risks of borrow excavation. The shelf sand ridge geological model includes a coarsening upward sequence beginning with silts, clay and silty fine sand grading upward into relatively coarse sands having minimal silt and clay fraction. The upper meter of the sequence includes a clean cross-bedded sand unit that is reworked by episodic storms and waves on the inner to mid-continental shelf. The Coastal Modeling System (CMS) was applied in a series of four regional model grids positioned offshore of northeast Florida where substantial sand resources can be found. Results of a num...