Citation Kraus, N.C., and Heilman, D. J. 1998. The shape of the beach profile is central to scientific and engineering studies of coastal morphology, such as in the functional design of beach fill. Although response of the shoreline to the presence of coastal structures is fairly well understood and main trends can be predicted with mathematical models, little is known about the response of the beach profile to structures. In particular, the number of field measurements of the beach profile near coastal structures is limited. These studies found no long-term impacts of seawalls on the profile if a beach exists in front of the wall.
Much less information is available on the shape of the profile near groins.
The other two range lines extended only to wading depth and are not discussed further. The purpose of the survey was to determine the shape of the beach profile for designing the inlet entrance channel and jetties, as well as for estimating volumes of beach fill. The surveyed reach included a seawall that is frequently impacted by runup and waves. These relic jetties now function as short groins . For some months prior to the survey, the beach had not been impacted by a severe storm, so that the profiles measured are expected to represent the beach morphology toward the end of a typical season of winter waves.