Field studies of beach cones as coastal erosion control/reversal devices for areas with significant oil and gas activities. Final report, February 24, 1992--September 18, 1995
The primary objective of this project was to evaluate the utility of a device called the {open_quotes}beach cone{close_quotes} in combating coastal erosion. Seven initial sites were selected for testing beach cones in a variety of geometric configurations. Permits were obtained from the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform the work associated with this study. Six hundred beach cones were actually installed at six of the sites in late July and early August, 1992. Findings indicate that beach cones accreted significant amounts of materials along the beach of a barrier island, and they might have been instrumental in repairing an approximately 200 meter gap in the island. At the eighth installation the amount of accreted material was measured by surveys to be 2200 cubic meters (2900 cubic yards) in February of 1993, when the cones were found to have been completely covered by the material. At other test sites, accretion rates have been less dramatic but importantly, no significant additional erosion has occurred, which is a positive result. The cost of sediment accretion using beach cones was found to be about $13.72 per cubic yard, which would be much lower if the cones were mass produced (on the order of $3.00 per cubic yard). The survival of the cones through the fringes of Hurricane Andrew indicates that they can be anchored sufficiently to survive significant storms. The measurements of the cones settling rates indicate that this effect is not significant enough to hinder their effectiveness. A subcontract to Xavier University to assess the ecological quality of the experimental sites involved the study of the biogeochemical cycle of trace metals. The highest concentration of heavy metals were near a fishing camp while the lowest levels were in the beach sand of a barrier island. This suggests that the metals do not occur naturally in these areas, but have been placed in the sediments by man`s activities.
- Research Organization:
- Tulane Univ., New Orleans, LA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC22-92MT92002
- OSTI ID:
- 114602
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/MT/92002-11; ON: DE96001027; TRN: 95:007505
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 18 Sep 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Field studies of beach cones as coastal erosion control/reversal devices for areas with significant oil and gas activities. [Annual report], February 24, 1992--February 23, 1993
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