The past, present, and future of littoral transport processes along the Illinois coast of Lake Michigan

Conference · Fri Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1994 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:7140852

Chrzastowski, M J; Trask, C B ^[1]

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1. Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (United States)

The 101-km Illinois coast of Lake Michigan incorporates diverse settings, ranging from the most intensely engineered shoreline along the Great lakes to a natural shoreline along a well-developed beach-ridge plain. The estimated rate of littoral transport along the Illinois coast, prior to any coastal engineering, was approximately 80,000 cubic m/year. No obstructions interrupted the continuous net southerly transport to a drift terminus along the Indiana coast. Jetties built in the 1830s to defend the mouth of the Chicago River formed the first barriers to littoral transport, and substantial downdrift erosion resulted. Additional coastal structures that form both total and partial barriers to littoral transport have segmented the original single littoral-transport cell into a series of 6 primary cells (bounded by total barriers) and 18 secondary cells (bounded by partial barriers). As a result, the supply of littoral sediment from the Illinois coast that once nourished the Indiana coast has been eliminated. Future management of sand resources along the Illinois coast should recognize and be compatible with the segmentation of the littoral-transport system into separate cells. Rather than viewing littoral-drift nourishment from the standpoint of the entire coastline, sand volumes within the cells should be conserved. Under this approach, sediment nourishment would be used to maintain sediment volumes within cells at some desired level; updrift backpassing of sand among subcells would recycle most littoral sediment within each cell. Artificial bypassing of the total barriers between cells in an attempt to reestablish the preengineered littoral-transport system is unrealistic.

• OSTI ID: 7140852
• Report Number(s): CONF-9404217--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 26:5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540250 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
COASTAL REGIONS
DEPOSITION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EROSION
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
GEOMORPHOLOGY
GREAT LAKES
ILLINOIS
LAKE MICHIGAN
LAKES
MASS TRANSFER
NORTH AMERICA
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
SEDIMENTS
SHORES
SOIL CONSERVATION
SURFACE WATERS
USA