I am currently acting as the operations engineer for Citiwater business unit of the Townsville City Council. I found the first day very interesting and informative and it has opened up lots of things for me so I will be better able to do my job.- Dway Goon View all testimonials

Introduction to Coastal Processes and Coastal Engineering



This course is available at these future events:
Gold Coast 2010

The aim of this course is to introduce Coastal Processes and how these relate to the principles and practice of Coastal Engineering and Management. You will learn the fundamentals of the hydraulic and sedimentary processes that shape the active coastal zone, use appropriate tools to analyse problems and design solutions to coastal erosion, and learn the design principles of harbours, breakwaters, beach nourishment and other coastal protection measures.  This is a practical course incorporating real examples and Australian case studies, and a field trip to illustrate the problems of providing practical solutions to coastal sediment processes in a highly developed urban environment.

ISSUES ADDRESSED

Day 1

  • Introduction to the course
  • Water waves – impact on the coasts and coastal erosion processes
  • Linear long waves – theory and approximations
  • Sine waves – application, flow field, pressure field, flow velocity
  • Wave statistics – random waves, expected maximum wave heights, wave groups
  • Field trip to Gold Coast Spit, Storm monitoring facility, Nerang River breakwaters and sand bypass pier. To view and discuss surf zone processes, wave setup, breakwater walls, sand-bypassing as a means of coastal sustainability

Day 2

  • Offshore wave measurements - design conditions, tides, how these affect design
  • Outside the surf zone – breakwaters and harbours, types, typical designs, key constraints
  • Inside the surf zone - wave setup, surf beat, long-shore currents. How these influence coastal management and planning
  • Beach face process - wave runup, including tsunami runup. Impact of these processes in terms of coastal inundation and coastal safety
  • Beach groundwater – coastal aquifers, dispersion of pollutants, vegetation
  • Surf safety – rip currents, what to look for, what to do. 
  • Beach profiles and erosion cycles -differences between short and long term erosion, how to protects against the different modes.

Day 3

  • Coastal sediment transport – sediment budgets, how to analyse, coastal cells
  • Long-shore and cross-shore transport principles – key drivers, influence of man-made and natural structures, mitigation measures
  • Coastal area modelling – present state of the art in hydrodynamic models and morphology
  • Estuarine processes
  • Tides in estuaries – how they vary and propagate
  • Density driven flows and stratification – influence on mixing
  • Dispersion in estuaries – influence on pollutants and water quality

WHAT DO YOU GET ?

  • Access to world-leading experts and local researchers
  • Textbook - Coastal and Estuarine Processes (2009), Peter Nielsen 
  • Bibliography for further information
  • Site visit to observe and discuss key coastal processes

WHO SHOULD ATTEND ?

The course is designed specifically for engineers, scientists, and state and local authority officials charged with managing coastal resources and development who do not have a strong background in Coastal Engineering. The course aims to provide an overview of the key principles to assist attendees with communication and interaction with specialist coastal consulting engineers.


PRESENTERS:
Tom Baldock
Peter Nielsen