Coastal Highways – Coastal Science Concepts - a PDH Online Course for Engineers, Architects and Surveyors

Coastal Highways – Coastal Science Concepts

Course Outline

This four-hour online course serves as an entry level primer for the analysis and planning of highways in the coastal environment that are influenced by coastal tides and storms. The physical coastal science concepts and modeling tools applicable to highways are summarized. Included are engineering tools for waves, water levels, and sand movement. Planning of highways subjected to coastal erosion and roads that overwash are discussed.

Some of the topics covered in this course:

Overview of coastal hydraulic analysis and design.
Effect of tides and water level fluctuations caused by storm surges.
Causes of storm surges.
Wave types, characteristics, generation and properties.
Wave theories and equations for shallow or deep water conditions.
Causes of hurricanes, Tsunamis, and cyclones.
Beach erosion processes, concepts and equations.
Coastal sediment transport, littoral drift, cross-shore and longshore sand movement, dunes and barriers.
Shoreline “weak points” caused by bridges, inlet canals, and drainage features.
Action of tidal inlets on bays, barrier islands, and beach formation.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will have covered these topics:

Background and history of storms and flooding on coastal highways;
The rise in sea levels in the US coastal areas
Overview of coastal hydraulic analysis;
Concepts of coastal science and engineering;
Effect of tides and water level fluctuations caused by storm surges;
Causes of storm surges;
Causes of hurricanes, Tsunamis, and cyclones;
Wave types, characteristics, generation and properties;
Wave theories and equations for shallow and deep water conditions;
Coastal sediment transport, littoral drift, cross-shore and longshore sand movement, dunes and barriers;
Beach terminology, erosion processes, concepts and equations;
Shoreline “weak points” caused by bridges, inlet canals, and drainage features; and
Action of tidal inlets on bays, barrier islands, and beaches.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for civil, roadway and hydraulic engineers, field inspectors, planners and project engineers.

Benefit to Attendees

The student will become familiar with the the analysis and planning of highways in the coastal environment.

Course Introduction

The course discusses the influence of water level changes, storms, waves, and littoral drift which impact the coastal highways. It covers the principles and science for tides, wave properties and generation, storm surges, and sediment erosion, deposition and transport. And it serves as a guide in planning highways in the coastal environment.

Course Content

The course is based on Chapters 1 - 5 of the US DOT Federal Highway Administration publication FHWA NHI-07-096, “Highways in the Coastal Environment”, (2008 Edition, 116 pages), PDF file.

FHWA NHI-07-096, “Highways in the Coastal Environment”, (2008 Edition, 116 pages), PDF file

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

This course should serve as a guide to assist engineers in understanding the natural coastal processes, principles of coastal science for tides, waves, sediment processes, characteristics and transport. Basics of sand and other beach material are discussed to better understand the influence natural processes have on coastal land forms. This course should serve as a primer for the analysis and planning of highways in the constantly changing coastal environment.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please refer to:

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov
Information on coastal and marine science, research projects by topics and location, publications and educational material for grade school too grad school.

http://www.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov
Tide information around the US, sea level changes, algal blooms and publications.

Reference Book: “Basic Wave Mechanics for Coastal and Ocean Engineers”, Robert M Sorensen (John Wiley & Son, 1993)

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.