For the last several decades, beach nourishment has been a widely implemented erosion mitigation strategy along many developed coastlines. Measuring subsequent patterns of erosion and accretion can help elucidate local sediment transport trends, improve time scale predictions of profile equilibration, decrease renourishment intervals, and adjust future engineering design of nourishments. This study evaluates the morphologic evolution of two beach nourishment projects (e.g., characterized as a full and partial nourishment) at the same location in Boca Raton, Florida using time series beach profiles, surface sediment samples, and wave data. More than 85% of sediment volume was retained within the full nourishment six months after project completion, compared to 50% retained eight months after completion of the partial nourishment. Wave energy largely influenced immediate post nourishment change. Profile equilibration was controlled by high-energy events (i.e., hurricanes) for both nourishments. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Shorelines are a primary source of attraction for the nearly two million tourists who visit Palm Beach County annually. Many of Palm Beach County beaches are located on barrier islands, separated by a series of inlets which serve as access points to the Intracoastal Waterway. However, inlets are often cited as a source of erosion, through interruption of littoral drift and interaction with nearshore hydrodynamics (e.g., causing wave diffraction or refraction). In an effort to mitigate potential negative impacts of the economically important tidal inlets, Palm Beach County has installed a sand transfer plant (STP) at two inlet locations, the Lake Worth Inlet and the South Lake Worth Inlet. Through analysis of annual aerial photography and beach profile surveys taken between 2000 and 2009, this study will determine what effect, if any, these sand transfer plants are having on the inlet-adjacent shorelines north and south of the two inlets with STP, as well as an inlet without an STP (Boca Inlet). This study hopes to increase the understanding of shoreline dynamics in Palm Beach County, which could recognize important alongshore patterns, such as the occurrence of erosional hot spots, to assist in future mitigation efforts. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection