Introduction:

3-D visualization by means of terrestrial Light Dectection and Ranging (LIDAR).

The coastline is the unique interface of the ocean, land, and atmosphere where geologic processes can be observed on a human time scale.  Each of these elements are important in controlling the erosional and depositional processes that shape our coastline.  As our coastline became urbanized, the erosional processes have presented serious problems.  Coastal erosion currently threatens coastal infrastructure, public safety, and the

Courtesy of Calit2

coastal tourism economy throughout much of California.  These problems are likely to accelerate in the future due to projected sea level rise and increasing coastal populations.  Many attempts have been made to control the erosion with varying amounts of success.  This project seeks to better understand the erosional processes of seacliffs and the effectiveness of erosion control devices, and provide information to  coastal planners and the general public. This research is being conducted at the Department of Structural Engineering,   University of California San Diego, with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the   California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (CALIT2) and is funded by   California Sea Grant and the Coastal Environmental Quality Initiative.

---

Research Objectives:

• Identify erosion hot spots
• Quantify retreat rates
• Evaluate the significance of subaerial and marine processes
• Quantify seacliff sediment contributions to the littoral cell
• Evaluate seacliff stability and stress conditions
• Map erosion control devices
• Develop a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) based coastal development history
• Develop software tools and resources to effectively analyze and process data
• Assess the effectiveness of erosion control devices

---

Research Methods: Softcopy photogrammetry GIS development and modeling Airborne and Terrestrial LIDAR (LIght Detection and Ranging) Finite difference slope analysis Field investigation