Sediment samples were collected with streamer traps at different elevations in the water column and across the surf zone. Beach profiles and breaking waves were measured together with the sediment sampling. The experiments were conducted on beaches with various sediment composition ranging from well-sorted fine sand to poorly sorted gravel and shell debris. The cross-shore variation of sediment mean grain size ranged from less than 1 phi to significant variation of up to 3.5 phi . The resultant database contains 99 vertical grain-size profiles, composed of 99 bottom samples and 552 trap samples taken throughout the water column and at 29 different locations along the southeast coast of the United States and the Gulf coast of Florida. A homogeneous vertical profile of mean grain size and grain-size distribution pattern was found on most of the beaches with a wide range of sediment sizes. The homogeneous vertical profile, representing 92% of the measurements, was found on all morphological features: swash zone, breaker line, mid-surf zone, trough, and bar. A homogeneous distribution indicates that the vertical mixing mechanism in the water column of the surf zone is independent of sediment size ranging from fine sand to fine pebbles. Bottom sediment, represented by an 8-cm core sample, was generally coarser than the sediment trapped in the water column.

Detailed beach-profile monitoring was conducted at the three phases of Sand Key beach nourishment on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The nourishment at Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, and Redington Beach was monitored during six years, four years, and eight years respectively after nourishment. Quarterly or more frequent beach and nearshore profile surveys were conducted in order to determine short-term (1 year) and long-term (4 to 8 years) rates of shoreline and beach-nearshore volume changes. The overall performance of the Sand Key beach nourishment is excellent. Redington Beach project has already exceeded the design lifetime of 7 years, and Indian Rocks Beach and Indian Shore projects are likely to exceed the design lifetime. The measured beach-nearshore volume loss is small: 31% at Indian Rocks Beach over six years, 30% at Indian Shores over four years, and only 10% at Redington Beach during eight years. Performance of beach nourishment is influenced by many factors. Those that are directly related to the three nourishment projects include: (1) relative location in the regional longshore sediment transport regime, (2) magnitude of wave energy, (3) sediment characteristics of the borrow material, (4) local reversal and/or gradient in longshore transport, (5) presence of hard structures, (6) adjacent beach nourishment, (7) variation of shoreline orientation, and (8) sand transfer and beach-fill construction technique. The shoreline and beach-nearshore volume change patterns at the three nourishment projects were different due to the different degrees of influence from the above factors, however, construction style is deemed to be an important contributor. The much less costly dragline and conveyorbelt transfer technique used in the construction of Indian Shores project does not prove to be most cost effective for long-term performance.