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Coastal Engineering

Coastal Engineering

The Coastal Engineering sector is responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of engineering projects along the coast, including ports, harbors, docks, and marinas needed by boats, ships, and other water transportation, as well as to facilitate recreational activities (such as fishing and diving).

CMap

Artificial habitat includes structures such as oil rigs, debris, sunken ships, and even abandoned bombs that can provide substrate for coral and sponges, or habitat for fish and invertebrates, potentially creating an artificial coral reef ecosystem. Biological Addition refers to anthropogenic inputs of a biological nature into the reef ecosystem, including artificial habitat, domestic animal waste, supplemental feeding, and escape or release of non-native species. Boating activities include movement in coastal waters and into ports that can lead to anchor drops or vessel groundings, or damage from trawling and other fishing gear. City planning refers to the development of guidelines, integrating landuse and transportation planning, to improve the economic, social, and structural functioning of cities. Civil Engineering and Construction specializes in the design and construction of infrastructure, including buildings and homes, roads, utility lines, and ports. Coastal Development is the construction of infrastructure, buildings, homes, and roads in coastal communities. The Coastal Engineering sector is responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of engineering projects along the coast, including ports, harbors, docks, and marinas needed by boats, ships, and other water transportation, as well as to facilitate recreational activities (such as fishing and diving). Construction codes and regulations control the location, number, and development of construction projects, including buildings, homes, and coastal structures. Contact Uses, such as biological additions, physical damage, and biological harvesting, are activities in which humans create pressures through direct contact with the ecosystem. Cultural services are the nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, recreational opportunities, aesthetic experiences, sense of place, and educational and research opportunities. Deforestation and Devegetation are the removal of trees and plants, including clear-cutting, to provide clear land for farms, roads, homes, buildings, and other infrastructure. Docks and marinas are coastal structures that facilitate operation and storage of boats. Dredging is the process of excavating material from an area to maintain ship channels and harbors for safe navigation. Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems . Impervious surfaces are surfaces, such as asphalt roads and concrete sidewalks. Infrastructural policies are responses, including zoning, codes, or regulations, that impact the distribution and functioning of socio-economic sectors that provide infrastructure. Infrastructural sectors provide the physical, organizational, and technical support for the economy to function, including construction, utilities, transportation, finance, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and technical services. Landscape Changes are alterations of the natural landscape through human activities, including coastal development, shoreline armoring, impervious surfaces, deforestation, or soil disturbance, which can alter water flow patterns and lead to pollutant runoff into coastal systems. Landscape conservation and restoration refers to efforts to protect and restore disturbed natural landscapes, such as through hydroseeding or beach renourishment. Landuse management pertains to responses that determine the use of land for development and construction. Non-point source pollution is runoff from diffuse sources that is caused by rainwater moving over and through the ground, carrying pollutants with it and depositing them in coastal waters. Permitting is documentation required for new construction and remodeling/renovation, in compliance with national, regional, and local zoning and building codes. The Reef Ecosystem includes a suite of abiotic variables that form the physical and chemical environment. Physical Damage to reef habitat and wetlands can occur from vessel groundings, dredging, trampling, boat movement, anchor drops, trawling, and fishing gear. Ports and harbors are coastal areas or structures, generally near deep water, which facilitate loading and unloading of large ships. Pressures are human activities that create stress on the environment. The state of the Reef Ecosystem is the condition, in terms of quantity and quality, of the abiotic and biotic components including physical, chemical, and biological variables. Reef Life is the abundance, distribution, and condition of the biological components of the coral reef ecosystem. Regulating Services are benefits obtained from ecosystem processes that regulate the environment, including erosion regulation, natural hazard regulation, and climate regulation. Responses are actions taken by groups or individuals in society and government to prevent, compensate, ameliorate or adapt to changes in Ecosystem Services or their perceived value. Shoreline armoring is the construction of bulkheads, seawalls, riprap or any other structure used to harden a shoreline against erosion. Shoreline Protection is the attenuation of wave energy by reefs that protects coastal communities against shoreline erosion and flooding during storms, hurricanes, and tsunamis that can cause property damage and loss of life. Socio-Economic Drivers include the sectors that fulfill human needs for Food & Raw Materials, Water, Shelter, Health, Culture, and Security, and the Infrastructure that supports the sectors. Transportation management includes policies, regulations, and zoning designed to control the distribution and intensity of transportation networks, including roads and shipping channels, and vehicles, including cars, boats, and ships. Waterborne discharges include direct and indirect discharges of pollutants into the aquatic environment, including chemicals, nutrients, sediment, and pathogens.

CMap Description

Coastal engineering creates pressures primarily through activities related to the construction and maintenance of ports, harbors, docks, & marinas. Development may require shoreline armoring or dredging activities, which can directly impact coastal vegetation and alter patterns of water flow. Coastal engineering projects and the physical infrastructure they create benefit from shoreline protection, as well as indirectly from the existence value of a diverse, healthy reef that provides recreational opportunities, contributes to the cultural identity of the local community, and drives coastal development. Landuse management can reduce impacts of development through use of permitting and zoning. Transportation policies can be used to limit numbers and activities of boats moving in and out of harbors.

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