An Emergency Nourishment Plan for the Beach Fronting Massachusetts, West Ship Island: Supplemental Geotechnical Data

Stone, Gregory

In late 1988, a detailed plan was developed by personnel in the Coastal Studies Institute at Louisiana State University, to restore a section ofbeach approximating 1,000 feet in length in front ofFort Massachusetts. Details can be found in Wang et al (1998). The project requires approximately 40,000 cubic yards ofhigh quality sand to build the design berm to +5 ft. NGVD, and will result in a design profile extending between 200 and 250 ft. offshore ofthe +5 NGVD contour line on the present backshore. While this nourishment project is designed to provided foundation protection for Fort Massachusetts, a more detailed plan is being developed to encompass a considerably larger area extending east to the lighthouse.In this report we present additional geotechnical information to secure the necessary permit from the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers to proceed with the project on West Ship Island. In early September, 2000, a preliminary seismic cruise was conducted offshore, west and north ofthe west flank ofWest Ship island, with the objective of identifying sand targets for nourishment in this first phase. Previous work conducted by the Gulf Coast Research laboratory and the Mississippi Office ofGeology (reviewed in Oivanki, 1995) focused on extracting cores from the area and was used here to supplement the seismic data. Granulometric data are also presented along with a recommendation on the target site.