Inventory of coastal engineering projects in Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Dallas K, Berry M, Reggiero P. 2013. Inventory of coastal engineering projects in Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRTR—2013/734. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report includes information on coastal engineering projects identified in, or immediately adjacent to, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GOGA). The report serves as a supplement to a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database (the GIS data are available online at http://irma.nps.gov). One hundred and sixteen coastal engineering projects were found in and adjacent to GOGA. Of this total, 94 are coastal structures that together extend 26 km (16 mi). Coastal structures armor roughly 79% of the park’s northern San Francisco shoreline from the Golden Gate Bridge to Fort Mason and approximately 46% of the shoreline along Ocean Beach’s 7-kilometer (4.3 mi) long beach. Dredge and fill projects have altered over 5.7 km2 (1,400 ac) of submerged and sub-aerial lands within and adjacent to GOGA. The most significant project (by size and volume) is the Main San Francisco Ship Channel, offshore and outside of GOGA. Since 1931, channel dredging has removed nearly 41 million m3 (53 million yd3). Aggregate mining within central San Francisco Bay and on Ocean Beach has removed over 19 million m3 (24 million yd3) of sediment between 1953 and 2008. Modifications to sediment input combined with coastal engineering projects have changed the natural sediment transport dynamics within San Francisco Bay. These projects have directly affected much of GOGA’s 95 km (59 mi) of coastline. Crissy Field was historically a salt marsh and estuary, and its filled wetlands have contributed to a system-wide trend of ecosystem degradation, habitat loss and tidal prism alteration. Recent efforts have restored this site to a more natural state. However, new hydrodynamic and sediment transport impacts related to tidal impoundment and water quality exist. Ocean Beach represents a heavily engineered system with a long history of filling, beach and dune nourishment, and hard structure installation. Anthropogenic impacts within San Francisco Bay have changed sediment delivery to the outer coast, impacting the ebb-tidal delta as well as shoreline change rates along Ocean Beach.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Dallas, Kate; Berry, Michael; Reggiero, Peter
- Date of Issue
- 2013-05
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GOGA , GRD , NRSS
- Keywords
- Beach, Beach Nourishment, Breakwater, Bulkhead, Coastal Engineering, Coastal Processes, coastal structures, dike, Dredging, Erosion, groin, headland control, jetty, Levee, National Park Service, NPS, pier, revetment, Seawall, Sill