Sediment Budgets

 

A sediment budget is a way to account for sediment inputs and outputs in a defined area. Budgets can be used to quantify sediment fluxes and the resulting erosion or deposition in coastal systems. Large and small-scale sediment budgets are important for understanding sediment interactions in complex coastal systems that can include barrier islands, inlets, and engineering structures. 


Support for the SBAS project provided by the USACE Coastal Inlets Research Program (CIRP) and the Regional Sediment Management Program (RSM).

 

SBAS

As a researcher for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, I contributed to the Sediment Budget Analysis Systems (SBAS) ArcGIS toolbox development, improvement, and training. The toolbox is freely available to the public. 

To download the toolbox and access training materials visit the links below. 

the RSM logo
The CIRP logo. The three sides of the triangle are: Mission Support, Technology Transfer, Research & Development.

 

SBAS in action

SBAS application Upper TX Coast, CHETN-XIV-27 (Willey et al., 2013)

A figure from a publication by Willey et al., 2013 using SBAS to quantify erosion and accretion along a large stretch of the Texas coast including Galveston Island and the inlet to the north. SBAS is used here to locate areas to possibly reduce dredging.

 

Publications

Dunkin, L., Eisemann, E., Hartman, M., Wozencraft, J., 2020. Seamless Integration of Lidar-Derived Volumes and Geomorphic Features into the Sediment Budget Analysis System. ERDC TN RSM-20-4. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS.