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Date Permissions Signed

3-2-2019

Date of Award

Summer 1983

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department or Program Affiliation

Geology

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Geology

First Advisor

Schwartz, Maurice L.

Second Advisor

Babcock, R. Scott (Randall Scott)

Third Advisor

Suczek, Christopher A., 1942-2014

Abstract

Geomorphic and sedimentologic variations in coastal landforms were used to determine the direction of net shore-drift and delineate the boundaries of drift cells along 178 kilometers of the southern Puget Sound coast fronting Thurston County, Washington. The net shore-drift indicators used along the Thurston County coast were, in descending order of observed frequency, gradation in mean sediment size, beach width, foreshore offsets at drift obstructions, spit development, bluff morphology, beach slope, diversion of stream mouth outlets, plan view of deltas or intertidal fans, oblique bars, beach pads, and identifiable sediment.

Wind from the south-southwest prevails over Thurston County. Fetch is the major limiting variable in the development of waves along the Thurston County coast. Because of the abundance of open water channels and fetches oriented sub-parallel to the prevailing wind direction, wind-generated waves that approach from the southwest have the greatest influence on net shore-drift direction. The result is that 76 percent of all net shore-drift along the Thurston County coast has a northward vector component and 24 percent has a southward vector component.

Seventy-five drift cells have been identified and described along 52 percent (92 kilometers) of the Thurston County coast. Areas with no appreciable net shore-drift comprise about 42 percent (74 kilometers) of the coast. The remainder of the coast (approximately 12 kilometers) consists of zones of divergent net shore-drift.

Human modification of the Thurston County coast interrupts the process of shore drift and alters net shore-drift patterns. Modified areas include Olympia Harbor and numerous small-boat marinas and oyster farms developed along the coast. Shore defense structures such as bulkheads and groins are reducing or eliminating wave erosion of bluff material as a source of beach sediment available for shore drift.

Type

Text

Keywords

Coastal landforms, Net shore-drift, Drift cells, Thurston County coast

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

1125266353

Subject – LCSH

Littoral drift--Washington (State)--Thurston County

Geographic Coverage

Thurston County (Wash.)

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Rights Statement

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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