Water Resources Collections and Archives

The flood plain formed by detritus deposited by the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana Rivers, and several streams is a multi-river delta at the coast and shelf of San Pedro Bay, a hook-shaped bight in southern California. It is between Point Fermin (southeastern tip of Palos Verdes Hills) on the northwest and Newport Bayl Corona del Mar bluffs at the southeast. The 30-mile long shore has been extensively modified by anthropogenic activities and by natural events which are described; construction of dams for flood control (which also traps sediments), river mouth structures, ground subsidence owing to oil, gas and water withdrawal, structures and dredging at the entrances of landlocked bays (Alamitos, Anaheim, Newport), development and operation of marinas and navigation channels, encroachment by buildings and infrastructure. Sand beaches are along almost the entire shore: Long Beach Municipal Beach, Belmont Shore Beach, Seal Beach, Surfside Beach, Sunset County Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Huntington Cliffs, Huntington City Beach, Huntington State Beach, Santa Ana River Mouth County Beach, West Newport Beach, Balboa Beach. The sand is light in color, and is mostly silicate (quartz and some feldspar). The beaches and surf, which are easily accessible, are popular and extensively used by residents and visitors. The natural supply of sediment to the coast became severely restricted, and beach erosion studies have been made since the 1930's; these are documented. There have been extensive beach nourishment (replenishment) projects for many decades which have successfully mitigated negative effects of sediment trapping, coastal structures, and ground subsidence. Dates, quantities and sources of the sediment placed as nourishment are given. Beach profile surveys and "Clancy beach width" measurements made during many decades were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Surfside-Sunset beach project (including West Newport Beach). The wave climate in the Southern California Bight is complex. Six different meteorological patterns are the sources of the waves; they include North Pacific storms, local seas, and southern swell that have traveled thousands of miles from storms in the south 40 to 50 deg. latitudes. The waves are affected (refraction, diffraction, reflection, shoaling) by the islands, banks, submarine canyons, and local bathymetry of the California Continental Borderland. Sources of wave measurements, analysis, storage, and retrieval are given. The region is subject to storm waves, floods, droughts, seawater intrusion, earthquakes, tsunamis; some details of which are given. Damages caused by several severe wave events are described. A coastal lowland/wetland that was substantially impacted in the past century was restored recently, the Bolsa Chica Lowlands Restoration Project. Its history and restoration (a modification of the original) is described. The largest seaport complex in the USA, by volume, is in the northwest part of San Pedro Bay, the contiguous Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports/Harbors; with 9.2 miles of breakwaters (in 3 sections, with 2 navigation entrances). The region has become extensively urbanized; it is part of the Los Angeles (Coastal) Megacity.

The main objective of the International Conference on Coastal Zone Management of River Deltas and Low Land Coastlines, Alexandria, Egypt, 6-10 March 2010 is/was to bring together engineers, scientists, managers, and officials and staff of government agencies (national and local) to address outstanding problems and programs associated with erosion! accretion! subsidence of shores of river deltas and other low land coastal areas. The venue is on the Nile Delta, southeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Port of Alexandria, and its ancient predecessors is probably the oldest in the world. This paper gives a brief history of the venue -- the delta and the ancient and present port of Alexandria The delta has a large population, extensive irrigation-based agriculture, and industrial! commercial! municipal requirements. The delta has been affected by great decreases in the delivery of water and sediment to the sea (almost a total cessation) during the past half-century. This has resulted in major changes to the delta coast, many of them adverse. Nile Delta sedimentation, coastal processes, coastal erosion and accretion have been studied extensively for the past several decades. A Shore Protection Master Plan for the Nile Delta has been developed. Mitigation works have been recommended, and are in various stages of implementation; they are being monitored. Many of the studies of processes, procedures, and mitigations are cited herein.

A great amount of technical information on tsunamis is available in journals, books, reports, newspapers, and websites. After the Sumatra-Andaman Islands Earthquake and the accompanying Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26 December 2004, the author updated his list of tsunami information sources, and made the citations available in a 115 page report. The sources are listed in the following categories: Articles, papers, reports, by author(s) Bibliographies Books, monographs, pamphlets Catalogs of events Collections Journals, newsletters Maps Organizations Proceedings, symposia, workshops Videos, photographs For convenience, some sources are listed twice, under title and under author(s).

This is Part 3 of the report. As in Tsunami Information Sources: Part 2, it has two components. They are: 1.(Sections A and B). Sources added since the first two reports, and corrections to a few listed previously. 2.(Sections C and D). References in Sections A and B (and a few from the earlier report that were not so listed), that can be classified in one of the following two categories: Section C. Planning and engineering design for tsunami mitigation/ protection; adjustments to the hazard; damage to structures and infrastructure Section D. Tsunami propagation nearshore; induced oscillations; runup/inundation (flooding) and drawdown

This is Part 2 of the report. It has two components. They are: 1.(Sections A and B). Sources added since the first report, and corrections to a few listed in the first report. 2.(Sections C and D). References from both the first report and this report, listed in two categories: Section C. Planning and engineering design for tsunami mitigation/protection; adjustments to the hazard; damage to structures and infrastructure Section D. Tsunami propagation nearshore; induced oscillations; runup/inundation (flooding) and drawdown. For convenience, a few sources are listed twice, under title and under author(s). It should be recalled that the water waves now most commonly known as tsunamis, in the past were also called tidal waves or seismic sea waves.

I have expanded substantially my list of information sources on: tsunami generation (sources, impulsive mechanisms), propagation, effects of nearshore bathymetry, and wave run-up on shore - including physical (hydraulic) modeling and numerical modeling. This expanded list includes the subjects of field investigations of tsunamis soon after an event; damage effects in harbors on boats, ships, and facilities; tsunami wave-induced forces; damage by tsunami waves to structures on shore; scour/erosion; hazard mitigation; land use planning; zoning; siting, design, construction and maintenance of structures and infrastructure; public awareness and education; distant and local sources; tsunami warning and evacuation programs; tsunami probability and risk criteria. A few references are on "sedimentary signatures" useful in the study of historic and prehistoric tsunamis (paleotsunamis). In addition to references specifically on tsunamis, there are references on long water wave and solitary wave theory; wave refraction, diffraction, and reflection; shelf and basin free and forced oscillations (bay and harbor response; seiches); edge waves; Mach-reflection of long water waves ("stem waves"); wave runup on shore; energy dissipation. All are important in understanding tsunamis, and in hazard mitigation. References are given on subaerial and submarine landslide (and rockfall) generated waves in reservoirs, fjords, bays, and ocean; volcano explosive eruptions/collapse; underwater and surface explosions; asteroid impact. This report is in two parts: 1) Bibliographies, books and pamphlets, catalogs, collections, journals and newsletters, maps, organizations, proceedings, videos and photos; 2) Articles, papers, reports listed alphabetically by author.

Grain s i z e , heavy mineral, and o r g a n i c c o n t e n t a n a l y s e s of 43 marine and 9 i n t e r t i d a l and f l u v i a l samples p l u s d a t a from 28 marine samples from a previous study by Sayles (1965) form the d a t a i n t e r p r e t a t e d in t h i s r e p o r t f o r the area landward of 90 meters depth (50 fathoms) from P i l l a r Point t o Pigeon P o i n t , C a l i f o r n i a , between t h e Golden Gate and Monterey Bay.

This study i n d i c a t e s : ( 1 ) ' The grain s i z e of t h e sediment decrease off shore except f o r a nose of c o a r s e r sediment from -36 t o -50 meters extending from the north t o the l a t i t u d e of Half Moon Bay. (2) The heavy mineralogy is dominated by hornblende w i t h v a r y i n g amounts of a u g i t e and hypersthene. F r a n c i s c i a n m i n e r a l s a r e found only i n t r a c e amounts. (3) Three major source areas f o r t h e s u r f a c e sediment a r e apparent (a) a great v a l l e y- Sierran source r e l a t e d t o the sediments of t h e present San Francisco o f f s h o r e b a r ; (b) a l o c a l source r e l a t e d t o the drainage basins now emptying d i r e c t l y i n t o the area off s h o r e ; (c) a q u a r t z d i o r i t e source presumably montara t o t h e north. (4) The major d i s t r i b u t i o n p a t t e r n of the sediment may be explained (A) from -90 t o -20 meters by the superimposition o f l o c a l stream drainage on the s h e l f on r e l i c t sediment from the north during lower stands of sea l e v e l w i t h l i m i t e d reworking and mixing of sediments a t province boundaries during t h e l a s t rapid r i s e of sea l e v e l ; and from -20 meter t o present sea l e v e l by p a r t i a l homogenation of l o c a l sediment during a slow rise i n sea l e v e l .

17 of intertidal and stream samples from Monterey Bay - Point Sur Area are analysed for grain size properties. These samples were taken to provide source area information for the study of the offshore sediments of the Central California Continental Shelf. The data are presented graphically as cumulative weight percent curves and histograms with respect to grain size. The statistical parameters median~ sorting coefficient, skewness and kurtosis are calculated for each sample.

The heavy mineralogy of the sand fraction for beach samples reported by Sayles (1966) and 10 new offshore samples from South Monterey Bay was determined optically. For each sample the percentage of the more diagnostic transparent minerals is plotted graphically in order of persistence: zircon, garnet, biotite, apatite, clinozoisite and epidote, lawsonite, green hornblende, oxy-hornblende, glaucophane, sphene, zoisite, augite, jadeite, hypersthene, enstatite, and tremolite & actinolite. Additional data on accessory transparent minerals, composite grains (rock fragments) and opaque minerals are listed with each graph. An updated bibliography is presented to include all new work on the geology and sediment of Monterey Bay.

The heavy mineralogy of the sand fraction for 44 offshore, 9 beach, and 3 stream samples for this region is determined optically. For each sample the percentage of the more abundant or more diagnostic transparent minerals is plotted graphically in order of persistence and additional data on accessory transparent minerals, opaques, and composite grains (rock fragments) are listed.