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January 2002 Topics     current topics

• Ingle elected as S.C. Sea Grant board chair
• Coastal erosion workshops

S.C. Sea Grant Board of Directors elects Ingle as chair

Dr. Ronald R. Ingle, president of Coastal Carolina University, has been elected chair of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium’s Board of Directors. Ingle begins his one-year term on Jan. 1, 2002.

Ingle, a South Carolina native, is Coastal Carolina University’s first president. Prior to his appointment at Coastal Carolina, he was associate dean of the College of Applied and Professional Sciences at the University of South Carolina-Columbia. A tenured professor of psychology, Ingle has published numerous professional articles.

“The work conducted through the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium is integral to the future of our state,” Ingle said. “It is critical that we join hands across South Carolina to identify, preserve, and protect the environments and cultural treasures which are unique to the coastal areas of South Carolina. I am particularly proud that Coastal Carolina University has been involved in these important activities since 1993.”

Workshop highlights coastal erosion study research

Two workshops were held recently to update city planners, resource managers and elected officials in coastal South Carolina and Georgia on the progress of the Coastal Erosion Study. The first workshop was held on October 11 at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography in Savannah, Georgia and the second workshop was held at Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach on October 18. As part of the outreach component of the study, the workshops allowed researchers to present posters, explain research techniques and answer questions about the current phase of the ten-year study. Attendees included city and county planners and engineers, resource managers, elected officials and others interested in coastal environment issues.

In 1994 the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, began the Coastal Erosion Study, which is designed to improve understanding of the processes that affect the changing South Carolina and Georgia coastline. Phase I, completed in 1999, focused on the mid-section of coastal South Carolina. Phase II expands the research to include remaining portions of the South Carolina coast as well as the northern Georgia coast.

Researchers are studying offshore and nearshore geology, location of sand sources for potential beach renourishment, historical movement of the shoreline and sediment volume and transport rates. The goal of the Coastal Erosion Study is to examine how historical geology and present-day physical processes of the area influence coastal erosion patterns and the location of offshore sediment sources. Researchers will compile this information into an internet-based Geographic Information System database that will be available to resource managers, consultants and educators. Outreach and education components of the study will translate the scientific findings into programs and products for all levels of education, from K-12 through college/university. Researchers will continue to hold workshops and provide other information resources to planners and policymakers to promote a better understanding of the coastal environment.

Current partners include: S.C. Sea Grant Consortium; U.S. Geological Survey; S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control – Office of Coastal and Resource Management; NOAA – Coastal Services Center; Minerals Management Service; Offices of the State Geologist in South Carolina and Georgia; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Researchers on the project represent Coastal Carolina University; College of Charleston; Clemson University; University of South Carolina; Skidaway Institute of Oceanography; Georgia Southern University; and State University of West Georgia.

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