Coastal change along the shore of northeastern South Carolina: The South Carolina Coastal Erosion Study

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, conducted a 7-year, multi-disciplinary study of coastal erosion in northeastern South Carolina. The main objective was to understand the geologic and oceanographic processes that control sediment movement along the region's shoreline and thereby improve projections of coastal change. The study used high-resolution remote sensing and sampling techniques to define the geologic framework and assess historic shoreline change. Based on these findings, oceanographic-process studies and numerical modeling were carried out to determine the rates and directions of sediment transport along South Carolina's Grand Strand.