Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. First Year Morphological Evolution of an

sediment characteristics and first year morphological evolution of an artificial berm placed just offshore in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, based on a series of field data collection periods during the first year after the berm construction. INTRODUCTION: Maintenance dredging is a common practice in inlets and channels for navigation. As a part of regional sediment management, the dredged material is often used for nearby shore protection. One method is placing sand directly on the adjacent beach. The other is placement of a nearshore berm, i.e., to add sediment to the littoral system and/or act as a breakwater to dissipate wave energy and slow erosion (Allison and Pollock, 1993). Compared t