ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my advisor and supervisory committee chairman, Dr. Ashish J. Mehta, for his continuing guidance and support throughout my study at the University of Florida. My thanks are also extended to Dr. Robert J. Thieke, Dr. Clay L. Montague, and to Dr. Earl J. Hayter, Clemson University, who has been advising me for six and a half years now. I am most indebted to the staff of the Coastal Engineering Laboratory, especially Jim Joiner and Sidney Schofield, for their cooperation and assistance on this project. Many thanks to Lillean Pieter for drafting all the figures herein. A very big thanks to Cynthia Vey who acted as a living WP51 user manual. Thanks also to Dr. Parchure, Noshir, Apurva, and Tony who all assisted in the "grunt work." I would like to thank the Jupiter Inlet District for financial support, and especially Michael Garella and Michael Martinez for their personal support during this project. A big thanks to my parents whose monetary subsidies and loving support made my education possible. Mom and Dad, thanks for teaching me that life can be a lot of fun. Thanks to my peers and fellow enginerds whose love for the beach taught me a lot about coasta