Coastal Engineer - Tasks and specialisations
Mataaro Ākau
Tasks & duties
Coastal engineers may do some or all of the following:
- meet clients to discuss their requirements
- assess problems such as erosion or accretion (build up) of sand at beaches and ports
- work on improving certain beaches, ports, wharves or marinas
- analyse photographs and research sites and their surrounding areas
- write reports on coastal areas
- estimate the cost of projects
- supervise the design and construction of structures, beaches, coastal works, cable laying, seabed pipelines, port structures and coastal roads
- model wave and beach processes using physical and numerical (computer-based) models
- assess the environmental effect and impact of coastal structures
- develop management plans and strategies for coastal developments
- obtain resource consent for the development of coastal structures and consult with communities that may be affected
- be involved in coastal roading projects where roads are vulnerable to damage from waves, storms and coastal erosion
- be expert witnesses at resource consent and environmental court hearings.
Jennifer Hart looking at coastal images
Updated
August 2008
