Their book, "Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can't Predict the Future," originated in a seminar Dr. Pilkey organized at Duke to look into the performance of mathematical models used in coastal geology.

In the fields of coastal geology and geomorphology, 'overwash' refers to a landward flux of sediment due to overtopping of a dune system.

Rob Young is professor of coastal geology at Western Carolina University and director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines.

Coastal and Marine Geology Describes ongoing USGS research in coastal and marine geology.

Professor Thom has written widely in the areas of coastal management, coastal land use planning, coastal geology, and geomorphology.

But the subtleties of coastal geology were lost on the hysterics of New York television news, who screamed alarms for six weeks about hurricane-churned seas and kept people away.

Pilkey's research centers on both basic and applied coastal geology, focusing primarily on barrier island coasts.

Mr. Sparks also fails to understand coastal geology.

The questions from the audience came quickly, reimmersing her into the world of coastal geology.

"Land absorbs wave energy; the physics have been well established," said Gregory W. Stone, a professor of coastal geology at Louisiana State University.