Developing an understanding of the way that nature interacts with a project site is a crucial first step to designing in a sustainable way.  In Coastal Engineering, nature usually arrives in the form of waves, currents and sediments, which can combine and interact in complex ways.  We therefore need to have a range of tools from the simple to the highly sophisticated to allow us to understand the natural system, and how it will respond to a breakwater, or a marina entrance channel, or a beach creation project.