scott jenkins of scripps center for coastal studies is one of those involved in the design of sea wallskwaters, and other coastal structures. about 20 degrees of obliquity. all right. the goal is to design structures that do the job with a minimal negative impact on the environment. jenkins and his colleagues use a wave tank and scale models to test their designs-- in this case, a breakwater. sensors placed around the tank measure the heights of the waves both inside and outside the breakwater, giving jenkins an indication of its effectiveness at reducing wave energy. data from the experiment is fed into a computer, allowing the scientists to refine and retest the design before an actual prototype is built. when designing the sea wall, jenkins and his colleagues turned to nature for inspiration. the irregularly shaped surfaces of sea cliffs and coral reefs reflect a minimal amount of wave energy, so the scripps scientists decided to incorporate nature's energy-absorbing design into their sea wall. so far, this wall has been a success. the property has been protected from further erosion