The goal of this joint program between the University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Bureau is to understand beach processes in Southern California, especially the relationship between ocean waves and changes in beach sand level. The specific objective of the Bureau is to collect topographic data along the coast from Point La Jolla to Dana Point and develop new methods of shoreline mapping using airborne lidar technology. Lidar surveys were conducted in May, September, and December of 2002 during periods of low tide. Besides mapping the shoreline and beach, we flew lidar passes offshore to map the sea-surface topography for comparison with computer model estimates of wave and swell heights. All these data are being analyzed at Scripps and at The University of Texas at Austin.