The morphological response of a nearshore double sandbar system to constant wave forcing

Results of 2DH morphodynamic computations are presented to quantify the temporal evolution of the crescentic patterns emerging in a double nearshore bar system in response to constant wave boundary forcing. Sixteen different conditions varying both offshore wave height and angle of wave incidence were applied. The mean length scales of the emerging irregular crescentic patterns are linearly proportional to the local longshore velocity over the inner and outer bars. For similar longshore velocities, the length scales of the outer bar are larger than of the inner bar. This is explained by accounting for the difference in water depth above the bar crest. The variable morphological response times can be explained by including additional bathymetrical parameters. The active volume of the bar, defined by the breaker index, plays an important role in this response time. With larger active volumes the bar responds more rapidly to identical boundary conditions. Also, bars with a smaller total volume respond more quickly. This faster response is due to the steeper active volume of the bars. Different initial perturbations resulted in different locations of the emerging features, showing that their location is sensitive to the initial bathymetry. However, the range in length scales and response times due to the different perturbations was significantly smaller than those obtained for the different hydrodynamic conditions. Based on the present findings we hypothesize that morphological length scales in the field are rarely in equilibrium with the concurrent offshore wave height and angle of incidence owing to the slow response of the sandbars under constant conditions relative to the stochastic nature of natural wave forcing.     

Prediction and assimilation of surf-zone processes using a Bayesian network: Part II: Inverse models

A Bayesian network model has been developed to simulate a relatively simple problem of wave propagation in the surf zone (detailed in Part I). Here, we demonstrate that this Bayesian model can provide both inverse modeling and data-assimilation solutions for predicting offshore wave heights and depth estimates given limited wave-height and depth information from an onshore location. The inverse method is extended to allow data assimilation using observational inputs that are not compatible with deterministic solutions of the problem. These inputs include sand bar positions (instead of bathymetry) and estimates of the intensity of wave breaking (instead of wave-height observations). Our results indicate that wave breaking information is essential to reduce prediction errors. In many practical situations, this information could be provided from a shore-based observer or from remote-sensing systems. We show that various combinations of the assimilated inputs significantly reduce the uncertainty in the estimates of water depths and wave heights in the model domain. Application of the Bayesian network model to new field data demonstrated significant predictive skill (R² = 0.7) for the inverse estimate of a month-long time series of offshore wave heights. The Bayesian inverse results include uncertainty estimates that were shown to be most accurate when given uncertainty in the inputs (e.g., depth and tuning parameters). Furthermore, the inverse modeling was extended to directly estimate tuning parameters associated with the underlying wave-process model. The inverse estimates of the model parameters not only showed an offshore wave height dependence consistent with results of previous studies but the uncertainty estimates of the tuning parameters also explain previously reported variations in the model parameters.     

Multiple longshore sand bars in the upper Chesapeake Bay

In the upper Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, U.S.A.) field surveys were conducted at 18 multiple longshore sand bar sites. The multiple bar systems were found in water depths less than approximately 2 m (mean sea level), and exhibited mild bottom slopes of 0·0052 or less. The number of bars composing each system ranged from four to 17 and the spacing between the crests typically increased in the offshore direction, ranging from 12 to 70 m. Bar height also typically increased with distance offshore and ranged from 0·03 to 0·61 m. A grain size analysis of crest and trough sediment did not reveal any significant differences and the sediment was categorized as ‘fine sand’. A review of the literature data indicated that the Chesapeake Bay multiple bars possessed similar characteristics to those found in Gelding Bay (Baltic Sea); similarities in fetch, wave height and tidal range between the two bays may account for this finding. The surf-scaling parameter indicated that the multiple bar systems were extremely dissipative with regard to wave energy, and wave height appeared to be an important factor in controlling bar spacing and bar height. A multiple wave break point hypothesis was discussed as a possible mechanism for the formation of Chesapeake Bay multiple longshore bars, and limited observational evidence appeared to support such a mechanism.     

A parametric model for barred equilibrium beach profiles

Environment predictions for locations for which bathymetric data is missing, poor or outdated requires the use of some sort of representative bathymetric form, usually one that is concave up but monotonic. We propose and test a parametric form that superimposes realistic sand bars (Ruessink et al., 2003b) on a background profile that mixes a concave up nearshore with a planar far field behavior. Implementation at any new site involves estimation of five parameters, three that can be found from approximate information from climatology or old offshore charts, one that can be estimated by almost any remote sensing modality and one, h_sea that is less well understood but mostly affects deeper bathymetry that has little impact on the resulting surf zone hydrodynamics. Tests against several hundred surveys at three diverse locations show that bathymetry is better estimated by the new barred form than with a previous monotonic profiles in about 80% of cases. The remaining cases are usually associated with the parametric prediction of bars that look realistic but are out of phase. The presence of parametric bars has an even greater impact on predicted hydrodynamics since wave breaking is concentrated at sand bar locations. Modeled cross-shore transects of alongshore current and wave height over the measured survey profile are well represented by modeled transects over the barred parametric form but not for results over a Dean profile. The peak alongshore current strength and location are particularly sensitive to the presence of a sand bar.     

海岸沙坝剖面和滩肩剖面特征研究

通过物理模型实验研究了海岸沙坝剖面和滩肩剖面的形成和演化过程,给出了稳定的沙坝剖面和滩肩剖面的几何特征。实验中考虑了两种初始坡度(1∶20和1∶10)和不同波高的规则波和不规则波,讨论了不同初始坡度海岸上破碎波空间分布特征。结果表明,沙坝产生后存在向岸和离岸两种运动形态,但最终将停留在稳定位置。稳定的沙坝剖面对应不同初始坡度和波浪存在不同的大沙坝和小沙坝分布。沙坝剖面由长时间小波高波浪序列作用后可转化为稳定滩肩剖面,该剖面不依赖于波浪和初始坡度。实验也给出了平衡剖面与理论曲线的对比以及剖面上泥沙粒径的分布。     

The morphology and migration of transverse bars off the west-central Florida coast

A series of migrating shore-normal sandbars with wavelengths of 75–120 m and heights up to 2 m have been identified off the northern tip of Anna Maria Island, a barrier island on the west-central Florida coast. Similar features have been described elsewhere since the 1930s and termed ‘transverse bars’. The transverse bars identified off Anna Maria Island are found for about 3 km along the coast and extend 4 km offshore, well outside the normal surf-zone width. No cusps or any other associated beach expression is evident despite the fact that the bars come to within about 75 m of the beach. Sediments on the crests of the bars are a well-sorted fine quartz sand, whereas sediments in the troughs are a poorly sorted coarse carbonate shell hash. Historical aerial photographs and repeated high-resolution bathymetric surveys provide a means of quantifying the migration of the transverse bars. Analyses of orthorectified aerial photographs from the early 1940s through the mid 1990s clearly show movement or migration taking place in the bar field. In the 40-yr period from 1951 to 1991, the southern edge of the bar field moved 200–350 m to the south, with an average long-term migration rate of 8 m/yr. Repeated bathymetric surveys over an 8-month period give an average short-term migration rate of 21 m/yr to the south. Wave and current measurements suggest that southerly winds associated with the passage of cold fronts drive near-bed currents to the south that are strong enough to initiate sediment transport and cause the southerly migration of the transverse bars.     

The formation of offshore ripples in the zone under irregular waves

In this article, results obtained from an experimental investigation conducted to determine the wave-induced geometric characteristics of offshore ripples and bars are presented. The experiments were performed using irregular waves. Natural beach sand was used in the study, where the mean diameter was 0.35 mm and the specific gravity was 2.63. The initial slope of the beach was 1:5. Different wave groups were generated over the initially flat beach, and a number of characteristics were determined. These include the ripple number, individual and average ripple heights, individual and average ripple lengths and the length of the offshore bar. The results of the experimental study were evaluated and empirical expressions based on the results were formulated.     

Nearshore bar crest location quantified from time-averaged X-band radar images

The remote sensing of the sea surface is commonly regarded as a logistically simple and cost-effective way of obtaining long-term (>years) time series of nearshore sandbar location. In this paper, we demonstrate that, similar to video imagery, time-exposure X-band (∼3 cm wave length) radar images contain alongshore, breaking-related high-intensity bands that can be used to compute the location of the underlying sandbar crests. Analysis of time-exposure X-band images and bathymetric surveys collected at Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands shows that the radar-based bar crest location, defined as the cross-shore location of maximum radar intensity, differs from the in situ surveyed crest location by a distance of O(10 m). This difference, Δx̄_radar, depends linearly on the offshore water level, consistent with model predictions in which the radar intensity is assumed to behave as the energy of the surface roller. The model additionally suggests a dependence of Δx̄_radar on the offshore wave height when the wave field across the bar is non-saturated. In general, such wave conditions did not result in radar images with sufficient contrast to determine the bar crest location and, accordingly, the wave-height dependence was not observed clearly in the field. Because of the dependence of Δx̄_radar on the offshore water level, time series of radar-based bar crest location show artificial variability when the images are collected at different water levels. Various techniques for correcting this variability are discussed.     

Morphodynamics of intertidal bars on a megatidal beach, Merlimont, Northern France

The morphology, bedforms and hydrodynamics of Merlimont beach, in northern France, characterised by intertidal bars and a spring tidal range of 8.3 m, were surveyed over a 10-day experiment with variable wave conditions that included a 2-day storm with significant wave heights of up to 2.8 m. The beach exhibited two pronounced bar-trough systems located between the mean sea level and low neap tide level. Waves showed a cross-shore depth modulation, attaining maximum heights at high tide. The mean current was characterised dominantly by strong tide-induced longshore flows significantly reinforced by wind forcing during the storm, and by weaker, dominantly offshore, wave-induced flows. Vertical tidal water-level variations (tidal excursion rates) showed a bimodal distribution with a peak towards the mid-tide position and low rates near low and high water. The two bar-trough systems in the mid-tide zone remained stable in position during the experiment but showed significant local change. The absence of bar migration in spite of the relatively energetic context of this beach reflects high macro-scale bar morphological lag due to a combination of the large vertical tidal excursion rates in the mid-tide zone, the cross-shore wave structure, and the pronounced dual bar-trough system. The profile exhibited a highly variable pattern of local morphological change that showed poor correlation with wave energy levels and tidal excursion rates. Profile change reflected marked local morphodynamic feedback effects due mainly to breaks in slope associated with the bar-trough topography and with trough activity. Change was as important during low wave-energy conditions as during the storm. Strong flows in the entrenched troughs hindered cross-shore bar mobility while inducing longshore migration of medium-sized bedforms that contributed in generating short-term profile change. The large size and location of the two pronounced bars in the mid-tide zone of the beach are tentatively attributed respectively to the relatively high wave-energy levels affecting Merlimont beach, and to the cross-shore increase in wave height hinged on tidal modulation of water depths. These two large quasi-permanent bars probably originated as essentially breakpoint bars and are different from a small bar formed by swash and surf processes in the course of the experiment at the mean high water neap tide level, which is characterised by a certain degree of tidal stationarity and larger high-tide waves.     

Control of barrier island shape by inlet sediment bypassing: East Frisian Islands, West Germany

A study of the East Frisian Islands has shown that the plan form of these islands can be explained by processes of inlet sediment bypassing. This island chain is located on a high wave energy, high tide range shoreline where the average deep-water significant wave height exceeds 1.0 m and the spring tidal range varies from 2.7 m at Juist to 2.9 m at Wangerooge. An abundant sediment supply and a strong eastward component of wave power (4.4 × 10³ W m⁻¹) have caused a persistent eastward growth of the barrier islands. The eastward extension of the barriers has been accommodated more by inlet narrowing, than by inlet migration.

It is estimated from morphological evidence that a minimum of 2.7 × 10⁵ m³ of sand is delivered to the inlets each year via the easterly longshore transport system. Much of this sand ultimately bypasses the inlets in the form of large, migrating swash bars. The location where the swash bars attach to the beach is controlled by the amount of overlap of the ebb-tidal delta along the downdrift inlet shoreline. The configuration of the ebbtidal delta, in turn, is a function of inlet size and position of the main ebb channel. The swash bar welding process has caused preferential beach nourishment and historical shoreline progradation. Along the East Frisian Islands this process has produced barrier islands with humpbacked, bulbous updrift and bulbous downdrift shapes. The model of barrier island development presented in this paper not only explains well the configuration of the German barriers but also the morphology of barriers along many other mixed energy coasts.     

Haeundae Beach in Korea: Seasonal-to-decadal wave statistics and impulsive beach responses to typhoons

Haeundae Beach represents Korean pocket beaches that are currently erosional and dominated by summertime typhoons. The decadal wave characteristics 9 km offshore of Haeundae Beach were analyzed using the WAM model that was validated through the 2007 wave observations. The wave statistics modelled for 1979–2007 indicates that the seasonal mean significant wave height (H _s ) is highest (0.6–0.7 m) in summer due to typhoons, in contrast to the lowest (around 0.5 m) autumn analog. The wave direction is also pronouncedly seasonal with the principal bearings of SSW and NE in the summer and winter seasons, respectively. The WAM results additionally show that the H _s has gradually increased over the region of Haeundae Beach since 1993. Beach profiling during June–November 2014 shows the opposite processes of the typhoon and fair-weather on beach sands. During a typhoon, foreshore sands were eroded and then accumulated as sand bars on the surf zone. In the subsequent fair-weather, the sand bars moved back to the beach resulting in the surf-zone erosion and foreshore accretion. A total of 5 cycles of these beach-wide sand movements yielded a net retreat (up to 20 m) of the shoreline associated with large foreshore erosion. However, the surf zone only slightly accumulated as a result of the sand cycles. This was attributed to the sand escape offshore from the westernmost tip of the beach. The present study may provide an important clue to understanding the erosional processes in Haeundae Beach.     

防浪建筑物影响下珊瑚礁海岸波浪传播变形试验

通过测试一系列不规则波工况研究了防浪建筑物存在下珊瑚礁海岸附近短波、低频长波和增水的变化规律，并对比了防浪建筑物的不同位置情况。分析结果表明：波浪在沿礁传播过程中，短波波高沿礁坪持续衰减，低频长波波高沿礁坪逐渐增大，波浪增水则沿礁坪基本保持不变；海岸附近短波随着防浪建筑物与礁缘距离的变大而减小，低频长波则在防浪建筑物处于礁坪后部时达到最大，防浪建筑物位置的变化对于礁坪波浪增水的影响可以忽略。通过理论分析证明了珊瑚礁地形上低频长波是由于群波破碎造成的破碎点移动而产生的；当特定波况作用于特定位置的防浪建筑物时，低频长波在礁坪上会发生一阶共振效应导致其能量在海岸附近达到最大值。     

Rip currents, mega-cusps, and eroding dunes

Dune erosion is shown to occur at the embayment of beach mega-cusps O(200 m alongshore) that are associated with rip currents. The beach is the narrowest at the embayment of the mega-cusps allowing the swash of large storm waves coincident with high tides to reach the toe of the dune, to undercut the dune and to cause dune erosion. Field measurements of dune, beach, and rip current morphology are acquired along an 18 km shoreline in southern Monterey Bay, California. This section of the bay consists of a sandy shoreline backed by extensive dunes, rising to heights exceeding 40 m. There is a large increase in wave height going from small wave heights in the shadow of a headland, to the center of the bay where convergence of waves owing to refraction over the Monterey Bay submarine canyon results in larger wave heights. The large alongshore gradient in wave height results in a concomitant alongshore gradient in morphodynamic scale. The strongly refracted waves and narrow bay aperture result in near normal wave incidence, resulting in well-developed, persistent rip currents along the entire shoreline.

The alongshore variations of the cuspate shoreline are found significantly correlated with the alongshore variations in rip spacing at 95% confidence. The alongshore variations of the volume of dune erosion are found significantly correlated with alongshore variations of the cuspate shoreline at 95% confidence. Therefore, it is concluded the mega-cusps are associated with rip currents and that the location of dune erosion is associated with the embayment of the mega-cusp.     

Morphodynamic response of nearshore bars to a shoreface nourishment

The autonomous nearshore bar behaviour along the barrier island of Terschelling, The Netherlands, is characterised by the presence of net seaward cyclic migrating sand bars generated near the shoreline. In 1993, a perturbation of the cyclic bar system was introduced by the implementation of a 2 Mm³ shoreface nourishment supplied to the nearshore bar zone, filling up the trough between the middle and outer bar. The morphodynamic response of the nearshore bars to the nourishment perturbation is investigated using a bathymetric data set with an alongshore extent of 12 km and sampled for 10 years. Bar behaviour is quantified in terms of bar crest position in relation to morphometric parameters such as bar depth, height, width and volume. Along with a pronounced development of a three-dimensional bar system unseen in the autonomous behaviour, the nearshore bars exhibited a 6–7 year arrest in their migrational behaviour during which bar morphology remained stable at immediate pre-nourishment morphometric values. At the subsequent onset of bar movement, bars resumed their migration at a rate predicted by autonomous behaviour in parallel development with morphometric parameters along their predicted trends. It is shown that the observed onshore transport of nourished sediment in the 6–7 year arrest results from a gradual deepening of troughs. Cross-shore sediment transport modelling is used to assess the effect of the nourishment on yearly averaged onshore (short-wave nonlinearity) and offshore (undertow) sediment transport rates. The gradual reappearance of the pre-nourishment bar-trough morphology is shown to engender a normalisation in the cross-shore distribution of sediment transport rates to pre-nourishment rates.     

Sub-weekly to interannual variability of a high-energy shoreline

Sixty-one Global Positioning System (GPS), sub-aerial beach surveys were completed at 7 km long Ocean Beach, San Francisco, CA (USA), between April 2004 and March 2009. The five-year time series contains over 1 million beach elevation measurements and documents detailed changes in beach morphology over a variety of spatial, temporal, and physical forcing scales. Results show that seasonal processes dominate at Ocean Beach, with the seasonal increase and decrease in wave height being the primary driver of shoreline change. Storm events, while capable of causing large short-term changes in the shoreline, did not singularly account for a large percentage of the overall observed change. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis shows that the first two modes account for approximately three-quarters of the variance in the data set and are represented by the seasonal onshore/offshore movement of sediment (60%) and the multi-year trend of shoreline rotation (14%). The longer-term trend of shoreline rotation appears to be related to larger-scale bathymetric change. An EOF-based decomposition technique is developed that is capable of estimating the shoreline position to within one standard deviation of the range of shoreline positions observed at most locations along the beach. The foundation of the model is the observed relationship between the temporal amplitudes of the first EOF mode and seasonally-averaged offshore wave height as well as the linear trend of shoreline rotation. This technique, while not truly predictive because of the requirement of real-time wave data, is useful because it can predict shoreline position to within reasonable confidence given the absence of field data once the model is developed at a particular site.     

Morphodynamic zone variability on a microtidal barred beach

This paper builds on the work of Masselink [Masselink, G., 1993. Simulating the effects of tides on beach morphodynamics. J. Coast. Res. SI 15, 180–197.] on the use of the residence times of shoaling waves, breaking waves and swash/backwash motions across a cross-shore profile to qualitatively understand temporal beach behaviour. We use a data set of in-situ measurements of wave parameters (height and period) and water depth, and time-exposure video images overlooking our single-barred intertidal measurement array at Egmond aan Zee (Netherlands) to derive boundaries between the shoaling zone, the surf zone and the swash zone. We find that the boundaries are functional dependencies of the local relative wave height on the local wave steepness. This contrasts with the use of constant relative wave heights or water levels in earlier work. We use the obtained boundaries and a standard cross-shore wave transformation model coupled to an inner surf zone bore model to show that large (> 5) relative tide ranges (RTR, defined as the ratio tide range–wave height) indicate shoaling wave processes across almost the entire intertidal profile, with surf processes dominating on the beach face. When the RTR is between 2 and 5, surf processes dominate over the intertidal bar and the lower part of the beach face, while swash has the largest residence times on the upper beach face. Such conditions, associated with surf zone bores propagating across the bar around low tide, were observed to cause the intertidal bar to migrate onshore slowly and the upper beach face to steepen. For RTR values less than about 2, surf zone processes dominate across the intertidal bar, while the dominance of swash processes now extends across most of the beach face. The surf zone processes were now observed to lead to offshore bar migration, while the swash eroded the upper beach face.     

The use of remote sensing and linear wave theory to model local wave energy around Alphonse Atoll,Seychelles

This paper demonstrates a practical step-wise method for modelling wave energy at the landscape scale using GIS and remote sensing techniques at Alphonse Atoll, Seychelles. Inputs are a map of the benthic surface (seabed) cover, a detailed bathymetric model derived from remotely sensed Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) data and information on regional wave heights. Incident energy at the reef crest around the atoll perimeter is calculated as a function of its deepwater value with wave parameters (significant wave height and period) hindcast in the offshore zone using the WaveWatch III application developed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Energy modifications are calculated at constant intervals as waves transform over the forereef platform along a series of reef profile transects running into the atoll centre. Factors for shoaling, refraction and frictional attenuation are calculated at each interval for given changes in bathymetry and benthic coverage type and a nominal reduction in absolute energy is incorporated at the reef crest to account for wave breaking. Overall energy estimates are derived for a period of 5 years and related to spatial patterning of reef flat surface cover (sand and seagrass patches).     

波浪破碎下湍流混合的实验研究

波浪破碎过程产生的湍流动量和能量垂向输运对于加快海洋上混合层中垂向混合具有显著效果。采用二维实验室水槽中对波浪破碎过程进行模拟。对采集的波浪振幅时间序列采用希尔伯特变换定位破碎波位置,波浪的破碎率随有效波高的增加而增大,波浪谱分析得到的波浪基本周期与有效周期结果相似。实验中采用粒子图像测速技术(particle image velocimetry, PIV)计算波浪破碎过程中湍动能耗散率的空间分布。湍流强度与波浪的相位密切相关,波峰位置处湍流活动最为剧烈,而且波峰位置处湍流混合区内湍动能耗散率量值的垂向分布基本保持不变,即出现"湍流饱和"现象,湍流影响深度可以达到波高的70%—90%。计算湍流扩散系数的垂向分布发现,湍流扩散在混合区上部随深度的增大以指数函数的形式增加,在混合区下部趋于稳定。作为对比,在相同位置处对声学多普勒流速测量仪(acoustic Doppler velocimeter, ADV)测量的单点流速做频谱分析,发现与该位置处PIV湍动能耗散率结果量级处于同一水平,进一步验证了实验结果的准确性。