Beach and dune erosion during storm surges

This paper presents the set-up and results of an extensive research programme concerning the erosion of coastal dunes during storm surges. A large number of two-dimensional and three-dimensional mobile-bed model tests has been carried out to investigate the process of dune erosion. The state of art after a series of small-scale tests is summarized. Attention is focussed on large-scale tests carried out in the Delta Flume with random waves up to 2 m significant height. Sediment concentration and orbital velocity measurements are discussed. The large-scale tests have confirmed the validity of a modelling technique based on the dimensionless fall velocity parameter H/Tw. The model results are being applied to check the safety of existing coastal dunes as a water-retaining structure that has to protect the major part of the Netherlands from inundation during storm surges.     

Identifying storm impacts on an embayed, high-energy coastline: examples from western Ireland

Large sections of the western Irish coast are characterised by a highly compartmentalised series of headland-embayment cells in which sand and gravel beaches are backed by large vegetated dune systems. Exposure to modally high-energy swell renders most of these beaches dissipative in character. A mesotidal range (c. 3.5–4.5 m) exists along much of the coast. Analysis of instrumental wind records from three locations permitted the identification of a variety of storm types and the construction of storm catalogues. Few individual storms were recorded at all three stations indicating a lack of regional consistency in storm record. Of the total storms recorded, only a small percentage are potentially damaging (onshore directed) and even fewer span a high tide and thus potentially induce a measurable morphological response at the coast.

Through a combination of historical records, meteorological records, field observations and wave modelling we attempt to assess the impact of storms. Quantifiable records of coastal morphology (maps, air photos and beach profiles) are few in number and do not generally record responses that may be definitely attributed to specific storms. Numerical wave simulations and observations at a variety of sites on the west Irish coast, however, provide insights into instantaneous and medium term (decadal) storm responses in such systems.

We argue that beaches and dunes that are attuned to modally high-energy regimes require extreme storms to cause significant morphological impact. The varying orientation of beaches, a spatially nonuniform storm catalogue and the need for a storm to occur at high water to produce measurable change, impart site-specific storm susceptibility to these embayments. Furthermore, we argue that long-period wave energy attenuation across dissipative shorefaces and beaches reduces coastal response to distant storms whereas short-period, locally generated wind waves are more likely to cause major dune and beach erosion as they arrive at the shoreline unrefracted.

This apparently variable response of beach and dune systems to storm forcing at a decadal scale over a coastline length of 200 km urges caution in generalising regarding regional-scale coastal responses to climatic change.     

Shifting sands? Coastal protection by sand banks,beaches and dunes

In a closely integrated system, (sub-) littoral sandy sediments, sandy beaches, and sand dunes offer natural coastal protection for a host of environmentally and economically important areas and activities inland. Flooding and coastal erosion pose a serious threat to these environments, a situation likely to be exacerbated by factors associated with climate change. Despite their importance, these sandy ‘soft’ defences have been lost from many European coasts through the proliferation of coastal development and associated hard-engineering and face further losses due to sea-level rise, subsidence, storm surge events, and coastal squeeze. As part of the EU-funded THESEUS project we investigated the critical drivers that determine the persistence and maintenance of sandy coastal habitats around Europe's coastline, taking particular interest in their close link with the biological communities that inhabit them. The successful management of sandy beaches to restore and sustain sand budgets (e.g. via nourishment), depends on the kind of mitigation undertaken, local beach characteristics, and on the source of ‘borrowed’ sediment. We found that inter-tidal invertebrates were good indicators of changes linked to different mitigation options. For sand dunes, field observations and manipulative experiments investigated different approaches to create new dune systems, in addition to measures employed to improve dune stabilisation. THESEUS provides a ‘toolbox’ of management strategies to aid the management, restoration, and creation of sandy habitats along our coastlines, but we note that future management must consider the connectivity of sub-littoral and supra-littoral sandy habitats in order to use this natural shoreline defence more effectively.     

厦门风暴潮淹没风险预警系统研究

为提高厦门防御台风风暴潮灾害风险的能力,辅助政府部门开展海洋防灾减灾工作,文章基于风暴潮数值模型开发厦门风暴潮淹没风险预警系统,并以1521号台风为例模拟其淹没风险。研究结果表明：风暴潮数值模型能较好地刻画影响厦门的台风风暴潮过程,满足风暴潮淹没风险分析需求;厦门风暴潮淹没风险预警系统采用按警戒潮位预警和按高程预警2种方法分析风暴潮淹没风险,可对影响程度不同的岸段采取不同的预警和防御措施;基于数值模型的风暴潮淹没范围与实地调查区域的淹没范围基本一致,可对未开展实地调查区域的淹没范围进行补充;今后须进一步完善厦门风暴潮淹没风险预警系统,同时建立厦门风暴潮风险评价体系。     

Modeling of storm-induced coastal flooding for emergency management

This paper describes a model package that simulates coastal flooding resulting from storm surge and waves generated by tropical cyclones. The package consists of four component models implemented at three levels of nested geographic regions, namely, ocean, coastal, and nearshore. The operation is automated through a preprocessor that prepares the computational grids and input atmospheric conditions and manages the data transfer between components. The third generation spectral wave model WAM and a nonlinear long-wave model calculate respectively the wave conditions and storm surge over the ocean region. The simulation results define the water levels and boundary conditions for the model SWAN to transform the storm waves in coastal regions. The storm surge and local tides define the water level in each nearshore region, where a Boussinesq model uses the wave spectra output from SWAN to simulate the surf-zone processes and runup along the coastline. The package is applied to hindcast the coastal flooding caused by Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki, which hit the Hawaiian Island of Kauai in 1982 and 1992, respectively. The model results indicate good agreement with the storm-water levels and overwash debris lines recorded during and after the events, demonstrating the capability of the model package as a forecast tool for emergency management.     

Effects of DEM Resolution on Modeling Coastal Flood Vulnerability

Abstract

This article examines whether Digital Elevation Model (DEM) resolution affects the accuracy of predicted coastal inundation extent using LISFLOOD-FP, with application to a sandy coastline in New Jersey. DEMs with resolution ranging from 10 to 100 m were created using coastal elevation data from NOAA, using the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic flood model was developed in LISFLOOD-FP using each DEM, all of which were calibrated and validated against an observed 24-h tidal cycle and used to simulate a 1.5 m storm surge. While differences in predicted inundated area from all models were within 1.0%, model performance and computational time worsened and decreased with coarser DEM resolution, respectively. This implied that using a structured grid model for modeling coastal flood vulnerability is based on two trade-offs: high DEM resolution coupled with computational intensity, but higher precision in model predictions, and vice versa. Furthermore, water depth predictions from all DEMs were consistent. Using an integrated numerical modeling and GIS approach, a two-scale modeling strategy, where a coarse DEM is used to predict water levels for projection onto a fine DEM was found to be an effective, and computationally efficient approach for obtaining reliable estimates of coastal inundation extent.     

Can beach dune ridges of the Texas Gulf Coast preserve climate signals?

A study of the evolution of North Padre Island (southern Texas Gulf Coast) dunes was carried out using LIDAR topographic data, dune vibracores through the center of the dunes, and grab samples of shoreface sand at four locations along a cross-shore profile. Grain-size analyses of the vibracores show vertical variations in shoreface sand deposition over decimeter depth intervals. A dune ridge growth model is introduced that describes the dune vertical accretion rate as a function of island progradation and freshwater lens expansion. This model allows indirect dating of the dune core samples based on a known island progradation rate (1?m/year), and height and spacing of the dunes calculated from the topographic data. A sand provenance model is also proposed that links the sand deposition in the dunes with sand sourced from various depths along the shoreface profile, depending on storm activity. We present evidence linking the changes in storm-sand deposition in the dune cores with yearly climatic fluctuations in the Gulf of Mexico associated with landfalling tropical storm activity in the period from 1942?C1965. This record of storm-induced sand variability is negatively correlated with El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (Pacific) sea surface temperature variability, and positively correlated with North Atlantic decadal sea surface temperature variability.     

Morphological characteristics and sand volumes of different coastal dune types in Essaouira Province, Atlantic Morocco

Altogether three coastal dune fields, one located north and two south of the city of Essaouira, Atlantic Morocco, have been investigated to establish the distribution and overall sand volumes of various dune types. The purpose of the study was to characterize and classify the aeolian landforms of the coastal dune belt, to estimate their sand volumes and to assess the effectiveness of coastal dune stabilization measures. The northern dune field is 9 km long and lined by a wide artificial foredune complex fixed by vegetation, fences and branches forming a rectangular grid. Active and ephemeral aklé dunes border the inner backshore, while some intrusive dunes have crossed the foredune belt and are migrating farther inland. The total sand volume of the northern dune belt amounts 13,910,255 m³. The central coastal sector comprises a much smaller dune field located just south of the city. It is only 1.2 km long and, with the exception of intrusive dunes, shows all other dune types. The overall sand volume of the central dune field amounts to about 172,463 m³. The southern dune field is characterized by a narrower foredune belt and overall lower dunes that, in addition, become progressively smaller towards the south. In this sector, embryonic dunes (coppice, shadow dunes), tongue-like and tabular dunes, and sand sheets intrude from the beach, the profile of which has a stepped appearance controlled by irregular outcrops of old aeolianite and beach rock. The total volume of the southern dune field amounts 1,446,389 m³. For the whole study area, i.e. for all three dune fields combined, a sand volume of about 15,529,389 m³ has been estimated. The sand of the dune fields is derived from coastal erosion and especially the Tensift River, which enters the sea at Souira Qedima some 70 km north of Essaouira. After entering the sea, the sand is transported southwards by littoral drift driven by the mainly north-westerly swell climate and the Trade Winds blowing from the NNE. This sand feeds the beaches along the coast, from where it is blown obliquely onshore to generate the dune fields. The maximum sand input occurs in the north, from where it gradually decreases southwards, this being also reflected in the grain size and dune typologies. The study shows that dune stabilization measures have been reasonably effective along most of the coast, with the exception of a large area immediately north of Essaouira where the almost complete destruction of the plant cover has reactivated sand mobility—this may in the future threaten the city.     

滨海新区温带风暴潮灾害风险评估研究

建立了一套基于非结构三角网、适用于滨海新区的高分辨率风暴潮漫滩数值模式,在陆地区域分辨率达到50~80 m,对两次典型的温带风暴潮进行模拟得到满意结果。计算了塘沽站19 a平均天文高潮值并根据对历史天气过程的分析,选取制定了4个强度的天气系统,而后模拟得到不同强度下滨海新区的温带风暴潮最大淹没范围。综合考虑风暴潮淹没风险与承灾体脆弱性制作出滨海新区温带风暴潮灾害风险图。结果表明:大部分地区都存在风暴潮灾害风险,沿海地区风险大于内陆,其中天津新港、临港工业区、海河北岸地区、大港地区南部的灾害风险最大。     

国外海岸沙丘形成与演化的研究

自20世纪80年代以来，国外对海岸沙丘的研究已从主要对其地貌形态的研究转向海岸海丘与海岸变迁尤其是全球变化关系的研究上，海岸沙丘形成与演化的研究倍受关注，进行了大量研究并取得了一定的研究成果。这里介绍了国外在海岸沙丘形成与演化研究方面的主要进展及其成果，并以此探讨了国内今后开展海岸沙丘形成与演化研究的主要方向与问题。     

海南岛东北部海岸极端波浪事件沉积记录

建立长时间尺度台风序列对于预测未来超强台风的活动规律具有重要科学和实践意义。历史上影响海南岛地区的台风十分频繁,但因缺少确切而详实的记载往往无法判断其是否为超强台风,因此迫切需要寻找千百年尺度的超强台风沉积记录。本文对海南岛东北部翁田镇沿海地区进行详细野外调查,选定白石堡海岸沙丘剖面为研究对象,在该沙丘剖面中识别出风暴越岸沉积和海滩岩巨砾沉积。根据沉积学分析和动力过程分析,这两种类型沉积极有可能是由历史上的台风事件形成,形成年代可能达到距今3 400 a;将该沉积层中的海滩岩巨砾与台风"威马逊"搬运的最大海滩岩巨砾进行对比,发现形成该沉积层海滩岩巨砾的台风事件强度应比台风"威马逊"更强,表明该区域历史上超强台风的存在,这对建立千百年尺度的台风序列有很重要的意义。同时,研究区岸外珊瑚岸礁发育良好,动力分析表明礁坪宽度对于波浪消减、海岸防护具有显著作用。然而,随着海南岛珊瑚岸礁日益衰亡、风暴强度逐渐加大和海面持续上升,未来海南岛地区的海岸极端风浪危害和海岸侵蚀形式威胁正日益加大,亟待加强海南岛珊瑚岸礁保护。     

Coastal defence through wave farms

The possibility of using wave farms for coastal defence warrants investigation because wave energy is poised to become a major renewable in many countries over the next decades. The fundamental question in this regard is whether a wave farm can be used to reduce beach erosion under storm conditions. If the answer to this question is positive, then a wave farm can have coastal defence as a subsidiary function, in addition to its primary role of producing carbon-free energy. The objective of this work is to address this question by comparing the response of a beach in the face of a storm in two scenarios: with and without the wave farm. For this comparison a set of ad hoc impact indicators is developed: the bed level impact (BLI), beach face eroded area (FEA), non-dimensional erosion reduction (NER), and mean cumulative eroded area (CEA); and their values are determined by means of two coupled models: a high-resolution wave propagation model (SWAN) and a coastal processes model (XBeach). The study is conducted through a case study: Perranporth Beach (UK). Backed by a well-developed dune system, Perranporth has a bar between − 5 m and − 10 m. The results show that the wave farm reduces the eroded volume by as much as 50% and thus contributes effectively to coastal protection. This synergy between marine renewable energy and coastal defence may well contribute to improving the viability of wave farms through savings in conventional coastal protection.     

The consequences of doing nothing: The effects of seawater flooding on coastal zones

Sea level rise and an increased frequency and severity of storm surge events due to climate change are likely to increase the susceptibility of low lying coastal areas to seawater flooding. An integral part of any coastal management strategy throughout European countries is the “do nothing” scenario; this is the benchmark against which putative intervention strategies are evaluated. While the prime concern of a flood defense scheme appraisal often focuses on the sustained financial “benefits” of an intervention, intrinsic to a complete multicriteria analysis is a comprehensive evaluation of the ecological and social consequences of coastal flooding, reflecting the needs of end users and satisfying relevant national and international policies.An ecological perspective may be usefully employed to examine the impact of the do nothing option on coastal environments (e.g. estuaries, sand dunes and grasslands) and businesses. Although at first sight coastal environmental and business systems appear quite different, they have similarities in that both are vulnerable and susceptible to flood damage or loss and both may be analyzed by employing ecological, adaptive, resilience frameworks. From an ecological perspective many coastal environments are of international conservation importance and provide important ecosystem services including coastal protection, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, food production and recreation. Nonetheless, despite their potential vulnerability to coastal flooding, our understanding of the effects of salinity on the biological response of many coastal plants and animals is extremely limited. We show here how plant physiology and patterns of plant and invertebrate distribution are impacted by sea water flooding. We also present responses of model plants to sea water inundation based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007) predictions of sea level rise and storm surge events. Results showed that coastal habitats surveyed are relatively resilient to flooding due to their species rich nature and their ability to adapt to flooding. However specific groups of plants such as grasses are more affected by flooding and less able to recover.The socio-economic dimensions of doing nothing are addressed in relation to the impacts of coastal flooding specifically on business activity, which has received little attention to date. Here the focus is on the presence or absence of business disruption and recovery plans as a means of increasing a business's adaptation and resilience to flooding. Results show that some businesses, particularly small ones, are more likely to fail to recover from flooding due to lack of forward planning. Therefore from an ecological perspective business recovery post flooding is likely to be dependent upon ability to adapt, which itself depends upon the construction of resilient business environments.     

岬湾海滩岬角沙丘过路输沙研究现状

文章从岬湾海滩、岬角沙丘以及岬角沙丘过路输沙的概念出发,引出岬角沙丘过路输沙的概念模式,总结岬角沙丘过路输沙的常用研究方法和研究现状,指出岬角-海滩-沙丘系统在海岸带输沙中的重要作用;针对我国海岸风沙地貌研究的现状,提出应加快海岸风沙资源现状调查、加强海岸风沙地貌过程研究以及协调海岸风沙地貌资源开发利用与修复保护,为我国海岸沙丘相关研究明确方向。     

Management of Mediterranean coastal dunes

This paper gives some theoretical concepts of dune management as well as practical examples of how actual measures should be carried out.Dune management is defined as all measures aimed at the preservation and restoration of the natural values of a coastal sand dune area. It is essential that beach and foreshore are seen as parts of a whole dune system. Management must take into account all processes within this system. It should aim at nature conservation and wise use of coastal resources and all forms of land use should be ecologically sustainable. Dune management should work as much as possible ‘with’ the natural processes and not ‘against’ them.Four types of Mediterranean dune systems (including Portugal and SW Spain) are distinguished:: mainland dunes, lagoon-bay barrier dunes, delta dunes and remnant dunes.Like in most parts of the world, Mediterranean dunes fulfill several functions at the same time. The following functions will be dealt with: nature management, coastal defence and erosion, dune stabilisation and afforestation, agriculture, tourism and urbanisation, recreation, golf, information and education. The concepts of management which are considered include: sustainable use, large and coherent units, compensation, management planning, environmental impact assessment and function analysis.Dune stabilisation is not always considered necessary. In case of stabilisation by planting, only indigenous species should be used, preferably pioneers and not trees. Planting of exotic species should be avoided.     

温州近岸围堤对风暴潮漫滩影响的数值研究

利用-套基于非结构网格且能计算海水漫堤溢流的超高分辨率风暴潮漫滩数值模式模拟由9417号台风特大风暴潮引起的漫滩,结果与实测吻合良好。此外,选取超强台风强度并以9417台风路径为南路径,往北每间隔30 km为中路径和北路径设计了3条台风路径,进行了-系列数值模拟得出:近岸围堤加大了风暴潮、漫滩淹没对温州的威胁,而且由南路径引起的漫滩深度和中路径引起的漫滩面积影响最大。究其原因,近岸围堤对外海风暴潮在温州近海及瓯江口传播的阻隔和分流作用,两者综合变相加大了风暴潮往瓯江口北侧海域、瓯江北口、瓯江中上游的输送量。     

Sea Levels and Coastal Inundation Due to Tropical Cyclones in Indian Coastal Regions of Andhra and Orissa

Coastal inundation associated with extreme sea levels is the main factor which leads to the loss of life and property whenever a severe tropical cyclonic storm hits the Indian coasts. The Andhra and Orissa coasts are most vulnerable for coastal inundation due to extreme rise in sea levels associated with tropical cyclones. Loss of life may be minimized if extreme sea levels and associated coastal flooding is predicted well in advance. Keeping this in view, location specific coastal inundation models are developed and applied for the Andhra and Orissa coasts of India. Several numerical experiments are carried out using the data of past severe cyclones that struck these regions. The simulated inland inundation distances are found to be in general agreement with the reported flooding.     

Sea Levels and Coastal Inundation Due to Tropical Cyclones in Indian Coastal Regions of Andhra and Orissa

Coastal inundation associated with extreme sea levels is the main factor which leads to the loss of life and property whenever a severe tropical cyclonic storm hits the Indian coasts. The Andhra and Orissa coasts are most vulnerable for coastal inundation due to extreme rise in sea levels associated with tropical cyclones. Loss of life may be minimized if extreme sea levels and associated coastal flooding is predicted well in advance. Keeping this in view, location specific coastal inundation models are developed and applied for the Andhra and Orissa coasts of India. Several numerical experiments are carried out using the data of past severe cyclones that struck these regions. The simulated inland inundation distances are found to be in general agreement with the reported flooding.     

The effect of wave–current interactions on the storm surge and inundation in Charleston Harbor during Hurricane Hugo 1989

The effects of wave–current interactions on the storm surge and inundation induced by Hurricane Hugo in and around the Charleston Harbor and its adjacent coastal regions are examined by using a three-dimensional (3-D) wave–current coupled modeling system. The 3-D storm surge and inundation modeling component of the coupled system is based on the Princeton ocean model (POM), whereas the wave modeling component is based on the third-generation wave model, simulating waves nearshore (SWAN). The results indicate that the effects of wave-induced surface, bottom, and radiation stresses can separately or in combination produce significant changes in storm surge and inundation. The effects of waves vary spatially. In some areas, the contribution of waves to peak storm surge during Hurricane Hugo reached as high as 0.76 m which led to substantial changes in the inundation and drying areas simulated by the storm surge model.     

Decadal-scale morphologic variability of managed coastal dunes

Coastal dunes located in densely populated areas provide various services to man, such as protection against flooding during storm surges. Since coastal dunes are dynamic features, the level of protection they provide varies in time. Therefore, management interventions are often undertaken to stabilize the dunes to reduce the natural variability. This study provides quantitative insight into the morphologic variability of managed foredunes over time spans of decades. We used Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis on a 45 year data set of annually surveyed dune profiles along 97 km of the Netherlands' coast. On average, 70% of the deviations from the time-averaged profiles could be related to cross-shore coherent changes in foredune shape as mapped onto EOF 1. These changes are often largely due to morphologic developments occurring near the dunefoot. Changes in dune shape were coherent over time as well as in the longshore direction albeit with different characteristic patterns along the coast. These results show that managed foredunes may still exhibit considerable morphologic variability that should not be ignored in long-term dune safety assessment studies.