A new model for predicting three-dimensional beach changes by expanding Hsu and Evans' equation

The empirical bay shape model proposed by Hsu and Evans in 1989 for predicting the static planform of a pocket beach is expanded to enable the calculation of three-dimensional beach changes on a pocket beach with a seawall. The original formulation was developed on the basis of a second-order regression analysis. Unlike the one-line model of shoreline changes, the model of Hsu and Evans does not require repeated calculations of the wave field and shoreline position, because it was derived on the assumption of null sediment movement within a pocket beach in static equilibrium, hence without the need of applying the continuity condition of total sand volume in the calculation. The expanded model proposed by the present authors satisfies the total sand budget on a pocket beach, by taking into account the concept of depth change due to longshore sand transport. Model tests were carried out and the new model was further applied to the beach changes at Kemigawa on the northeast of Tokyo Bay in Chiba Prefecture, as well as at Oarai in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. On both locations, seawall has been installed as countermeasures against beach erosion, where wave sheltering effect of the main breakwater and beach changes in front of the seawall has also been observed. With this expansion, the present model can be applied to predict the three-dimensional beach changes on a coast with seawall on a pocket beach.     

近岸补沙养护海滩研究综述

在海平面上升、风暴频率增加等自然因素和人工挖沙、河流水利及海岸工程建设等人为因素的影响下。海滩侵蚀的现象越来越普遍。我国厦门岛、北戴河、青岛汇泉湾等黄金海滩滩面变陡,颗粒粗化,岸线萎缩,可用沙滩面积大幅减少,海滩资源的损失已成为滨海城市旅游业发展的瓶颈。     

A combined assessment of beach occupancy and public perceptions of beach quality: A case study in the Costa Brava, Spain

The main objective of this paper is to present an approach that contributes to evaluate beach quality based on a combined analysis of beach occupancy and the perception of beach users. The study area is a major Mediterranean tourist destination in NE Spain. Six beaches that fulfilled different environmental and social criteria were assessed. Sampling took place during 2004 and 2005. An analysis of beach occupancy showed that highly accessible urban beaches suffer the most from overcrowding. A comparison of the two approaches (occupancy and perception) indicates that a higher sand availability increased user satisfaction, although not as much as might have been expected because other parameters are also highly relevant in evaluating beach quality from the perspective of beach user such as physical characteristics, landscape and facilities.     

Sea level change and beach process — A case study in south Zhejiang beach -

This paper describes changes in sea level off the coast of China in history and at present. The evidence concerning low sea level during the last glacial phase, Holocene marine transgression which was discovered from sea bottom in East China Sea and China's bordering seas, and their adjacent coastal areas, where, by drilling, relic sediment, peat deposite, and mollusc shell fossils have been obtained, and their dates are deduced through measurement of radiocarbon (C¹⁴), identified that low sea level about 15000 years ago stood in the depth of 150 m below the present level in East China Sea, and that the subsequent transgression carried the sea up to the present sea level 6000 years ago, when the present China's coast and other continent's coasts were outlined. Due to a number of factors, the sea level oscillates seasonally in the border sea of China. Averagely speaking, the annual range of the seasonal changes in sea level is about 35 m off the south Zhejiang coast, where the highest value of 20 cm occurs in September, and the lowest of-15 cm occurs in March. The reason may be mainly due to the seasonal variations of climate and river run-off, as well as the Taiwan Warm Current. Similar seasonal oscillations in sea level also occur in Bohai Gulf, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and the South China Sea. The beach process of south Zhejiang is strongly affected by the seasonal oscillations in sea level. The width of beach is 4 to 6 km, the slope is approximately in 1 : 1000. If the sea level rises or falls 1 cm, the beach submergence or emergence is led to be about 10 m in width. As a result, the relative equilibrium of beach will be changed by the seasonal oscillations in sea level.     

The effects of beach replenishment on the benthos of a sub-tropical Florida beach

Changes in the benthic fauna of the near-shore zone were examined before and after a beach replenishment project on the central Florida east coast. Results indicated that the near-shore sand beach community is relatively species rich, although abundance is dominated by only two species of bivalves, the coquina clams Donax variabilis and Donax parvula. Strong gradients of increased species richness and abundance were found, with values increasing at the more seaward sites for both control and nourishment locations. This distributional pattern was unchanged by beach nourishment. Comparison of mean number of individuals per core across dates and among transects (two-way analysis of variance) showed no indication of significant negative effects of beach nourishment. Similar analysis for mean number of species per core also failed to show significant negative effects. Negative biological effects of beach nourishment may have been minimized in the present case due to a seasonal offshore movement of the dominant coquina clams. The close match of mean fill grain size to ambient grain size and an apparent lack of substantial fill movement into the biologically more diverse offshore areas may also have diminished biological damage.     

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.     

Threats to sandy beach ecosystems: A review

We provide a brief synopsis of the unique physical and ecological attributes of sandy beach ecosystems and review the main anthropogenic pressures acting on the world's single largest type of open shoreline. Threats to beaches arise from a range of stressors which span a spectrum of impact scales from localised effects (e.g. trampling) to a truly global reach (e.g. sea-level rise). These pressures act at multiple temporal and spatial scales, translating into ecological impacts that are manifested across several dimensions in time and space so that today almost every beach on every coastline is threatened by human activities. Press disturbances (whatever the impact source involved) are becoming increasingly common, operating on time scales of years to decades. However, long-term data sets that describe either the natural dynamics of beach systems or the human impacts on beaches are scarce and fragmentary. A top priority is to implement long-term field experiments and monitoring programmes that quantify the dynamics of key ecological attributes on sandy beaches. Because of the inertia associated with global climate change and human population growth, no realistic management scenario will alleviate these threats in the short term. The immediate priority is to avoid further development of coastal areas likely to be directly impacted by retreating shorelines. There is also scope for improvement in experimental design to better distinguish natural variability from anthropogenic impacts. Sea-level rise and other effects of global warming are expected to intensify other anthropogenic pressures, and could cause unprecedented ecological impacts. The definition of the relevant scales of analysis, which will vary according to the magnitude of the impact and the organisational level under analysis, and the recognition of a physical–biological coupling at different scales, should be included in approaches to quantify impacts. Zoning strategies and marine reserves, which have not been widely implemented in sandy beaches, could be a key tool for biodiversity conservation and should also facilitate spillover effects into adjacent beach habitats. Setback and zoning strategies need to be enforced through legislation, and all relevant stakeholders should be included in the design, implementation and institutionalisation of these initiatives. New perspectives for rational management of sandy beaches require paradigm shifts, by including not only basic ecosystem principles, but also incentives for effective governance and sharing of management roles between government and local stakeholders.     

A video-based technique for mapping intertidal beach bathymetry

Measuring the location of the shoreline and monitoring foreshore changes through time are core tasks carried out by coastal engineers for a wide range of research, monitoring and design applications. With the advent of digital imaging technology, shore-based video systems provide continuous and automated data collection, encompassing a much greater range of time and spatial scales than were previously possible using field survey methods.A new video-based technique is presented that utilises full-colour image information, which overcomes problems associated with previous grey-scale methods, which work well at steep (reflective) sites, but are less successful at flatter (dissipative) sites. Identification of the shoreline feature is achieved by the automated clustering of sub-aqueous and sub-aerial pixels in ‘Hue–Saturation–Value’ (HSV) colour space, and applying an objective discriminator function to define their boundary (i.e., ‘shoreline’) within a time-series of consecutive geo-referenced images. The elevation corresponding to the detected shoreline features is calculated on the basis of concurrent tide and wave information, which is incorporated in a model that combines the effects of wave set-up and swash, at both incident and infragravity frequencies.Validation of the technique is achieved by comparison with DGPS survey results, to assess the accuracy of the detection and elevation methods both separately and together. The uncertainties associated with the two sub-components of the model tend to compensate for each other. The mean difference between image-based and surveyed shoreline elevations was less than 15 cm along 85% of the 2-km study region, which corresponded to an horizontal offset of 6 m. The application of the intertidal bathymetry mapping technique in support of CZM objectives is briefly illustrated at two sites in The Netherlands and Australia.     

A scale comparison of waves breaking on a beach

A measurement programme, conducted in a small-scale wave flume, which comprised the breaking of periodic and random waves on a gently sloping beach, was partly repeated in a large-scale wave flume. The results are used here to make a scale comparison. The quantities considered in the comparison are wave heights, set-up and vertical profiles of maximum seaward, maximum shoreward and time-mean horizontal velocities. It appears that, both qualitatively and quantitatively, scale effects in these quantities are virtually absent in the wave height range of 0.1 m to 1.5 m.     

Wave farm impact on the beach profile: A case study

If wave energy is to become a fully-fledged renewable, its environmental impacts must be fully understood. The objective of the present work is to examine the impact of a wave farm on the beach profile through a case study. The methodology is based on two coupled numerical models: a nearshore wave propagation model and a morphodynamic model, which are run in two scenarios, both with and without the wave farm. Wave data from a nearby coastal buoy are used to prescribe the boundary conditions. A positive effect on the wave climate, the cross-shore sediment transport and, consequently, the evolution of the beach profile itself due to the presence of the wave farm was found. The wave farm leads to a reduction in the erosion of the beach face. This work constitutes the first stage of the investigation of the effectiveness of a wave farm as a coastal defence measure, and the accuracy of the quantification of the erosion reduction will be enhanced in future research. In any case, the overarching picture that emerges is that wave farms, in addition to providing carbon-free energy, can be used as elements of a coastal defence scheme.     

不同补沙方案对海滩剖面影响的数值模拟对比分析

大量工程实践表明,海滩养护是当前抵御海岸侵蚀的常见措施。通过人为地向海滩补充沙源,以达到海岸防护、修复沙滩等目的。本文建立了XBeach一维海滩剖面演变数值模型,并与物理模型试验结果进行对比验证;计算常浪条件下不同方案补沙后海滩剖面达到平衡状态的速率;通过对比补沙工况与未补沙工况的风暴后剖面,分析风暴作用下的防护效果。结果发现,补沙量较大时,沙坝向海侧位置补沙在常浪条件下补沙效率高于滩肩补沙,在风暴条件下防护效果优于滩肩补沙。此次研究对于在实际海滩养护过程中节约施工成本、提高施工效率有着重要意义,同时对于评估沙滩养护工程效果有一定的参考价值。     

A statistical-process based approach for modelling beach profile variability

This paper presents a methodology for modelling medium term (annual to decadal) cross shore beach profile change and erosion. The statistical-process based approach (SPA) presented here combines detailed statistical modelling of offshore storm climate with a process based morphodynamic model (XBeach), to assess, and quantify morphodynamic variability of cross shore beach profiles. Until now, the use of process based models has been limited to simulations at storm event timescales. This methodology therefore represents the first application of a fully process based model in longer term simulations, as such, the approach requires simulation of post-storm beach profile recovery as well as individual event impacts. Narrabeen Beach, NSW, Australia was used as a case study for application of the technique due to the availability of an extensive set of storm and beach profile data. The results presented here demonstrate that the methodology produces encouraging results for determining medium term beach profile variability and erosion.     

A relationship to describe the cumulative impact of storm clusters on beach erosion

Estimation of erosion volumes for adequate dry beach buffer zones is commonly estimated on the basis of a single extreme event, such as the 1 in 100 year storm. However, the cumulative impact of several smaller, closely spaced storms can lead to equal, if not more, dry beach loss, but this is often not quantified. Here we use a calibrated model for dune erosion, XBeach, to hindcast the cumulative erosion impact of a series of historical storms that impacted the Gold Coast, Queensland region in 1967. Over a 6-month period, four named cyclones (Dinah, Barbara, Elaine, and Glenda) and three East Coast Lows caused a cumulative erosion volume greater than the predicted 1 in 100 year event. Results presented here show that XBeach was capable of reproducing the measured dry beach erosion volume to within 21% and shoreline retreat to within 10%. The storms were then run in 17 different sequences to determine if sequencing influenced final modeled erosion volumes. It is shown that storm sequencing did not significantly affect the total eroded volumes. However, individual storm volumes were influenced by the antecedent state of the beach (i.e. prior cumulative erosion). Power-law relationships between cumulative energy density (∑ E) and eroded volume (∆V) as well as cumulative wave power ((∑ P)) and eroded volume (∆V) both explained more than 94% of the modeled dry beach erosion for the 1967 storm sequences. When the relationship was compared with observed and modeled erosion volumes for similar beaches but different storm forcing, the inclusion of pre-storm beach swash slope (β_swash) in the parameterization was found to increase the applicability of the power-law relationship over a broader range of conditions.     

波浪作用下级配泥沙海滩滩面变化试验研究

砂质海滩的泥沙具有一定的级配,在波浪作用下,滩面泥沙粒径将发生分选,引起海滩质量变化。在水槽中用不同波高和周期的波浪分别对不同级配的沙滩进行作用,探究滩面在波浪外动力作用下的变化规律。结果表明：全级配沙滩在相同波高波浪作用下形成的沙坝型海滩滩型中,破波点向海的区域表层泥沙分选会随波浪周期增大变差;相同周期(T=1.68s)波浪作用下,全级配沙滩在大波高(H=13.2cm)和小波高(H=6.7cm)的波浪作用下分别形成沙坝型和滩肩型海滩,滩面泥沙分选变好;原始沙滩级配与滩面泥沙变化密切相关,同种波浪动力作用下,中细、粗中沙滩沙坝表层泥沙迎波面粗于背波面,粗细沙滩粗颗粒集中在沙坝和滩顶之间。     

Multi-scale variability of beach profiles at Duck: A wavelet analysis

Beach profiles have been observed to change over a range of spatial and temporal scales; however techniques for quantifying this variability have not been fully established. In this paper, a wavelet technique is introduced as a method to study the multi-scale variability of beach profiles. The beach profile data comprising a 22-year time series surveyed at the US Army Corps of Civil Engineers Field Research Facility (FRF) at Duck are analysed using the adapted maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform (AMODWT). The analysis successfully identifies strong local features in the variability of beach profiles in time and space separately that cannot be isolated by traditional statistical methods. The analysis of spatial wavelet variances provides a new means of investigating the depth of closure. Analysis of variances by temporal scales shows that the combined effects of several temporal scales with one or two dominant scales can be seen at particular points across profiles whilst the dominant temporal scales are different at different portions of the profiles. The method allows for the extremely nonstationary behaviour of beach profile to be analysed into separate frequency bands that can facilitate the interpretation of morphological changes in terms of physical processes.     

Clean-coast index—A new approach for beach cleanliness assessment

A clean-coast index (CCI) was developed and is suggested as a tool for evaluation of the actual coast cleanliness. It measures plastic debris as a beach cleanliness indicator, in an easy way precluding bias by the assessor. Furthermore, the CCI is the measuring tool of the “Clean Coast” program—a new, long-term approach for cleaner beaches by various activities such as an increase in the public awareness. The CCI was proved to be a useful tool for measuring progress and the success of activities such as education campaigns, media coverage and enforcement actions.     

A note on the accuracy of the mild-slope equation

The mild-slope equation is a vertically integrated refraction-diffraction equation, used to predict wave propagation in a region with uneven bottom. As its name indicates, it is based on the assumption of a mild bottom slope. The purpose of this paper is to examine the accuracy of this equation as a function of the bottom slope. To this end a number of numerical experiments is carried out comparing solutions of the three-dimensional wave equation with solutions of the mild-slope equation.For waves propagating parallel to the depth contours it turns out that the mild-slope equation produces accurate results even if the bottom slope is of order 1. For waves propagating normal to the depth contours the mild-slope equation is less accurate. The equation can be used for a bottom inclination up to 1:3.     

A time-dependent numerical model of the mild-slope equation

On the basis of the previous studies, the simplest hyperbolic mild-slope equation has been gained and the linear time-dependent numerical model for the water wave propagation has been established combined with different boundary conditions. Through computing the effective surface displacement and transforming into the real transient wave motion, related wave factors will be calculated. Compared with Lin’s model, analysis shows that calculation stability of the present model is enhanced efficiently, because the truncation errors of this model are only contributed by the dissipation terms, but those of Lin’s model are induced by the convection terms, dissipation terms and source terms. The tests show that the present model succeeds the merit in Lin’s model and the computational program is simpler, the computational time is shorter, and the computational stability is enhanced efficiently. The present model has the capability of simulating transient wave motion by correctly predicting at the speed of wave propagation, which is important for the real-time forecast of the arrival time of surface waves generated in the deep sea. The model is validated against analytical solution for wave diffraction and experimental data for combined wave refraction and diffraction over a submerged elliptic shoal on a slope. Good agreements are obtained. The model can be applied to the theory research an d engineering applications about the wave propagation in a biggish area.     

设计彩沙示踪法研究滨海沙滩底沙运动--以厦门大学滨海沙滩为例

本文设计彩沙示踪法于厦大滨海沙滩东段进行试验 ,取得了沙粒运动方向、最大运移速度、扩散范围、沿岸输沙率及粒度分异运移状态等定量数据 ,弥补了以往示踪法难以定量分析的缺陷。结果表明 :调查期间 ,厦大滨海沙滩东段沙粒运动是构成厦门岛南岸岸滩在偏东向波浪作用下形成的西南向沿岸漂沙之一个环节 :沙粒大体平行岸线向北运动 ;沙粒沿岸最大运移速度为 2 0 0m/d ;经一个潮周期 ,沙粒向两侧的最大横向扩散距离为 2 0m ,最大垂直扩散深度达 7cm ;岸滩横断面沿岸输沙率为 42 5t/d ;在该岸段沿岸漂沙中 ,粗粒沙偏向低潮带一侧 ,而细粒沙偏向高潮带。     

Field experiment on secondary wave generation on a barred beach and the consequent evolution of energy dissipation on the beach face

A field experiment, conducted on a sandy, barred beach situated on the southern part of the French Atlantic coastline, allowed us to investigate the formation of secondary waves when a moderate (significant wave height of about 0.8 m in 3.7-m water depth), long (11–14 s) narrowband swell propagated over an intertidal ridge and runnel system, in both breaking and nonbreaking conditions. Field evidence using higher spectral analysis is given for the sum interactions between pairs of waves at the primary spectral peak and the consequent energy transfer to nearly harmonic wave components. Although wave breaking appears to weaken the strength of nonlinear couplings, the generation of high-frequency energy is hardly affected by wave breaking. The phenomenon of harmonic decoupling, which takes place behind the bar, cannot be completely ascribed to the increase in water depth and the so-called deshoaling effect. Indeed, the variation in the values of the maximum bicoherence was very moderate when no breaking occurred. Finally, the doubling in the number of wave crests and the consequent decrease in the significant wave period delay the energy dissipation on the beach face.