The effects of storms and storm-generated currents on sand beaches in Southern Maine, USA

Storms are one of the most important controls on the cycle of erosion and accretion on beaches. Current meters placed in shoreface locations of Saco Bay and Wells Embayment, ME, recorded bottom currents during the winter months of 2000 and 2001, while teams of volunteers profiled the topography of nearby beaches. Coupling offshore meteorological and beach profile data made it possible to determine the response of nine beaches in southern Maine to various oceanographic and meteorological conditions. The beaches selected for profiling ranged from pristine to completely developed and permitted further examination of the role of seawalls on the response of beaches to storms.

Current meters documented three unique types of storms: frontal passages, southwest storms, and northeast storms. In general, the current meter results indicate that frontal passages and southwest storms were responsible for bringing sediment towards the shore, while northeast storms resulted in a net movement of sediment away from the beach. During the 1999–2000 winter, there were a greater percentage of frontal passages and southwest storms, while during the 2000–2001 winter, there were more northeast storms. The sediment that was transported landward during the 1999–2000 winter was reworked into the berm along moderately and highly developed beaches during the next summer.

A northeast storm on March 5–6, 2001, resulted in currents in excess of 1 m s⁻¹ and wave heights that reached six meters. The storm persisted over 10 high tides and caused coastal flooding and property damage. Topographic profiles made before and after the storm demonstrate that developed beaches experienced a loss of sediment volume during the storm, while sediment was redistributed along the profile on moderately developed and undeveloped beaches. Two months after the storm, the profiles along the developed beaches had not reached their pre-storm elevation. In comparison, the moderately developed and undeveloped beaches reached and exceeded their pre-storm elevation and began to show berm buildup characteristic of the summer months.     

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.     

Ocean wave transmission by submerged reef—A physical model study

Ocean waves can be destructive as steeper waves due to their high energy eroding the sandy beaches. During storm surge or high tide, the water level rises and if large waves occur, they will break closer to the beach, releasing enormous amount of energy resulting in strong currents. This causes heavy loss of beach material due to large-scale erosion. If these waves are made to break prematurely and away from the beach, they can be attenuated so as to reduce beach erosion. The reef, which is a homogeneous pile of armour units without a core, breaks the steeper ocean waves, dissipates a major portion of their energy and transmits attenuated waves. This paper experimentally investigates the armour stone stability of the submerged reef and the influence of its varying distance from shore and crest width on ocean wave transmission.     

Investigation and Discussion on the Beach Morphodynamic Response Under Storm Events Based on A Three-Dimensional Numerical Model

A well-established 3D phase-averaged beach morphodynamic model was applied to investigate the morphodynamics of a typical artificial beach,and a series of discussions were made on the surfzone hydro-sedimentological processes under calm and storm events.Model results revealed that the nearshore wave-induced current presents a significant 3D structure under stormy waves,where the undertow and longshore currents exist simultaneously,forming a spirallike circulation system in the surfzone.Continuous longshore sediment transport would shorten the sediment supply in the cross-shore direction,subsequently suppress the formation of sandbars,showing that a typical recovery profile under calm waves does not necessarily develop,but with a competing process of onshore drift,undertow and longshore currents.Sediment transport rate during storms reaches several hundreds of times as those under calm waves,and two storm events contribute approximately 60%to the beach erosion.Sediment transport pattern under calm waves is mainly bed load,but as the fine sands underneath begin to expose,the contribution of suspended load becomes significant.     

楮岛沙滩不同时间尺度变化特征与波能流密度相关性探讨

在波浪和水流的作用下,泥沙在不同时间尺度下的运动会引起沙滩的冲淤演变,对海岸资源有重要的影响。因此,了解沙滩季节性演变规律,并采取针对性的防护措施,是近岸沙滩亟须解决的问题。目前,现场观测是研究沙滩剖面冲淤演变的重要方法,通过沉积物组成、岸滩坡度及波浪动力的时空变化,了解沙滩剖面的变化特性,对于沙滩管理和海岸保护具有十分重要的意义。基于2017年9月—2019年11月在荣成楮岛南岸沙滩每个月采集一次的剖面数据,以及波浪动力数据,分别探究了沙滩在不同时间尺度下的变化特征,并对沙滩变化特征与波浪动力因素的相关性进行了探讨。研究发现：楮岛南岸沙滩形态变化具有较强的季节性特征,春季沙滩比较稳定;夏季沙滩受台风影响侵蚀严重,但在风暴过后的短时间内,沙滩泥沙恢复较快;冬季沙滩恢复速度逐渐减缓并趋于稳定。在夏季和冬季期间,波能流密度的向岸分量对楮岛南沙滩的演变产生重要作用,而且波能流密度向岸分量的均值（选取数据采集前15 d的波浪条件参与计算）与沙滩体积的相关性最好,并给出了两者的线性拟合公式。     

山东半岛东部滨海沙滩对台风“米雷”的地貌响应

通过对台风“米雷”登陆前后山东半岛东部8个滨海沙滩地形地貌的现场调查以及一年后的重复调查对比分析了沙滩地貌形态的变化,并依据台风期间的风要素计算和评估了台风期间沙滩的沿岸输沙和横向输沙趋势,探讨了在热带风暴发生频次较低的地区沙滩的风暴响应模式和海岸恢复规律。研究结果表明,台风造成横向和纵向输沙量的增加和输沙方向的逆转是造成沙滩形态改变的主要因素,而在米雷登陆前的阶段横向和纵向输沙作用最为强烈。研究区内沙滩的风暴响应模式主要表现为侵蚀陡坎的形成和滩肩或滩面的侵蚀后退。与其他台风频发的区域不同,在研究区台风是一个偶然的强动力事件,因此台风特征对沙滩的风暴响应的作用更加明显。而沙滩剖面形态的作用,仅仅在耗散型沙滩上有所体现。此外,沙滩的走向是控制风暴作用强度的主要因素,并且与沙滩风后恢复密切相关。     

Can the gold coast beaches withstand extreme events?

The Gold Coast sandy beaches of Queensland (Australia) are exposed to energetic wave conditions. Storms, particularly tropical cyclones, have a high potential of destruction. The Gold Coast has not experienced excessive erosive events over the past 30 years. However, some climate indicators suggest that cyclone frequency is likely to increase in response to global climate change within the near future. Over a 2-month period in early 2006, beach surveys were undertaken with a theodolite total station at four different sites. Offshore wave conditions were provided by SWAN regional wave modelling. During this study, the Gold Coast was exposed to three major storms, the first one being the second most energetic over the past 30 years. Results show a substantial variability of the beach response to these events along the Gold Coast, and that engineering structures do not have marked effects. Easterly swells have the greatest impact on the Gold Coast sub-aerial beach morphology. When low wave-energy conditions prevail, the southern Gold Coast beaches recover more quickly than the northern ones, as they are sheltered from high SE waves and draw advantage from the artificial sand bypassing system. Nevertheless, the data show that the Gold Coast beaches are exceedingly fragile. For instance, the early March decadal event considerably weakened the beaches, which resulted in surprisingly high erosion rates all along the Gold Coast during the two following annual wave events. This study suggests that the Gold Coast beaches would not be able to withstand the impact of an increased frequency of extreme events similar in scale to those of 1967.     

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.     

基于高频观测数据的徐闻青安湾海滩对台风“贝碧嘉”的响应研究

风暴是造成海滩剧烈变化的重要因子。由于观测环境的恶劣,目前极少有风暴过程中海滩响应的现场高频观测工作。本研究在2018年台风"贝碧嘉"期间对徐闻青安湾海滩开展了历时6天半的高频观测,获得了全时水动力要素和164组逐时海滩滩面高程变化数据。通过分析表明:(1)青安湾海域风暴增水及波浪受控于海南岛-雷州半岛特有的地形地貌和台风"贝碧嘉"的多变路径,增水稳定在0.38～0.5 m之间,而波高先由0.78 m衰减至0.43 m,再增加至0.56 m;(2)海滩剖面地形变化总体表现为滩肩侵蚀,形成水下沙坝,滩肩响应过程分为快速向下侵蚀、缓慢侵蚀至最大值、振荡回淤恢复3个阶段,台风期间滩肩振荡恢复幅度可达最大侵蚀深度的1/4;(3)海滩的风暴响应过程主要由4个模态耦合而成:第一模态体现大潮滩肩侵蚀生成水下沙坝过程;第二模态体现风暴滩肩侵蚀,补偿大潮滩肩侵蚀位置和进一步促进沙坝形成过程;第三模态揭示了波浪二次破碎位置的上冲流和离岸底流使泥沙发生双向输移过程;第四模态表明台风大浪使得碎波带内泥沙大量悬浮,在沿岸流和离岸流作用下部分悬沙进入深水区,可能造成海滩泥沙的永久亏损。     

海滩风暴效应若干问题思考与我国研究前景

热带风暴是一种频发的灾害性事件,其诱发的大浪及其伴生的风暴潮会在短时间内搬运大量沉积物,对海岸地貌、海底地形和海洋沉积的影响极为严重.总结了未来风暴变化趋势和风暴动力方面的研究进展,概述了近几十年来海滩风暴效应领域几个重要方向的进展,内容包括岸滩风暴灾害调查和研究、海滩风暴效应差异性研究、风暴作用下的泥沙运动和岸滩风暴响应沉积学特征等方面.从国内外的研究现状来看,我国在风暴作用下泥沙运动实测与定量分析、多因素耦合控制下海滩风暴效应差异和海滩风暴地貌过程等方面存在着明显的不足.作为我国海岸科学研究中必需又薄弱的环节,今后该领域的研究应该在强化野外现场实验和监测的基础上,深入探讨极端条件下的海滩过程,发展海滩风暴响应预测模型,并积极开展海滩风暴潮防护技术开发与应用.     

Shoreface morphodynamics on wave-dominated coasts

An open ocean shoreface typical of long, wave-dominated sandy coasts has been examined through a combination of extensive field measurements of wave and current patterns with computations of marine bedload transport and sedimentation. Sand transport on the upper shoreface is dominantly controlled by waves with only secondary transport by currents. Sand on the middle and lower shoreface, as well as the inner continental shelf is entrained by storm waves and transported by a complex pattern of bottom boundary layer currents.

Storm events have been studied and modeled for the shoreface off Tiana Beach, Long Island. The dominant effect of coastal frontal storms is to cause significant shore-parallel bedload transport with important shore-normal secondary components. These storms tend to result in net offshore transport of sand removed from the beach and surf zone systems. The bedload transport during a storm is convergent on the shoreface leading to accretion. Most accretion occurs on the upper shoreface with lesser deposits covering the middle and lower shoreface as well as the inner continental shelf. Longer-term equilibrium can be maintained by slow return of sand up the shoreface during non-storm conditions.

Annual and geologic time-scale budgets of shoreface sand transport and sedimentation yield equilibrium, net accretion or net deposition. The annual balance results from an integration of the event-scale bedload transport patterns and morphologic responses. These processes and responses have feedback mechanisms which stabilize the system over longer, but not geologic, time scales. Geologic time scale balances are controlled by relative sea level changes and relative availability of sediment supply with the event-scale shoreface and transporting processes providing the mechanism to produce the changes in long-term morphology and sedimentation patterns. In the area of study, the long-term pattern is one of net shoreface erosion, and the permanent loss of sand to the shelf floor.     

雷州半岛南部海滩对1720号台风(卡努)的响应研究

海滩风暴响应的观测和研究有助于加深对海滩过程的认识。2017年10月16日台风“卡努”在广东徐闻县沿海登陆, 对雷州半岛南部海滩造成了显著影响。文章通过海滩剖面观测和沉积物采样, 探讨了该区域海滩对台风“卡努”的响应特征, 得出以下主要结论。1) 台风浪作用下, 海滩表层沉积物变粗, 分选性变差。海滩状态朝着更加消散的状态转化, 以缓冲和适应高强度波浪的能量。2) 受到岬角和湾口朝向、大小等因素影响, 各海滩及同一海滩的不同岸段剖面变化表现出差异性。台风作用后海滩可能形成水下沙坝, 或者在海滩上部形成滩肩等特征地形。因此, 研究海滩风暴响应时, 要注意到区域地质地貌的影响。3) 水下礁坪、巨型砂质岬角等因素影响了台风过程灯楼角海滩的变化。对这种海滩–珊瑚礁坪系统的风暴效应, 还需要进行进一步探讨和更详细的观测和研究。     

Modelling gravel beach dynamics with XBeach

Numerical cross-shore profile evolution models have been good at predicting beach erosion during storm conditions, but have difficulty in predicting the accretion of the beach during calm periods. This paper describes the progress made in modifying and applying the public domain XBeach code to the prediction and explanation of the observed behaviour of coarse-grained beaches in the laboratory and the field under accretive conditions. The paper outlines in details the changes made to the original code (version 12), including the introduction of a new morphological module based upon Soulsby's sediment transport equation for waves and currents, and the incorporation of Packwood's infiltration approach in the unsaturated area of the swash region. The competence of this modified model during calm conditions for describing the steepening of the profile, and the growth of the beach berm is demonstrated. Preliminary results on the behaviour of the beach subject to both waves and tides are presented. Good agreement is found between the model simulations and large-scale laboratory measurements, as well as field observations from a composite beach in the UK. The reasons for the model's capabilities are discussed.     

Beach nourishment,a practical method of erosion control

Artificial beach nourishment, the placing of sand onto eroded beaches, is increasingly employed by coastal engineers as an alternative to structural control of shoreline erosion. Man-made beaches approximating natural forms and processes offer greater protection against storms than eroded beaches and provide increased recreational opportunities. It is hoped that maintenance nourishment will keep pace with subsidence and eustatic rise in sea level, primary causes of beach erosion. Even though negative impacts of beach restoration may be short-lived and limited in scope, sound ecological engineering practices require careful monitoring of dredging operations.     

An interpretation of wave refraction and its influence on foreshore sediment distribution

To analyze the grain size and depositional environment of the foreshore sediments, a study was undertaken on wave refraction along the wide sandy beaches of central Tamil Nadu coast. The nearshore waves approach the coast at 45° during the northeast(NE) monsoon, at 135° during the southwest(SW) monsoon and at 90° during the non-monsoon or fair-weather period with a predominant wave period of 8 and 10 s. A computer based wave refraction pattern is constructed to evaluate the trajectories of shoreward propagating waves along the coast in different seasons. The convergent wave rays during NE monsoon, leads to high energy wave condition which conveys a continuous erosion at foreshore region while divergent and inept condition of rays during the SW and non-monsoon, leads to moderate and less energy waves that clearly demarcates the rebuilt beach sediments through littoral sediment transport. The role of wave refraction in foreshore deposits was understood by grain size and depositional environment analysis. The presence of fine grains with the mixed population, during the NE monsoon reveals that the high energy wave condition and sediments were derived from beach and river environment. Conversely, the presence of medium grains with uniform population, during SW and non-monsoon attested less turbulence and sediments were derived from prolong propagation of onshore-offshore wave process.These upshots are apparently correlated with the in situ beach condition. On the whole, from this study it is understood that beaches underwent erosion during the NE monsoon and restored its original condition during the SW and non-monsoon seasons that exposed the stability of the beach and nearshore condition.     

热带气旋前进方向两侧海滩风暴效应差异研究--以海滩对0307号台风"伊布都"的响应为例

在0307号台风“伊布都”(Imbudo)袭击华南沿海前后,对相距约300km的高栏岛飞沙湾(位于气旋前进方向右侧)和水东港下大海(位于气旋前进方向左侧)的固定海滩剖面地形及滩面沉积物进行了对比调查。调查结果表明,右侧海滩地形受台风暴浪冲击发生剧烈变化：后滨陆侧堆积,后滨向海侧及前滨滩面侵蚀(单宽侵蚀量达55m^3／m,平均海面(MSL)位置蚀退13m,岸线位置蚀退5m),以致剖面类型由滩肩式断面向沙坝式断面转变,表现出了海滩对台风做出快速响应;而左侧海滩剖面地形基本保持原状,虽也略呈侵蚀,但冲淤变化不大,表现为对台风做出迟缓响应。同时,从动力、滨海输沙、滩面沉积物变化和海岸地貌等方面对两侧海滩明显差异的风暴效应的机制进行了探讨。     

Impacts of storms and evolution of the coastline in western France

The morphological impact of storms on coastal accumulations varies considerably in space along the coast of western France. At some locations, the storm produces erosion, whereas at others, impacts may vary from erosion to accumulation, or no effect. This is explained by the variability of incident waves. Wave amplitude variability, cross-checked with wave direction variability, is presented on a phase diagram and shows that the response of the coast is not linked to the absolute values reached during the storm, but to changes in wave patterns that take place during the event. The morphology of the bottom (skerries, banks) is greatly forcing these changes because of the high tidal range and the complicated and fast-changing patterns of refraction. Locations with a flat seafloor have an almost predictable response to storms. Places with a complex submarine morphology have a response characterized by high variability. The variability of the wave pattern during a half tidal cycle storm (from low tide at 1 m to high tide at 13 m in 6 h) is a microscale equivalent of the variability of wave patterns changing during sea level rise in the Holocene (from −7 to 0 m in 6 ka). This fact explains why, during the late Holocene, the same locations (1) have displayed a very chaotic response to sea level rise and (2) are displaying, today, a highly variable response to storms. In that respect, seafloor morphology is a mesoscale to macroscale control on beach/barrier behaviour.     

The impact of various methods of wave transfers from deep water to nearshore when determining extreme beach erosion

Several levels of increasing complexity of transferring wave information from offshore to nearshore have been studied to quantify their influence on extreme beach erosion estimates. Beach profiles which have been monitored since 1976 were used to estimate extreme beach erosion and compared to predictions. Examination of the wave propagation assumptions revolves around two types of offshore to nearshore transfer: excluding or including wave breaking and bottom friction. A second complication is whether still water level variations (ocean tide plus storm surge) are included.The inclusion of various combinations of wave propagation processes other than shoaling and refraction in the wave transfer function changes on the extreme erosion distribution tail through lowering estimates above one year return period. This brings the predicted tails closer to the observations, but does not capture the upper limit of storm demand implied by the extensive beach profile data set. Including wave breaking has a marked effect on probabilistic estimates of beach erosion. The inclusion of bottom friction is less significant. The inclusion of still water level variability in the wave transfer calculation had minimal impact on results for the case study site, where waves were transferred from offshore to water at 20 m depth. These changes were put into perspective by comparing them to changes resulting from limiting beach erosion by adjusting the statistical distributions of peak wave height and storm duration to have maximum limits. We conclude that the proposed improvements on wave transformation methods are as significant as limiting wave erosion potential and worth including.     

Applications of EMD to analyses of high-frequency beachface responses to Storm Bebinca in the Qing'an Bay,Guangdong Province,China

On average, five to six storms occur in the Qiongzhou Strait every year, causing significant damage to coastal geomorphology and several property losses. Tropical Storm Bebinca is the most unusual and complex storm event that has occurred in this region over the last 10 years. To detect the high-frequency beachface responses to the storm, a pressure sensor was deployed in the surf zone to record the free sea surface height, and the heights of grid pile points on the beachface were measured manua...     

The distribution and behaviour of tar balls along the Israeli coast

A fortnightly sampling of tar balls on six beaches along the Israeli coastline between 14 April 1975 and 25 June 1976 showed that the mean content of tar during that period was 3625 g m^?1 of beach front. The northern and central parts of the coast were significantly more polluted than the southern part. Between July 1975 and February 1976 the mean tar quantity decreased continuously from 5635 to 1344 g m^?1.A comparison of tar quantities on the Israeli beaches with those of other beaches in the world showed that the Israeli beaches are more polluted than those of the west Atlantic coast, are as polluted as other beaches on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and are less polluted than the beaches of Alexandria, Egypt, and Paphos, Cyprus. It is suggested that the tar content on the beach is related to the degree of oil pollution in the sea. The closer a beach is to an oil shipping lane or an oil dumping site, the heavier it is polluted.During storms, beach tar balls are pushed by the waves to the back of the beach or, in the case of a cliffed coast, are carried along the shore by the longshore current. When the tar balls reach a gap in the cliff (such as an estuary), they are carried inland by the storm waves. There the tar may become buried or dry, shrink and break into small particles which are then dispersed by the wind.