Process-based modelling of a shoreface nourishment

A state-of-the-art process-based model is applied to hindcast the morphological development of a shoreface nourishment along the barrier island of Terschelling, The Netherlands. The applied morphodynamic model is Delft3D for fully three-dimensional flow and sediment transport in coastal environments. Owing to a complex geomorphological setting of the study area, the curvi-linear model includes adjacent tidal inlets and covers 40×70 km with an increasing grid size resolution towards the nourishment site in the center of the island. In 1993, a total of 2 Mm³ of sand was supplied to the nearshore bar zone off Terschelling, filling up the trough between the middle and outer bar. By spring 1994, most of the nourished sediment had been redistributed onshore and welded onto the middle bar where it remained in the following years. The morphodynamic model is applied to the prediction of this rapid nearshore profile behaviour. The calibration of the model against an extensive set of full-scale hydrodynamic data at several locations throughout the nearshore bar zone shows a good representation of the measured hydrodynamics. Morphodynamic results show a dependency on spatial scale: on the scale of precise bed level evolution with respect to bar migration and growth, model predictions are poor as the nearshore bars are predicted to flatten out. Resorting to bulk volumes integrated over larger spatial scales, the model clearly has skill in predicting the overall effects of the nourishment. The lack of phase shift between sediment transport and bathymetry is identified as the key controlling factor for the poor sandbar predictions.     

Onshore sandbar migration at Tairua Beach (New Zealand): Numerical simulations and field measurements

We observed the onshore migration (3.5 m/day) of a nearshore sandbar at Tairua Beach, New Zealand during 4 days of low-energy wave conditions. The morphological observations, together with concurrent measurements of waves and suspended sediment concentrations, were used to test a coupled, wave-averaged, cross-shore model. Because of the coarse bed material and the relatively low-energy conditions, the contribution of the suspended transport to the total transport was predicted and observed to be negligible. The model predicted the bar to move onshore because of the feedback between near-bed wave skewness, bedload, and the sandbar under weakly to non-breaking conditions at high tide. The predicted bathymetric evolution contrasts, however, with the observations that the bar migrated onshore predominantly at low tide. Also, the model flattened the bar, while in the observations the sandbar retained its steep landward-facing flank. A comparison between available observations and numerical simulations suggests that onshore propagating surf zone bores in very shallow water (< 0.25 m) may have been responsible for most of the observed bar behaviour. These processes are missing from the applied model and, given that the observed conditions can be considered typical of very shallow sandbars, highlight a priority for further field study and model development. The possibility that the excess water transported by the bores across the bar was channelled alongshore to near-by rip-channels further implies that traditional cross-shore measures to judge the applicability of a cross-shore morphodynamic model may be misleading.     

Harbour entrance morphology and sediments at a river mouth port,Westport, New Zealand

Entrance morphologies and sediment characteristics were studied at Westport Harbour, a river mouth port located on the Buller River, New Zealand. The most frequent morphology found was that in which two submarine bars were present off the river mouth. When present, these bars were separated by a transverse channel running east from Carters Beach and terminating in the principal inlet channel. Sediment samples were collected and analysed for grain size, reliability (grain shape), and, in a few instances, mineralogy. The data collected suggested that longshore sediment transport is predominantly west to east and that river derived sediment is deflected to the east. The inner bar is predominantly a littoral drift related event whereas the outer bar, which is composed mainly of littoral drifted sediment, forms as a submarine extension of Carters Beach. Both bars can be modified by floods in the river, although modification of the outer bar is much less frequent because of the very high river flows required. Sediment can bypass directly across the river mouth only when the inner bar is present. On other occasions bypassing can only occur by transport through the transverse channel or over the outer bar, into the river channel and then onshore.     

Wave-induced sediment transport and onshore sandbar migration

The 25-m onshore migration of a nearshore sandbar observed over a 5-day period near Duck, NC, is simulated with a simplified, computationally efficient, wave-resolving single-phase model. The modeled sediment transport is assumed to occur close to the seabed and to be in phase with the bottom stress. Neglected intergranular stresses and fluid–granular interactions, likely important in concentrated flow, are compensated for with an elevated (relative to that appropriate for a clear fluid) model roughness height that gives the best fit to the observed bar migration. Model results suggest that when mean-current-induced transport is small, wave-induced transport leads to the observed onshore bar migration. Based on the results from the simplified phase-resolving model, a wave-averaged, energetics-type model (e.g., only moments of the near-bottom velocity field are required) with different friction factors for oscillatory and mean flows is developed that also predicts the observed bar migration. Although the assumptions underlying the models differ, the similarity of model results precludes determination of the dominant mechanisms of sediment transport during onshore bar migration.     

荷兰诺德维克水下抛沙修复海滩及其意义

水下抛沙养滩可以通过消减波能和持续向海滩供沙,以抵御海岸侵蚀,保持海滩稳定。荷兰诺德维克(Noordwijk)地区以发育水下双坝地形为特征,为了维护海滩和海岸的稳定,自1998年开始,共实施了3次水下养滩(1998、2002和2006年),抛沙位置都选在外沙坝的向海侧,接近当地闭合深度。养滩减缓了沙坝向海迁移的速率,内、外沙坝均出现了向岸迁移的趋势并基本保持稳定,对海岸线位置变化具有积极影响。我国目前的海滩养护工程多为向陆上滩面抛沙养滩,这种方法较昂贵、破坏性大,效果有时不佳,而水下抛沙养滩经济实惠、对环境影响小且灵活,因此,应该充分借鉴水下抛沙养滩的成功经验。基于诺德维克地区数十年的Argus视频图像和水深调查对养滩效果进行了研究和分析,总结了水下养滩的意义,以丰富和推动我国养滩业的发展。     

Morphodynamic response of a two-barred beach to a shoreface nourishment

The response to a shoreface nourishment of the two-bar system at Noordwijk (the Netherlands) is analyzed based on a daily data set of time-exposure video images collected during about 6 years, complemented with topographic and bathymetric surveys. The 1.7 Mm³ nourishment, implemented as a 3 km alongshore bump seaward of the outer bar, migrated more than 300 m onshore in 4 years before losing its integrity. Furthermore, the nourishment interrupted the autonomous seaward migration of both bars for the entire duration of the study period and, allaying earlier fears, did not intensify the three-dimensional patterns in the bars, such as the crescentic plan-shape and rip channels. The nourishment did result in clear head effects on both flanks, with the bar becoming discontinuous and the flank section decaying or becoming attached to an offshore-located bar, while the section of bar landward of the nourishment became attached to a landward-located bar. This sequence of morphologies is known as bar switching. Each switching episode took almost one year to complete and can therefore not be ascribed to individual wave events. We suspect that shoreface nourishments enhance the possibility of bar switching by creating alongshore variability in the position and depth of the outer bar and in its cross-shore migration rate and direction. The Noordwijk nourishment did not influence the shoreline position as its trend did not undergo distinctive variations after 1998. Differences in the response of the Noordwijk sandbars to the shoreface nourishment compared with other Dutch nourishments are attributed to the location and size (volume per unit length) of the nourishment with respect to the sandbars and to the median grain size of the nourished material.     

Experimental simulation of shoreface nourishments under storm events: A morphological,hydrodynamic, and sediment grain size analysis

This study focuses on barred beach shoreface nourishments physically simulated in a wave flume. The attack of a schematic storm on three different nourishments is analysed. The apex and waning storm phases lead respectively to offshore and onshore sediment transports. Nourishments in the trough and on the outer bar feed the bar and increase wave dissipation offshore. The bar acts as a wave filter and reduces shore erosion (lee effect). In contrast, nourishment on the beach face leads mostly to shore feeding and reconstruction (feeder effect). With successive nourishments, the beach face clearly becomes steeper and onshore sediment transport is reduced during moderate wave climates. The surface grain size analysis reveals marked variations. Coarser sediments are sorted on the bar and the upper beach face. These locations correspond to large wave dissipation zones during the storm apex.     

Sediment transport and morphology at the surf zone of Presque Isle, Lake Erie, Pennsylvania

A four-year investigation of surf zone sedimentation at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, was undertaken in preparation for the design of a segmented breakwater system. Sediment transport calculations were based on hind-cast annual wave power statistics and “calibrated” by known accretion rates at the downdrift spit terminus. 30,000 m³ of sediment reaches the peninsula annually from updrift beaches. The transport volume increases downdrift due to shoreface erosion and retreat of the peninsular neck. At the most exposed point on Presque Isle (the lighthouse) the annual transport is 209,000 m³. East of the lighthouse is a zone of net shoreface accretion as the longshore transport rate progressively decreases.

The downdrift variation in sediment supply, combined with increasing refraction and attenuation of the dominant westerly storm waves produce a systematic change in prevailing surf zone morphology. Storms produce a major longshore bar and trough along the exposed peninsular neck. The wave energy during non-storm periods is too low to significantly alter the bar which consequently becomes a permanent feature. The broad shoreface and reduced wave energy level east of the lighthouse produce a morphology characterized by large crescentic outer bars, transverse bars, and megacusps along the beach. At the sheltered and rapidly prograding eastern spit terminus the prevalent beach morphology is that of a ridge and runnel system in front of a megacuspate shore.

The morphodynamic surf zone model developed for oceanic beaches in Australia is used as a basis for interpretation of shoreface morphologic variability at Presque Isle. In spite of interference by major shoreline stabilization structures, and differences between oceanic and lake wave spectra, the nearshore bar field at Presque Isle does closely correspond to the Australian model.     

近岸人工沙坝的剖面演变规律和泥沙输运机制研究综述

近岸人工沙坝养滩是一种重要的海滩养护手段,开展人工沙坝地形演变研究是海岸带保护修复工程的重要需求。本文围绕不同动力条件下的人工沙坝横向迁移规律、形态演变模式、地貌耦合规律和水沙运动机制等理论层面,以及人工沙坝平衡剖面描述和演变过程数值模拟等方法层面,总结了近年来关于人工沙坝剖面演变规律和泥沙输运机制的国内外研究进展,并提出了关键过程机理深化、模拟预测方法改进和实际养滩工程应用等方面的今后研究重点。     

Bars formed by horizontal diffusion of suspended sediment

The mechanism responsible for the ubiquitous presence of convex beach profiles and shoreward migration of linear bars is examined using numerical circulation and sediment transport models. The models are validated against laboratory measurements and observed natural beach cross-sections. While not discounting the importance of infragravity and advective horizontal circulation or bed-return flow mechanisms, a robust diffusive process explains the convex profile shape and bar formation. In the presence of concentration gradients across the surf zone, a diffusive sediment flux from high to low concentration results in the transfer of sediment outwards from the breakpoint, both onshore and offshore, and the subsequent formation of a “diffusion bar” and “diffusion profile”. The profiles are characterised by single- and double-convex dome-like shapes, developing during shoreward migration of the bars by the diffusion mechanism. The mechanism explains several phenomena observed on natural beaches, including (i) convex beach profiles; (ii) shoreward migration of the bar with concomitant beach accretion under narrow-band swell; (iii) reduced propensity for bar formation on low-gradient, fine-sand beaches or under wide-band wave spectra (even though multiple bars are common on some low-gradient beaches) and (iv) offshore migration of the bar during periods of increasing wave height. The diffusion mechanism can be dependent on orbital motion alone and, as such, requires no frequency selection or strong correlation between multiple processes for bar formation.     

Sediment distribution and transport along a rocky, embayed coast: Monterey Peninsula and Carmel Bay, California

Field measurements of beach morphology and sedimentology were made along the Monterey Peninsula and Carmel Bay, California, in the spring and summer of 1997. These data were combined with low-altitude aerial imagery, high-resolution bathymetry, and local geology to understand how coastal geomorphology, lithology, and tectonics influence the distribution and transport of littoral sediment in the nearshore and inner shelf along a rocky shoreline over the course of decades. Three primary modes of sediment distribution in the nearshore and on the inner shelf off the Monterey Peninsula and in Carmel Bay were observed. Along stretches of the study area that were exposed to the dominant wave direction, sediment has accumulated in shore-normal bathymetric lows interpreted to be paleo-stream channels. Where the coastline is oriented parallel to the dominant wave direction and streams channels trend perpendicular to the coast, sediment-filled paleo-stream channels occur in the nearshore as well, but here they are connected to one another by shore-parallel ribbons of sediment at depths between 2 and 6 m. Where the coastline is oriented parallel to the dominant wave direction and onshore stream channels are not present, only shore-parallel patches of sediment at depths greater than 15 m are present. We interpret the distribution and interaction or transport of littoral sediment between pocket beaches along this coastline to be primarily controlled by the northwest-trending structure of the region and the dominant oceanographic regime. Because of the structural barriers to littoral transport, peaks in wave energy appear to be the dominant factor controlling the timing and magnitude of sediment transport between pocket beaches, more so than along long linear coasts. Accordingly, the magnitude and timing of sediment transport is dictated by the episodic nature of storm activity.     

渤中34地区东三段薄层滩坝砂形成主控因素及预测

黄河口凹陷渤中34地区东三段发育滨浅湖砂质滩坝,由于其储层薄、埋藏深,储层精细刻画难度大。以渤中34地区B油田为例,分析得到东三段薄层滩坝砂发育范围受控于古地形及其相关的水动力作用。在古地形的控制之下,不同的水动力背景下滩坝砂的发育可以进一步划分远岸坝、近岸坝、沿岸坝。其中古地形高部位发育宽缓的低洼区,在平均低潮线与高潮线之间,最有利于形成近岸坝是B油田滩坝发育的主要类型。以楔状模型为基础,正演出东三段储层振幅值的大小与砂体厚度存在正相关性,以此可以建立一种半定量计算模型。研究表明,基于滩坝主控因素约束下的地质模式与地震振幅属性共同预测对薄层滩坝砂体开发具有重要的指导意义。     

荷兰泰斯灵岛水下凹槽抛沙养滩

为了维持海岸沙丘和海滩的稳定,抵御日益加重的海岸侵蚀,荷兰泰斯灵岛于1993年5-11月对该岛中段长4.6 km(13.6~18.2 km段)的海滩实施大规模的滨面抛沙养滩工程。以驳船吹填式向两水下沙坝(最外沙坝和中沙坝)之间的凹槽区抛沙约210万m3,单宽沙量约450 m3/m。工程后监测发现已填平的凹槽区6个月后即发育出新凹槽,但是此工程后得到了8~10 a的海岸稳定,纵向运移的泥沙明显降低。事实证明,凹槽抛沙养滩通过凹槽沙的补给效应及消浪效应靠自然力缓慢向海滩滩面输沙稳定了海岸,自然扩宽了滩肩,且不破坏海陆结构,值得在日后的海滩养护工程中研究和推广。     

NearCoM-TVD — A quasi-3D nearshore circulation and sediment transport model

The newly developed nearshore circulation model, SHORECIRC, using a hybrid finite-difference finite-volume TVD-type scheme, is coupled with the wave model SWAN in the Nearshore Community Model (NearCoM) system. The new modeling system is named NearCoM-TVD and the purpose of this study is to report the capability and limitation of NearCoM-TVD for several coastal applications. For tidal inlet applications, the model is verified with the semi-analytical solution of Keulegan (1967) for an idealized inlet-bay system. To further evaluate the model performance in predicting nearshore circulation under intense wave–current interaction over complex bathymetry, modeled circulation patterns are validated with measured data during RCEX field experiment (MacMahan et al., 2010). For sediment transport applications, two sediment transport models are applied to predict three sandbar migration events at Duck, NC, during August to October 1994 (Gallagher et al., 1998). The model of Kobayashi et al. (2008) incorporates wave-induced onshore sediment transport rate as a function of the standard deviation of wave-induced horizontal velocities. The modeled beach profile evolution for two offshore events and one onshore event agrees well with the measured data. The second model investigated here combines two published sediment transport models, namely, the total load model driven by currents under the effect of wave stirring (Soulsby, 1997) and the wave-driven sediment transport model due to wave asymmetry/skewness (van Rijn et al., 2011). The model study with limited field data suggests that the parameterization of wave stirring is appropriate during energetic wave conditions. However, during low energy wave conditions, the effect of wave stirring needs to be re-calibrated.     

海南岛南渡江三角洲海岸演变的波浪作用分析

本文应用白沙门1984年波浪统计资料,通过对南渡江三角洲北部近岸海底泥沙活动特性与东部废弃海岸泥沙沿岸输移方式及其岸外沙坝、堡岛响应波浪动力而具有的形状进行分析,揭示了波浪在南渡江三角洲北部沿岸演变中的重要作用。     

近期辽东湾西侧砂质海滩冲淤特征

2013-2014年,在辽东湾六股河口两侧开展了海滩地形及海岸侵蚀的现场调查,于兴城至绥中沿海布设6处调查岸段及17条断面。结果表明,研究海滩地貌主要组成部分包括反射型高潮滩-滩坎-消散型低潮滩,其中低潮滩多发育有近岸沙坝和水下沙坝。绥中南江屯、皮家屯及兴城新立屯海滩侵蚀明显,多数海滩持续侵蚀,调查期内最大平均下蚀速率达53.2 cm/a。分析发现,海滩地形及断面蚀淤量有较明显的季节或区域差异。海滩冬季近岸沙坝消失、水下沙坝离岸距离小于夏季。六股河口南侧夏季海滩断面侵蚀量增加、淤积量减少,而六股河口北侧相反。研究认为,岸线自然形态差异及其造成的沿岸输沙差异是导致不同岸段蚀淤差异的主要自然原因。海岸封闭性建筑物(尤其是突堤)影响了海滩局部断面蚀淤变化。海滩地貌及蚀淤的季节或区域变化的主要原因为沿岸波浪特征等因素的季节性和区域性差异。     

Modeling regional sediment transport and shoreline response in the vicinity of tidal inlets on the Long Island coast,United States

A new numerical model was developed to simulate regional sediment transport and shoreline response in the vicinity of tidal inlets based on the one-line theory combined with the reservoir analogy approach for volumetric evolution of inlet shoals. Sand bypassing onshore and sheltering effects on wave action from the inlet bar and shoals were taken into account. The model was applied to unique field data from the south coast of Long Island, United States, including inlet opening and closure. The simulation area extended from Montauk Point to Fire Island Inlet, including Shinnecock and Moriches Inlets. A 20-year long time series of hindcast wave data at three stations along the coast were used as input data to the model. The capacity of the inlet shoals and bars to store sand was estimated based on measured cross-sectional areas of the inlets as well as on comprehensive bathymetric surveys of the areas around the inlet. Several types of sediment sources and sinks were represented, including beach fills, groin systems, jetty blocking, inlet bypassing, and flood shoal and ebb shoal feeding. The model simulations were validated against annual net longshore transport rates reported in the literature, measured shorelines, and recorded sediment volumes in the flood and ebb shoal complexes. Overall, the model simulations were in good agreement with the measured data.     

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.