Large-scale dune erosion tests to study the influence of wave periods

Large-scale physical model tests were performed to quantify the effects of the wave period on dune erosion. Attention was focussed on 2D cross-shore effects in a situation with sandy dunes and extreme water levels and wave conditions. Besides profile measurements, detailed measurements in time and space of water pressure, flow velocities and sediment concentrations were performed in the near near-shore area. It was concluded that a longer wave period leads to a larger dune erosion volume and to a larger landward retreat of the dune face. Tests with double-peaked wave spectra showed that the influence of the spectral shape on dune erosion was best represented by the T_m − 1,0 spectral mean wave period, better than the peak wave period, T_p. The effect of the wave period on dune erosion was implemented in a dune erosion prediction method that estimates erosion volumes during normative storm conditions for the Dutch coast. More details of the measurements and additional analyses of physical processes are described in an accompanying paper by Van Thiel de Vries et al. [Van Thiel de Vries, J.S.M., van Gent, M.R.A., Reniers, A.J.H.M. and Walstra, D.J.R., submitted for publication. Analysis of dune erosion processes in large scale flume experiments, In this volume of Coastal Engineering.].     

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 beach morphodynamics induced by free long waves,bound long waves and wave groups

New laboratory data are presented on the influence of free long waves, bound long waves and wave groups on sediment transport in the surf and swash zones. As a result of the very significant difficulties in isolating and identifying the morphodynamic influences of long waves and wave groups in field conditions, a laboratory study was designed specifically to enable measurements of sediment transport that resolve these influences. The evolution of model sand beaches, each with the same initial plane slope, was measured for a range of wave conditions, firstly using monochromatic short waves. Subsequently, the monochromatic conditions were perturbed with free long waves and then substituted with bichromatic wave groups with the same mean energy flux. The beach profile changes and net cross-shore transport rates were extracted and compared for the different wave conditions, with and without long waves and wave groups. The experiments include a range of wave conditions, e.g. high-energy, moderate-energy, low-energy waves, which induce both spilling and plunging breakers and different turbulent intensities, and the beaches evolve to form classical accretive, erosive, and intermediate beach states. The data clearly demonstrate that free long waves influence surf zone morphodynamics and promote increased onshore sediment transport during accretive conditions and decreased offshore transport under erosive conditions. In contrast, wave groups, which can generate both forced and free long waves, generally reduce onshore transport during accretive conditions and increase offshore transport under erosive conditions. The influence of the free long waves and wave groups is consistent with the concept of the relative fall velocity, H/w_sT, as a dominant parameter controlling net beach erosion or accretion. Free long waves tend to reduce H/w_sT, promoting accretion, while wave groups tend to increase the effective H/w_sT, promoting erosion.     

Models of near-bed dynamics and sediment movement at the Iberian margin

A three dimensional time-dependent baroclinic hydrodynamic model, including sediment transport and incorporating a turbulence energy sub-model, is used in cross sectional form to examine sediment movement at the shelf edge off North West Iberia at 42°40.5’N where measurements were made as part of the OMEX-II programme. These calculations are complemented by a simpler, in essence time-independent model, which is used to examine the sensitivity of the sediment distribution over the slope (from a shelf-break source) to changes in the specified values of horizontal and vertical diffusion coefficients. The philosophy of the paper is to use idealized tidal, wind and wind wave forcing to examine changes in sediment distribution resulting from these processes. Calculations with the time-dependent and steady state models give insight into both the role of events and long-term effects. The steady state model focuses on the off-shelf region, whilst the time-dependent model considers on-shelf events.Tidal calculations showed that for the stratification used here the internal tide in the OMEX region was primarily confined to the shelf edge and ocean. A mean on-shelf sediment transport in the surface layer and off-shelf transport at the bed was found. Across-shelf circulations produced by up-welling/down-welling favourable winds gave rise to on-shelf/off-shelf currents in the bottom boundary layer with an opposite flow in the surface layer. In the case of an up-welling favourable wind, sediment suspension was at a maximum in the near coastal region, with sediment being advected off shore in the surface layer. With a down-welling favourable wind, surface sediment was advected towards the shore, but there was offshore transport at the bed. Near the shelf edge any upwelling flow had the tendency to return this sediment to the surface layer from whence it was transported on-shore. So in essence the sediment was trapped within an on-shelf circulation cell. Wind waves effects increased the total bed stress and hence the sediment concentration and its transport, although its pattern was determined by tidal and wind forcing.The time independent model with increased/decreased lateral diffusivity gave an enhanced/reduced horizontal sediment distribution for a given settling velocity. As the settling velocity increases, the down-slope movement of sediment is increased, with a reduction in the thickness of the near-bed sediment layer, but with little change in its horizontal extent.     

海岸沙坝近底悬移质通量实验研究

为了研究海岸沙坝的产生和演化机理,对不规则波和波群作用下沙坝上方的近底悬移质通量进行了实验研究。分析了短波、长波和平均水流对悬移质通量的影响。结果表明:各种波况下平均水流和长波的作用始终使泥沙向离岸方向输移,而短波的作用使泥沙向岸方向运动;平均水流引起的泥沙输移始终占主要成分,长波的次之。不规则波情况下平均水流的影响较规则波的情况相对较弱,三种成分对泥沙输运的贡献属于同一量级。波群情况下长波的影响随着波浪群性的增强而加大,短波的不明显,而平均水流的影响则随着波浪群性的增强而减弱。     

近岸波浪和波生流环境中泥沙输运的数值模拟

Owing to lack of observational data and accurate definition,it is difficult to distinguish the Kuroshio intrusion water from the Pacific Ocean into the South China Sea(SCS).By using a passive tracer to identify the Kuroshio water based on an observation-validated three-dimensional numerical model MITgcm,the spatio-temporal variation of the Kuroshio intrusion water into the SCS has been investigated.Our result shows the Kuroshio intrusion is of distinct seasonal variation in both horizontal and vertical directions.In winter,the intruding Kuroshio water reaches the farthest,almost occupying the area from 18°N to 23°N and 114°E to 121°E,with a small branch flowing towards the Taiwan Strait.The intrusion region of the Kuroshio water decreases with depth gradually.However,in summer,the Kuroshio water is confined to the east of 118°E without any branch reaching the Taiwan Strait;meanwhile the intrusion region of the Kuroshio water increases from the surface to the depth about 205 m,then it decreases with depth.The estimated annual mean of Kuroshio Intrusion Transport(KIT) via the Luzon Strait is westward to the SCS in an amount of –3.86×106 m3/s,which is larger than the annual mean of Luzon Strait Transport(LST) of –3.15×106 m3/s.The KIT above 250 m accounts for 60%–80% of the LST throughout the entire water column.By analyzing interannual variation of the Kuroshio intrusion from the year 2003 to 2012,we find that the Kuroshio branch flowing into the Taiwan Strait is the weaker in winter of La Ni?a years than those in El Ni?o and normal years,which may be attributed to the wind stress curl off the southeast China then.Furthermore,the KIT correlates the Ni?o 3.4 index from 2003 to 2012 with a correlation coefficient of 0.41,which is lower than that of the LST with the Ni?o 3.4 index,i.e.,0.78.     

Preliminary results on suspended sediment transport by tidal currents in Gomso Bay,Korea

This study briefly investigated sediment transport by tidal currents in Gomso Bay, on the mid-west coast of Korea during the summer season. Hydrodynamic measurements with benthic tripods (TISDOSs) show that near-bed suspended sediments are transported toward the bay mouth along the low-water line of tidal flats in the southern part of the bay, while they are directed offshore in front of the major tidal channel at the bay mouth according to tidal asymmetry. However, suspended sediments in the main body of sea water, observed from transect and anchor-site measurements, indicate a consistent incoming toward the uppermost tidal flats. A brief episode of relatively strong winds from the west and southeast displays that wind waves can yield the near-bed suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) overwhelming the SSC by tidal currents alone in the remaining duration.     

Large-scale experiments on beach profile evolution and surf and swash zone sediment transport induced by long waves,wave groups and random waves

New large-scale laboratory data are presented on the influence of long waves, bichromatic wave groups and random waves on sediment transport in the surf and swash zones. Physical model testing was performed in the large-scale CIEM wave flume at UPC, Barcelona, as part of the SUSCO (swash zone response under grouping storm conditions) experiment in the Hydralab III program (Vicinanza et al., 2010). Fourteen different wave conditions were used, encompassing monochromatic waves, bichromatic wave groups and random waves. The experiments were designed specifically to compare variations in beach profile evolution between monochromatic waves and unsteady waves with the same mean energy flux. Each test commenced with approximately the same initial profile. The monochromatic conditions were perturbed with free long waves, and then subsequently substituted with bichromatic wave groups with different bandwidth and with random waves with varying groupiness. Beach profile measurements were made at half-hourly and hourly intervals, from which net cross-shore transport rates were calculated for the different wave conditions. Pairs of experiments with slightly different bandwidth or wave grouping show very similar net cross-shore sediment transport patterns, giving high confidence to the data set. Consistent with recent small-scale experiments, the data clearly show that in comparison to monochromatic conditions the bichromatic wave groups reduce onshore transport during accretive conditions and increase offshore transport during erosive conditions. The random waves have a similar influence to the bichromatic wave groups, promoting offshore transport, in comparison to the monochromatic conditions. The data also indicate that the free long waves promote onshore transport, but the conclusions are more tentative as a result of a few errors in the test schedule and modifications to the setup which reduced testing time. The experiments suggest that the inclusion of long wave and wave group sediment transport is important for improved near-shore morphological modeling of cross-shore beach profile evolution, and they provide a very comprehensive and controlled series of tests for evaluating numerical models. It is suggested that the large change in the beach response between monochromatic conditions and wave group conditions is a result of the increased significant and maximum wave heights in the wave groups, as much as the presence of the forced and free long waves induced by the groupiness. The equilibrium state model concept can provide a heuristic explanation of the influence of the wave groups on the bulk beach profile response if their effective relative fall velocity is larger than that of monochromatic waves with the same incident energy flux.     

Investigation of the effects of offshore breakwater parameters on sediment accumulation

Littoral sediment transport is the main reason for coastal erosion and accretion. Therefore, various types of structures are used in shore protection and littoral sediment trapping studies. Offshore breakwaters are one of these structures. Construction of offshore breakwaters is one of the main countermeasures against beach erosion. In this paper, offshore protection process is studied on the effect of offshore breakwater parameters (length, distance and gap), wave parameters (height, period and angle) and on sediment accumulation ratio, one researched in a physical model. In addition to the experimental studies, numerical model in which the formulae of the sediment discharge (i.e. the formulae of CERC and Kamphuis), was used was developed and employed. The results of the experimental and numerical studies were compared with each other.     

浅化波浪层流边界层流速分布特性的数值分析

建立了同时考虑波致雷诺应力和时均水平压强梯度影响的二阶波浪边界层数学模型,模型计算得到的浅化波浪层流边界层内瞬时流速剖面、振荡速度幅值和时均流速剖面均与水槽实验数据吻合较好,在此基础上探讨了浅化波浪边界层流速分布特性及其影响机制。随着波浪的浅化变形,边界层内时均流速剖面"底部向岸、上部离岸"的变化特征越来越明显。这是二阶对流项引起的波致雷诺应力和离岸回流引起的时均水平压强梯度共同作用的结果,在床面附近由波致雷诺应力占主导作用并趋于引起向岸流动,在上部区域由时均水平压强梯度占主导作用并趋于引起离岸流动。     

An investigation on the formation of submerged bar under surges in sandy coastal region

Cross-shore sediment transport rate exposed to waves is very important for coastal morphology,the design of marine structures such as seawalls,jetties,breakwaters etc,and the prevention of coastal erosion and accretion due to on-off shore sediment transportation.In the present study,the experiments on cross-shore sediment transport are carried out in a laboratory wave channel with initial beach slopes of 1/8,1/10 and 1/15.By using the regular waves with different deep-water wave steepnesses generated by a pedal-type wave generator,the geometrical characteristics of beach profiles under storm conditions and the parameters affecting on-off shore sediment transport are investigated for the beach materials with medium diameters of d50=0.25,0.32,0.45,0.62 and 0.80 mm.The offshore bar geometric characteristics are the horizontal distances from the shoreline to the bar beginning(Xb),crest(Xt),and ending(Xs) points,the depth from the bar crest to the still water level(ht),and the bar volume(Vbar).The experimental results have indicated that when the deep-water steepness(H0/L0) increased,the net movement to seaside increased.With the increasing wave steepness,the bars moved to widen herewith the vertical distances from still water level to the bar beginning(Xb),crest(Xt) and ending(Xs) points and the horizontal distances from the coast line to the bar beginning,crest and ending points increased.It was also shown from experimental results that the horizontal distances from the bar beginning and ending points to the coast line increased with the decrease of the beach slope.The experimental results obtained from this study are compared with previous experimental work and found to be of the same magnitude as the experimental measurements and followed the expected basic trend.     

沙质海岸波浪动床模型设计—毛里塔尼亚友谊港下游冲刷试验模型

本文结合毛里塔尼亚友谊港下游冲刷模型的试验研究探讨了海岸波浪动床模型的相似律和试验波浪要素的确定。作者推导获得了同时满足波浪作用下岸滩剖面冲淤相似、沿程冲淤部位相似、泥沙起动相似和沉降相似的综合相似比尺公式：λρｓ－ρ＝λ＾１／３ｌ．λ＾１／６Ｄ；λｄ＝（λＤ／λｔ）＾２／３解决了波浪冲刷动床模型的基本相似问题和砂的选砂问题。对于常浪向与强浪向不一致的海岸，作者提出了采用综合考虑波高、波周期（或波     

Appraisal of storm beach buffer width for cyclonic waves

The loss of beach sand from berm and dune due to high waves and surge is a universal phenomenon associated with sporadic storm activities. To protect the development in a coastal hazard zone, hard structures or coastal setback have been established in many countries around the world. In this paper, the requirement of a storm beach buffer, being a lesser extent landward comparing with the coastal setback to ensure the safety of infrastructures, is numerically assessed using the SBEACH model for three categories of wave conditions in terms of storm return period, median sand grain size, berm width, and design water level. Two of the key outputs from the numerical calculations, berm retreat and bar formation offshore, are then analysed, as well as beach profile change. After having performed a series of numerical studies on selected large wave tank (LWT) test results with monochromatic waves using SBEACH, we may conclude that: (1) Berm erosion increases and submerged bar develops further offshore as the storm return period increases for beach with a specific sand grain size, or as the sand grain reduces on a beach under the action of identical wave condition; (2) Higher storm waves yield a large bar to form quicker and subsequently cause wave breaking on the bar crest, which can reduce the wave energy and limit the extent of the eroding berm; (3) A larger buffer width is required for a beach comprising small sand grain, in order to effectively absorb storm wave energy; and (4) Empirical relationships can be tentatively proposed to estimate the storm beach buffer width, from the input of wave conditions and sediment grain size. These results would benefit a beach nourishment project for shore protection or design of a recreational beach.     

Bed load transport on the shoreface by currents and waves

Tide-driven bed load transport is an important portion of the net annual sediment transport rate in many shoreface and shelf environments. However, bed load transport under waves cannot be measured in the field and bed load transport by currents without waves is barely measurable, even in spring tidal conditions. There is, consequently, a strong lack of field data and validated models. The present field site was on the shoreface and inner shelf at 2 to 8.5 km offshore the central Dutch coast (far outside the surfzone), where tidal currents flow parallel to the coast. Bed load transports were carefully measured with a calibrated sampler in spring tidal conditions without waves at a water depth of 13–18 m with fine and medium sands. The near-bed flow was measured over nearly a year and used for integration to annual transport rates. An empirical bed load model was derived, which predicts bed load transports that are a factor of > 5 smaller than predicted by existing models. However, they agree with laboratory data of sand and gravel transport in currents near incipient motion. The damped transport rates may have been caused by cohesion of sediment or turbulence damping due to mud or biological activity. The annual bed load transport rate was calculated using a probability density function (pdf) derived from the near-bed current and orbital velocity data which represented the current and wave climate well when compared to 30 years of data from a nearby wave station. The effect of wave stirring was included in the transport calculations. The net bed load transport rate is a few m²/year. This is much less than predicted in an earlier model study, which is partly due to different bed load models but also due to the difference in velocity pdf. The annual transport rate is very sensitive to the probability of the largest current velocities.     

Two-dimensional time dependent hurricane overwash and erosion modeling at Santa Rosa Island

A 2DH numerical, model which is capable of computing nearshore circulation and morphodynamics, including dune erosion, breaching and overwash, is used to simulate overwash caused by Hurricane Ivan (2004) on a barrier island. The model is forced using parametric wave and surge time series based on field data and large-scale numerical model results. The model predicted beach face and dune erosion reasonably well as well as the development of washover fans. Furthermore, the model demonstrated considerable quantitative skill (upwards of 66% of variance explained, maximum bias − 0.21 m) in hindcasting the post-storm shape and elevation of the subaerial barrier island when a sheet flow sediment transport limiter was applied. The prediction skill ranged between 0.66 and 0.77 in a series of sensitivity tests in which several hydraulic forcing parameters were varied. The sensitivity studies showed that the variations in the incident wave height and wave period affected the entire simulated island morphology while variations in the surge level gradient between the ocean and back barrier bay affected the amount of deposition on the back barrier and in the back barrier bay. The model sensitivity to the sheet flow sediment transport limiter, which served as a proxy for unknown factors controlling the resistance to erosion, was significantly greater than the sensitivity to the hydraulic forcing parameters. If no limiter was applied the simulated morphological response of the barrier island was an order of magnitude greater than the measured morphological response.     

A morphological stability analysis for a long straight barred coast

A morphological stability analysis is carried out for a long straight coast with a longshore bar. The situation with oblique wave incidence and a wave-driven longshore current is considered. The flow and sediment transport are described by a numerical modelling system. The models comprise: (i) a wave model with depth refraction, shoaling and wave breaking, (ii) a depth integrated model for wave driven currents and (iii) a sediment transport model for the bed load transport and the suspended load transport in combined waves and current. The direction of the sediment transport is taken to be parallel to the depth integrated mean current velocity, neglecting the effects of a bed slope and secondary currents. An instability is found to develop around the bar crest. The instability is periodic in the alongshore direction, and tends to form rip channels and to steepen the offshore face of the bar between the rip channels. The alongshore wave length of the most unstable perturbation is determined for different combinations of the wave conditions and the geometry of the profile.     

An evaluation of two alongshore transport equations with field measurements

The performance of two well-known equations to predict the depth-averaged alongshore suspended sediment flux [Van Rijn, L.C., 1984. Sediment transport, part II: suspended load transport. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 110, 1613–1641; and Bailard, J.A., 1981. An energetics total load sediment transport model for a plane sloping beach. Journal of Geophysical Research 86, 10938–10954] was assessed by comparing predictions with 2306 field estimates based on a vertical stack of three optical backscatter sensors and a single electromagnetic flow meter. The observations were collected at four cross-shore positions on the intertidal beach of Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands, during calm to storm conditions, with the offshore significant wave height peaking at 3.7 m. Measured hydrodynamics were employed in the computations of both models. Also, default parameter values were used without calibration to the data. We found that both models underpredicted the observations. Overall, the Van Rijn model outperformed the Bailard model, with about 70% of the model prediction lying between 1/5 to 5 of the observations under energetic conditions. For the Bailard model this was only about 20%. The performance of the Van Rijn model is, however, sensitive to the wave-related roughness, one of its highly uncertain free parameters. This may allow for an easy calibration when estimates of the depth-averaged alongshore sediment flux are available but may lead to serious errors in situations without data to constrain the predictions. We suspect that the discrepancy between the observations and model predictions is due to an overestimation of the observed fluxes (high turbidity, air bubbles) and an underestimation of the modeled fluxes because of missing physics related primarily to breaking waves.     

Longshore current and sediment transport on composite beach profiles

Natural beaches tend to exhibit an equilibrium profile that is planar nearshore and nonplanar, concave-up offshore. The longshore current on this type of beach profile depends on the horizontal distance to the location of the intersection between the planar and nonplanar profiles. As the width of the planar beach face decreases, the location of the maximum longshore current moves closer to the shore. The dependency of the corresponding longshore sediment transport rate on the location of the intersection between the two profiles is demonstrated for two energetics-based sediment transport models. Again, a narrower beach face results in the maximum sediment transport being closer to the shore. Total sediment transport rates are also a function of the planar beach face width. This suggests that longshore transport rates are modulated by the tidal elevation.     

The impact of sea level rise and climate change on inshore wave climate: A case study for East Anglia (UK)

In coastal areas, offshore wave propagation towards the shore is influenced by water depth variations, due to sea bed bathymetry, tides and surges. Considering implications of climate change both on atmospheric forcing and sea level rise, a simple methodology involving numerical modelling is implemented to compute inshore waves from 1960 to 2099. Simulations take into account five scenarios of linear sea level rise and one climatic scenario for storm surges and offshore waves. The methodology is applied to the East Anglia coast (UK). Extreme event analysis is performed to estimate climate change implication on inshore waves and the occurrence of extreme events. It is shown, for this coastal region, that wave statistics are sensitive to the trend in sea level rise, and that the climate change scenario leads to a significant increase of extreme wave heights in the northern part of the domain. For nearshore points, the increase of the mean sea level alters not only extreme wave heights but also the frequency of occurrence of extreme wave conditions.