Multiple longshore sand bars in the upper Chesapeake Bay

In the upper Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, U.S.A.) field surveys were conducted at 18 multiple longshore sand bar sites. The multiple bar systems were found in water depths less than approximately 2 m (mean sea level), and exhibited mild bottom slopes of 0·0052 or less. The number of bars composing each system ranged from four to 17 and the spacing between the crests typically increased in the offshore direction, ranging from 12 to 70 m. Bar height also typically increased with distance offshore and ranged from 0·03 to 0·61 m. A grain size analysis of crest and trough sediment did not reveal any significant differences and the sediment was categorized as ‘fine sand’. A review of the literature data indicated that the Chesapeake Bay multiple bars possessed similar characteristics to those found in Gelding Bay (Baltic Sea); similarities in fetch, wave height and tidal range between the two bays may account for this finding. The surf-scaling parameter indicated that the multiple bar systems were extremely dissipative with regard to wave energy, and wave height appeared to be an important factor in controlling bar spacing and bar height. A multiple wave break point hypothesis was discussed as a possible mechanism for the formation of Chesapeake Bay multiple longshore bars, and limited observational evidence appeared to support such a mechanism.     

三峡水库蓄水后上荆江不同河床组成江心洲的演变过程及其机制

三峡及上游梯级水库群运用后,大坝下游江心洲以冲刷为主,直接影响分汊河段河势条件及航道边界的稳定性。本文采用卫星遥感影像、实测水沙及固定断面床沙级配等资料,分析上荆江枝江、沙市河段中不同河床组成江心洲的演变过程及其机理。结果表明:(1)三峡水库蓄水后(2003—2019年),沙市段沙质江心洲较枝江段卵石夹沙质江心洲萎缩更为显著,出露面积的减幅分别达31%和24%。(2)以关洲和金城洲分别代表卵石夹沙质和沙质江心洲,三峡工程运用后关洲洲头形态较为稳定,受无序采砂的影响其沙质组成的洲尾面积显著减小,而金城洲面积萎缩程度更大。(3)床沙组成对江心洲冲刷程度差异具有重要影响,关洲洲头较金城洲抗冲性更强,与其床沙在年内达到起动条件的数量更少、时长更短有关;建立了江心洲面积与水流冲刷强度及相对水深的定量关系,该关系能综合考虑水沙变化与床沙组成调整的影响,能更好地反演近期江心洲的面积变化特点。     

渤海湾北部滨外沙坝演变的遥感分析

通过多时相航空遥感影像和MSS、TM、ETM卫星遥感影像的解译、对比,分析渤海湾北部滨外沙坝近50年来的演变过程。结果表明:在波浪、潮汐、潮流和河流等动力因素的作用下,滨外沙坝的动态变化较为明显,在整体西向漂移、向海侧边线蚀退的背景下,个体沙坝的变化表现为陆向蚀退、侵蚀消亡、西南向漂移与端点蚀退、西向漂移与端点延展和海向淤进与陆向蚀退交替等多种态势。     

Numerical simulation and preliminary analysis of typhoon waves during three typhoons in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

In this study,typhoon waves generated during three typhoons(Damrey(1210),Fung-wong(1416),and Chan-hom(1509))in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea were simulated in a simulating waves nearshore(SWAN)model,and the wind forcing was constructed by combining reanalyzed wind data with a Holland typhoon wind model.Various parameters,such as the Holland fitting parameter(B)and the maximum wind radius?,were investigated in sensitivity experiments in the Holland model that affect the wind field construction.Six different formulations were considered and the parameters determined by comparing the simulated wind results with in-situ wind measurements.The key factors affecting wave growth and dissipation processes from deep to shallow waters were studied,including wind input,whitecapping,and bottom friction.Comparison with in-situ wave measurements suggested that the KOMEN scheme(wind input exponential growth and whitecapping energy dissipation)and the JONSWAP scheme(dissipation of bottom friction)resulted in good reproduction of the significant wave height of typhoon waves.A preliminary analysis of the wave characteristics in terms of wind-sea and swell wave revealed that swell waves dominated with the distance of R to the eye of the typhoon,while wind-sea prevailed in the outer region up to six to eight times the R values despite a clear misalignment between wind and waves.The results support the hypothesis that nonlinear wave-wave interactions may play a key role in the formation of wave characteristics.     

Bragg reflection of water waves by multiple floating horizontal flexible membranes with submerged rectangular bars on the seabed

Bragg reflection of water waves by multiple floating horizontal flexible membranes is investigated based on the linear wave theory and the assumption of small membrane response. Under the floating horizontal membranes, periodical submerged rectangular bars are arranged on the flat seabed. The total reflection and transmission coefficients are obtained by using the eigenfunction expansion method and the wide spacing approximation. The calculated coefficients are validated with the results available in the literature, which shows that the present method is applicable. The characteristics of Bragg reflection are systematically investigated by changing various parameters including the height of the rectangular bars, the number, the tension, the spacing, and the length of the flexible membranes. The results can help designing multiple floating horizontal flexible membranes as effective floating breakwaters by taking advantage of Bragg reflection.     

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.     

海阳砂质海岸岸滩演化

基于海阳近岸海域的水深地形、表层沉积物粒度以及遥感影像等资料,利用泥沙起动流速和沿岸输沙数理公式以及岸滩演化数学模型,探讨了海阳近岸海域岸滩演化特征及主要控制因素。研究结果表明,研究区总体处于动态平衡状态,潮流很难使泥沙发生直接起动,波浪造成的沿岸输沙总体向ENE方向运移。影响研究区冲淤变化的因素主要有河流来沙、波浪以及人工构筑物。河流径流量减小,导致研究区泥沙来源减少,加剧了局部海岸侵蚀;近岸人工构筑物的建设,改变了泥沙输运趋势,并导致局部冲淤环境发生变化;波浪是控制研究区泥沙运移、沉降的关键因素,控制着研究区冲淤演化的整体格局。     

Wave-forced dynamics in the nearshore river mouths,and swash zones

The role of wave forcing on the main hydro-morphological dynamics evolving in the shallow waters of the nearshore and at river mouths is analyzed. Focus is mainly on the cross-shore dynamics that evolve over mildly sloping barred, dissipative sandy beaches from the storm up to the yearly timescale, at most. Local and non-local mechanisms as well as connections across three main inter-related subsystems of the nearshore – the region of generation and evolution of nearshore bars, river mouths and the swash zone – are analyzed. The beach slope is a major controlling parameter for all nearshore dynamics. A local mechanism that must be properly described for a suitable representation of wave-forced dynamics of all such three subsystems is the proper correlation between orbital velocity and sediment concentration in the bottom boundary layer; while specific dynamics are the wave–current interaction and bar generation at river mouths and the sediment presuspension at the swash zone. Fundamental non-local mechanisms are both infragravity (IG) waves and large-scale horizontal vortices (i.e. with vertical axes), both influencing the hydrodynamics, the sediment transport and the seabed morphology across the whole nearshore. Major connections across the three subsystems are the upriver propagation of IG waves generated by breaking sea waves and swash–swash interactions, the interplay between the swash zone and along-river-flank sediment transport and the evolution of nearshore sandbars. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A field test of tubino's (1991) model of alternate bar formation

This study investigates the fluvial dynamics of straight natural stream channels. In particular, this experimental field study quantitatively assesses a physically based non-linear mathematical theory of alternate bar formation under unsteady natural flow conditions within a straight alluvial stream. The study site is an artificially straightened section of the Embarras River located approximately 16 km south of Champaign, Illinois. Data were collected on channel form, gradient, alternate bar dimensions, bed sediment size and flow stage over a 2 year study period. Both linear and non-linear steady flow hydrodynamic theories suggest that alternate bars are critical to the process of meander development. But these theories do not predict bar development for unsteady flow conditions, which typically occur in natural alluvial channels. Tubino (1991) suggests that bar evolution for a flood hydrograph can be divided into three parts: (1) a period of limited bar growth during the rising stage of the flood; (2) a stage of modest bar decay near the peak of the flood; and (3) a stage of non-linear bar growth during the prolonged falling stage of the flood. Bars developed during the falling limb of a hydrograph, and exhibited sequential development rather than the uniform growth along the reach predicted by Tubino's model. As flow stage decreased, short, low, fine-grained bars were superimposed on long, high and coarser-grained bars that developed under preceding high flow stages. These results suggest that the process of bar formation in artificially straightened natural streams with heterogeneous bed material may occur under different flow conditions and in a different manner than predicted by theoretical models. Further work should focus on attempting to isolate the physical mechanisms responsible for alternate bar formation in straight natural streams with heterogeneous bed material and flashy hydrologic flow regimes.