Search Results (5)

In this study, a swash-zone model, using Larson and Wamsley formula (LW07), was combined into the Telemac-2D model system to examine the performance of modeling swash-zone processes through comparisons with field observation data. The experimental site was the Haeundae Beach in South Korea where Typhoon Phanfone occurred in October 2014, and bathymetric surveys were performed before and after the typhoon. Hydrodynamic data were also measured to validate the modeled data. The performance of LW07 was tested by running the model in two modes, with and without LW07. First, the model was run to simulate the shoreline response to an imaginary coastal breakwater. The result showed a clear discrepancy between the two modes as the sediments were considerably cumulated behind the breakwater in the case with the swash-zone formula (LW07) in the wide range along the shoreline behind the breakwater, indicating that the sediments more actively and rapidly responded to the shadowing by the breakwater with LW07. The model was also run for a realistic case from August to October 2014, which included the typhoon’s period during 2–6 October. The results showed that the morphological changes at both ends of the beach in the swash zone were simulated with higher accuracy with LW07, supporting the effectiveness of LW07 in simulating the short-term morphological changes induced by the typhoon attack. In particular, the successful simulation of the sand accumulation at the end sides of the beach’s swash zone indicates that LW07 was effective in estimating not only the cross-shore transport but also longshore transport, which was likely due to the characteristics of LW07 that calculated sand transport in both directions. The enhanced modeling performance with LW07 was likely due to the adjustment of the sediment transport rate to the instantaneous changes in the local beach slope, which could successfully control the erosion/accretion process in the swash zone more realistically. Full article

The existence of sandy beaches relies on the onshore transport of sand by waves during post-storm conditions. Most operational sediment transport models employ wave-averaged terms, and/or the instantaneous cross-shore velocity signal, but the models often fail in predictions of the onshore-directed transport rates. An important reason is that they rarely consider the phase relationships between wave orbital velocity and the suspended sediment concentration. This relationship depends on the intra-wave structure of the bed shear stress and hence on the timing and magnitude of turbulence production in the water column. This paper provides an up-to-date review of recent experimental advances on intra-wave turbulence characteristics, sediment mobilization, and suspended sediment transport in laboratory and natural surf zones. Experimental results generally show that peaks in the suspended sediment concentration are shifted forward on the wave phase with increasing turbulence levels and instantaneous near-bed sediment concentration scales with instantaneous turbulent kinetic energy. The magnitude and intra-wave phase of turbulence production and sediment concentration are shown to depend on wave (breaker) type, seabed configuration, and relative wave height, which opens up the possibility of more robust predictions of transport rates for different wave and beach conditions. Full article

For the restoration and maintenance of beach and dune systems along the coast, knowledge of aeolian sediment transport and its interaction with coastal protection measures is required. As a nature-based solution, sand trapping fences can be an integral part of coastal protection measures initiating foredune development. There are few detailed studies on aeolian sediment transport rates on coastal dunes and sand trapping fences available to date. Thus, in this work, we present the results of field experiments conducted at the beach, coastal dune, and sand trapping fence on the East Frisian island Langeoog. The vertical sediment flux profile was measured by vertical mesh sand traps, and saltiphones measured the instantaneous sediment transport. A meteorological station was set up to obtain wind data. On the beach, dune toe, and dune crest, the stationary wind profile can be described well by the law of the wall. Saturated aeolian sediment transport rates on the beach and dune toe were predicted by widely used empirical models. Between the sand trapping fence, these empirical transport models could not be applied, as no logarithmic wind profile existed. The upwind sediment supply reduced after each brushwood line of the sand trapping fence, thereby, leading to increased deviation from the saturated conditions. Full article

Coastal erosion, which is naturally present in many areas of the world, can be significantly increased by factors such as the reduced transport of sediments as a result of hydraulic works carried out to minimize flooding. Erosion has a significant impact on both marine ecosystems and human activities; for this reason, several international projects have been developed to study monitoring techniques and propose operational methodologies. The increasing number of available high-resolution satellite platforms (i.e., Copernicus Sentinel) and algorithms to treat them allows the study of original approaches for the monitoring of the land in general and for the study of the coastline in particular. The present project aims to define a methodology for identifying the instantaneous shoreline, through images acquired from the WorldView 2 satellite, on eight spectral bands, with a geometric resolution of 0.5 m for the panchromatic image and 1.8 m for the multispectral one. A pixel-based classification methodology is used to identify the various types of land cover and to make combinations between the eight available bands. The experiments were carried out on a coastal area with contrasting morphologies. The eight bands in which the images are taken produce good results both in the classification process and in the combination of the bands, through the algorithms of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), spectral angle mapper (SAM), and matched filtering (MF), with regard to the identification of the various soil coverings and, in particular, the separation line between dry and wet sand. In addition, the real applicability of an algorithm that extracts bathymetry in shallow water using the “coastal blue” band was tested. These data refer to the instantaneous shoreline and could be corrected in the future with morphological and tidal data of the coastal areas under study. Full article

In this study, a new method for the estimation of aeolian sand transport rate was developed; the method employs a ceramic sand flux sensor (UD-101). UD-101 detects wind-blown sand impacting on its surface. The method was devised by considering the results of wind tunnel experiments that were performed using a vertical sediment trap and the UD-101. Field measurements to evaluate the estimation accuracy during the prevalence of unsteady winds were performed on a flat backshore. The results showed that aeolian sand transport rates estimated using the developed method were of the same order as those estimated using the existing method for high transport rates, i.e., for transport rates greater than 0.01 kg m^–1 s^–1. Full article