Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration
This review highlights the important role of the depth-averaged sediment concentration (DASC) to understand the formation of a number of coastal morphodynamic features that have an alongshore rhythmic pattern: beach cusps, surf zone transverse and crescentic bars, and shoreface-connected sand ridges...
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| Format: | Article |
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American Geophysical Union
2015
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35031/ |
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| author | Ribas, Francesca Falques, Albert De Swart, Huib E. Dodd, Nicholas Garnier, Roland Calvete, Daniel |
| author_facet | Ribas, Francesca Falques, Albert De Swart, Huib E. Dodd, Nicholas Garnier, Roland Calvete, Daniel |
| author_sort | Ribas, Francesca |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This review highlights the important role of the depth-averaged sediment concentration (DASC) to understand the formation of a number of coastal morphodynamic features that have an alongshore rhythmic pattern: beach cusps, surf zone transverse and crescentic bars, and shoreface-connected sand ridges. We present a formulation and methodology, based on the knowledge of the DASC (which equals the sediment load divided by the water depth), that has been successfully used to understand the characteristics of these features. These sand bodies, relevant for coastal engineering and other disciplines, are located in different parts of the coastal zone and are characterized by different spatial and temporal scales, but the same technique can be used to understand them. Since the sand bodies occur in the presence of depth-averaged currents, the sediment transport approximately equals a sediment load times the current. Moreover, it is assumed that waves essentially mobilize the sediment, and the current increases this mobilization and advects the sediment. In such conditions, knowing the spatial distribution of the DASC and the depth-averaged currents induced by the forcing (waves, wind, and pressure gradients) over the patterns allows inferring the convergence/divergence of sediment transport. Deposition (erosion) occurs where the current flows from areas of high to low (low to high) values of DASC. The formulation and methodology are especially useful to understand the positive feedback mechanisms between flow and morphology leading to the formation of those morphological features, but the physical mechanisms for their migration, their finite-amplitude behavior and their decay can also be explored. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:24:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-35031 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:24:55Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-350312020-05-04T17:11:10Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35031/ Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration Ribas, Francesca Falques, Albert De Swart, Huib E. Dodd, Nicholas Garnier, Roland Calvete, Daniel This review highlights the important role of the depth-averaged sediment concentration (DASC) to understand the formation of a number of coastal morphodynamic features that have an alongshore rhythmic pattern: beach cusps, surf zone transverse and crescentic bars, and shoreface-connected sand ridges. We present a formulation and methodology, based on the knowledge of the DASC (which equals the sediment load divided by the water depth), that has been successfully used to understand the characteristics of these features. These sand bodies, relevant for coastal engineering and other disciplines, are located in different parts of the coastal zone and are characterized by different spatial and temporal scales, but the same technique can be used to understand them. Since the sand bodies occur in the presence of depth-averaged currents, the sediment transport approximately equals a sediment load times the current. Moreover, it is assumed that waves essentially mobilize the sediment, and the current increases this mobilization and advects the sediment. In such conditions, knowing the spatial distribution of the DASC and the depth-averaged currents induced by the forcing (waves, wind, and pressure gradients) over the patterns allows inferring the convergence/divergence of sediment transport. Deposition (erosion) occurs where the current flows from areas of high to low (low to high) values of DASC. The formulation and methodology are especially useful to understand the positive feedback mechanisms between flow and morphology leading to the formation of those morphological features, but the physical mechanisms for their migration, their finite-amplitude behavior and their decay can also be explored. American Geophysical Union 2015-06-09 Article PeerReviewed Ribas, Francesca, Falques, Albert, De Swart, Huib E., Dodd, Nicholas, Garnier, Roland and Calvete, Daniel (2015) Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration. Reviews of Geophysics, 53 (2). pp. 362-410. ISSN 8755-1209 Sediment transport; coastal morphodynamic patterns; nearshore sandbars; beach cusps; sand ridges; self-organization http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014RG000457/abstract;jsessionid=26C0180CF5457B6A671593F61614956B.f03t04 doi:10.1002/2014RG000457 doi:10.1002/2014RG000457 |
| spellingShingle | Sediment transport; coastal morphodynamic patterns; nearshore sandbars; beach cusps; sand ridges; self-organization Ribas, Francesca Falques, Albert De Swart, Huib E. Dodd, Nicholas Garnier, Roland Calvete, Daniel Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration |
| title | Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration |
| title_full | Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration |
| title_fullStr | Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration |
| title_short | Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration |
| title_sort | understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration |
| topic | Sediment transport; coastal morphodynamic patterns; nearshore sandbars; beach cusps; sand ridges; self-organization |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35031/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35031/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35031/ |