Berm accretion resulting from inner surf and swash zone processes

Swash zone morphology is important for coastal management, flood protection and touristic use of beaches. Starting from different post-storm beach profiles, this study investigated berm accretion during wave energy reduction after storms (beach recovery). The large-scale wave flume experiments featu...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Grossmann, Florian|||0000-0002-1037-2372, Alsina Torrent, José María|||0000-0002-3055-5379
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/456396
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/456396
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2025.104797
Access Level:acceso embargado
Palabra clave:Surf–swash sand exchange
Beach face
Sandbar
Wave breaking
Berm overwash
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Enginyeria hidràulica, marítima i sanitària::Ports i costes
Descripción
Sumario:Swash zone morphology is important for coastal management, flood protection and touristic use of beaches. Starting from different post-storm beach profiles, this study investigated berm accretion during wave energy reduction after storms (beach recovery). The large-scale wave flume experiments featured measurements of beach profile evolution, water surface elevation, outer flow velocities and suspended sediment concentration. The measurements were combined with simulation of onshore wave propagation, sediment advection under turbulent bores in the swash zone and Energetics-type sediment transport to explain the processes causing berm accretion. When comparing low (dimensionless fall velocity ) to high ( ) energy recovery waves, an onshore shift in breaking caused more wave asymmetry-related onshore transport through the inner surf zone. This resulted in 2–3 times as much recovered berm volume under the low energy recovery waves. When comparing the two low energy recovery wave conditions ( ), differences in breaking at the shoreline (potentially related to profile shape inherited from the storm) influenced bore-related onshore advection of sediment to the berm crest. This caused twice as much vertical berm accretion under one condition ( ) in contrast to twice as much horizontal berm accretion (shoreline recovery) under the other condition ( ).