Surf Zone Turbulence and Suspended Sediment Dynamics—A Review

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...

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Main Authors: Troels Aagaard, Joost Brinkkemper, Drude F. Christensen, Michael G. Hughes, Gerben Ruessink
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-11-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/11/1300
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author Troels Aagaard
Joost Brinkkemper
Drude F. Christensen
Michael G. Hughes
Gerben Ruessink
author_facet Troels Aagaard
Joost Brinkkemper
Drude F. Christensen
Michael G. Hughes
Gerben Ruessink
author_sort Troels Aagaard
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj.art-cb7d0c91d744491aa66033cd9c45c42e2023-11-22T23:54:42ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122021-11-01911130010.3390/jmse9111300Surf Zone Turbulence and Suspended Sediment Dynamics—A ReviewTroels Aagaard0Joost Brinkkemper1Drude F. Christensen2Michael G. Hughes3Gerben Ruessink4Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353 Copenhagen, DenmarkWaterProof Marine Consultancy & Services BV, 8221 RC Lelystad, The NetherlandsDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353 Copenhagen, DenmarkEnvironment, Energy and Science, NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment, Wollongong, NSW 2124, AustraliaDepartment of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The NetherlandsThe 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/11/1300turbulencesuspended sedimentsediment transportbreaking wavesbeach recovery
spellingShingle Troels Aagaard
Joost Brinkkemper
Drude F. Christensen
Michael G. Hughes
Gerben Ruessink
Surf Zone Turbulence and Suspended Sediment Dynamics—A Review
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
turbulence
suspended sediment
sediment transport
breaking waves
beach recovery
title Surf Zone Turbulence and Suspended Sediment Dynamics—A Review
title_full Surf Zone Turbulence and Suspended Sediment Dynamics—A Review
title_fullStr Surf Zone Turbulence and Suspended Sediment Dynamics—A Review
title_full_unstemmed Surf Zone Turbulence and Suspended Sediment Dynamics—A Review
title_short Surf Zone Turbulence and Suspended Sediment Dynamics—A Review
title_sort surf zone turbulence and suspended sediment dynamics a review
topic turbulence
suspended sediment
sediment transport
breaking waves
beach recovery
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/11/1300
work_keys_str_mv AT troelsaagaard surfzoneturbulenceandsuspendedsedimentdynamicsareview
AT joostbrinkkemper surfzoneturbulenceandsuspendedsedimentdynamicsareview
AT drudefchristensen surfzoneturbulenceandsuspendedsedimentdynamicsareview
AT michaelghughes surfzoneturbulenceandsuspendedsedimentdynamicsareview
AT gerbenruessink surfzoneturbulenceandsuspendedsedimentdynamicsareview