Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Formation events of shoreline sand waves on a gravel beach

  • Published:
Ocean Dynamics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Kilometric-scale shoreline sand waves (KSSW) have been observed in the north-east flank of the Dungeness Cuspate Foreland (southeastern coast of the UK). They consist of two bumps separated by embayments with a 350–450-m spacing. We have analysed 36 shoreline surveys of 2-km length using the Discrete Fourier Transformation (DFT), from 2005 to 2016, and seven topographic surveys encompassing the intertidal zone, from 2010 to 2016. The data set shows two clear formation events. In order to test the role of high-angle waves on the KSSW formation, the 10-year wave series is propagated from the wave buoy located at 43 m depth up to a location in front of the undulations at 4 m depth using the SWAN wave model. The dominating SW waves arrive with a very high incidence angle (∼ 80°) while the NE waves arrive almost shore normal. The ratio R, which measures the degree of dominance of high-angle waves with respect to low-angle waves, correlates well with the shoreline DFT magnitude values of the observed wavelength undulations. In particular, the highest R values coincide with the formation events. Finally, a linear stability model based on the one-line approximation is applied to the Dungeness profile and the 10-year propagated wave series. It predicts accurately the formation moments, with positive growth rates in the correct order of magnitude for wavelengths similar to the observed ones. All these results confirm that the shoreline undulations in Dungeness are self-organized and that the underlying formation mechanism is the high-angle wave instability. The two detected formation events provide a unique opportunity to validate the existing morphodynamic models that include such instability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ashton A, Murray AB (2006a) High-angle wave instability and emergent shoreline shapes: 1. Modeling of sand waves, flying spits, and capes. JGeophysRes 111:F04,011. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JF000,422

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton A, Murray AB (2006b) High-angle wave instability and emergent shoreline shapes: 2. Wave climate analysis and comparisons to nature. JGeophysRes 111:F04,012. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JF000,423

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton A, Murray AB, Arnault O (2001) Formation of coastline features by large-scale instabilities induced by high-angle waves. Nature 414:296–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton AD, Murray AB, Littlewood R, Lewis DA, Hong P (2009) Fetch-limited self-organization of elongate water bodies. Geol 37:187–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blondeaux P (2001) Mechanics of coastal forms. Ann Rev Fluid Mech 33:339–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Booij N, Ris RC, Holthuijsen LH (1999) A third-generation wave model for coastal regions: 1. Model description and validation. J Geophys Res 104(C4):7649–7666

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calvete D, Coco G, Falqués A, Dodd N (2007) (un)predictability in rip channel systems. Geophys Res Lett 34(L05605), https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL028162

  • Coco G, Murray AB (2007) Patterns in the sand: from forcing templates to self-organization. Geomorphology 91(271–290). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.04.023

  • Davidson-Arnott RGD, van Heyningen A (2003) Migration and sedimentology of longshore sandwaves, Long Point, Lake Erie, Canada. Sedimentology 50:1123–1137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dornbusch U (2003) BAR Phase I, Beach Material Properties . Tech. rep., University of Sussex

  • Falqués A (2006) Wave driven alongshore sediment transport and stability of the Dutch coastline. Coastal Eng 53:243–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falqués A, Calvete D (2005) Large scale dynamics of sandy coastlines. Diffusivity and instability. J Geophys Res 110(C03007). https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002587

  • Falqués A, Ribas F, Idier D, Arriaga J (2017) Formation mechanisms for self-organized km-scale shoreline sand waves. J Geophys Res Earth Surf 122, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JF003964

  • Garnier R, Calvete D, Falqués A, Dodd N (2008) Modelling the formation and the long-term behavior of rip channel systems from the deformation of a longshore bar. J Geophys Res 113(C07053). https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JC004632

  • Hallermeier L (1981) A profile zonation for seasonal sand beaches from wave climate. Coastal Eng 4(3):253–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinton C, Nicholls RJ (1998) Spatial and temporal behaviour of depth of closure along the Holland coast. In: ASCE (ed) Coastal eng 1998, pp 2913–2925

  • Idier D, Falqués A (2014a) How kilometric sandy shoreline undulations correlate with wave and morphology characteristics: preliminary analysis on the Atlantic Coast of Africa. Adv Geosci 39:55–60. https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-39-55-2014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idier D, Falqués A (2014b) How kilometric sandy shoreline undulations correlate with wave and morphology characteristics: preliminary analysis on the Atlantic coast of Africa. Adv Geosci 39:55–60. https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-39-55-2014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idier D, Falqués A, Rohmer J, Arriaga J (2017) Self-organized kilometre-scale shoreline sandwave generation: sensitivity to model and physical parameters. J Geophys Res 122. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JF004197

  • Kaergaard K, Fredsoe J (2013a) Numerical modeling of shoreline undulations part 1: constant wave climate. Coastal Eng 75:64–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaergaard K, Fredsoe J (2013b) Numerical modeling of shoreline undulations part 2: varying wave climate and comparison with observations. Coastal Eng 75:77–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaergaard K, Fredsoe J, Knudsen SB (2012) Coastline undulations on the West Coast of Denmark: Offshore extent, relation to breaker bars and transported sediment volume. Coastal Eng 60:109–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Komar PD (1998) Beach processes and sedimentation, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis WV (1932) The formation of dungeness foreland. Geogr J 80(4):309–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long AJ, Waller MP, Plater AJ (2006) Coastal resilience and late Holocene tidal inlet history: The evolution of Dungeness Foreland and the Romney Marsh depositional complex (U.K.) Geomorphology 82(3–4):309–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.05.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGregor DFM, Green CP (1989) Geomorphology in conservation assessment-The dungeness shingle system. Ocean and Shoreline Management 12(2):107–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/0951-8312(89)90049-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medellín G, Medina R, Falqués A, González M (2008) Coastline sand waves on a low-energy beach at ’El Puntal’ spit, Spain. Mar Geol 250:143–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medellín G, Falqués A, Medina R, González M (2009) Sand waves on a low-energy beach at ’El Puntal’ spit, Spain: linear stability analysis. J Geophys Res 114(C03022). https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JC004426

  • Ribas F, Falqués A, de Swart HE, Dodd N, Garnier R, Calvete D (2015) Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration. Rev Geophys 53. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014RG000457

  • Ruessink BG, Jeuken MCJL (2002) Dunefoot dynamics along the dutch coast. Earth Surf Process Landforms 27:1043–1056

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryabchuk D, Leont’yev I, Sergeev A, Nesterova E, Sukhacheva L, Zhamoida V (2011) The morphology of sand spits and the genesis of longshore sand waves on the coast of the eastern Gulf of Finland. Baltica 24(1):13–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Uguccioni L, Deigaard R, Fredsoe J (2006) Instability of a coastline with very oblique wave incidence. In: Coastal Eng. 2006, World Scientific, pp 3542–3553

  • van den Berg N, Falqués A, Ribas F (2012) Modelling large scale shoreline sand waves under oblique wave incidence. J Geophys Res 117(F03019). https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002177

  • van den Berg N, Falqués A, Ribas F, Caballeria M (2014) On the wavelength of self-organized shoreline sand waves. J Geophys Res Earth Surf 119:665–681. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JF002751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Enckevort IMJ, Ruessink BG, Coco G, Suzuki K, Turner IL, Plant NG, Holman RA (2004) Observations of nearshore crescentic sandbars. J Geophys Res 109(C06028). https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JC002214

  • van der Vegt M, Schuttelaars HM, de Swart HE (2007) Modeling the formation of undulations of the coastline: The role of tides. Cont Shelf Res 27(15):2014–2031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2007.04.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhagen HJ (1989) Sand waves along the dutch coast. Coastal Eng 13:129–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright LD, Short AD (1984) Morphodynamic variability of surf zones and beaches: a synthesis. Mar Geol 56:93–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman JTF (1981) Dynamics, diffusion and geomorphological significance of tidal residual eddies. Nature 290:549–555

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The topography data was undertaken by Canterbury Council as part of Southeast Strategic Regional Coastal Monitoring Program. The wave data was acquired from the UK wave buoy (WaveNet), delivered by the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (https://www.cefas.co.uk/cefas-data-hub/wavenet/). We would like to thank the Coastal Channel Observatory for providing the platform from which the topographical data was obtained. Special thanks to Mike Walkden for his technical input and support.

Funding

This research is part of the Spanish Government project CTM2015-66225-C2-1-P (MINECO/FEDER). The first author was funded by the Mexican Government (CONACyT, grant number 217754).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Campus Diagonal Nord, C. Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Jaime Arriaga, Albert Falqués & Francesca Ribas

  2. WSP — Parsons Brinckerhoff, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, EX1 1NT, UK

    Eddie Crews

Authors
  1. Jaime Arriaga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Albert Falqués
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Francesca Ribas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Eddie Crews
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaime Arriaga.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Aart Kroon

This article is part of the Topical Collection on the 8th International conference on Coastal Dynamics, Helsingør, Denmark, 12–16 June 2017

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Arriaga, J., Falqués, A., Ribas, F. et al. Formation events of shoreline sand waves on a gravel beach. Ocean Dynamics 68, 735–748 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-018-1157-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-018-1157-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation