Swash zone response under various wave regimes

Abstract

The modelling of swash zone (SZ) sediment transport and the resulting morphodynamics have been areas of active research over the last decade. However, many details are still to be understood, whose knowledge will be greatly advanced by the collection of high-quality data under the controlled large-scale laboratory conditions. The research describes tests carried out in the large wave flume of the Maritime Engineering Laboratory at Catalonia University of Technology, to investigate the SZ under the storm conditions. Its main aim was to compare beach-profile responses for monochromatic waves, monochromatic waves plus free long waves, bi-chromatic waves and random waves. Both erosive and accretive conditions were considered. Results discussed here were derived from the analysis of only a part of the whole data set.

Keywords:

• Beach profile
• grouping wave
• large wave flume
• sediment transport
• swash zone

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Community's Sixth Framework Programme through the grant to the budget of the Integrated Infrastructure Initiative HYDRALAB III within the Transnational Access Activities, Contract no. 022441. We are grateful to participants from all other partners in the project, particularly to: Hannah Power (University of Queensland, Australia), Matteo Postacchini (Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy), Peter Ganderton (University of Plymouth, United Kingdom), and Quim Sospedra (UPC).