Numerical and remote techniques for operational beach management under storm group forcing

Abstract

The morphodynamic response of a microtidal beach under a storm group is analyzed, and the effects of each individual event are inferred from a numerical model, in situ measurements and video imaging. The combination of these approaches represents a multiplatform tool for beach management, especially during adverse conditions. Here, the morphodynamic response is examined during a period with a group of three storms. The first storm, with moderate conditions (Hs ∼ 1 m during 6 h), eroded the aerial beach and generated a submerged sandbar in the breaking zone. The bar was further directed offshore during the more energetic second event (Hs = 3.5 m and 53 h). The third storm, similar to the first one, hardly affected the beach morphology, which stresses the importance of the beach configuration previous to a storm. The volume of sand mobilized during the storm group is around 17.65 m3 m−1. During the following months, which are characterized by mild wave conditions, the aerial beach recovered half of the volume of sand that is transported offshore during the storm group ( ∼ 9.27 m3 m−1). The analysis of beach evolution shows two different characteristic timescales for the erosion and recovery processes associated with the storm and mild conditions, respectively. In addition, the response depends largely on the previous beach morphological state. The work also stresses the importance of using different tools (video monitoring, modeling, and field campaign) to analyze beach morphodynamics.