Rapid Changes in Permeability: Numerical Investigation into Storm-Driven Pebble Beach Morphodynamics with XBeach-G

Abstract

This study delves into the morphodynamic changes of pebble beaches in response to storm events, employing a combination of observational and numerical approaches. This research focuses on three extreme events, meticulously examining morhological changes in intertidal topography on the beach of Etretat (Normandy, France). A robust dataset of daily beach topography, derived from video monitoring systems, validates a set of numerical simulations of cross-shore dynamics performed by the process-based model XBeach-G. Our study evaluates the model’s efficacy in estimating beach profile evolution under high-energy conditions and explores its sensitivity to the physical properties of pebbles, including permeability. The results underscore the significance of considering spatial and temporal variations in permeability during storms to enhance the numerical model’s accuracy in predicting pebble beach dynamics. Furthermore, this study advocates for the incorporation of grain size mapping techniques to refine numerical model implementations.

Keywords

• pebble beaches
• intertidal topography
• XBeach-G
• permeability
• grain size