Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Inc.

Sediment transport particular events and beach profile response

Author(s): I. Emmanuel, J.P. Parisot, H. Michallet, E. Barthélemy and N. Sénéchal
Source: Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 56. Proceedings of the 10th
International Coastal Symposium ICS 2009, Vol. II (2009), pp. 1766-1770
Published by: Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Inc.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25738093
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1 Journal of Coastal Research 1 SI 56 [ 1766- 1770 [ ICS2009 (Proceedings) [ Portugal [ ISSN 0749-0258 |

Sediment transport particular events and beach profile response

I. Emmanuelf*, J.P. Parisotj, H. Michalletf, E. Barthelemyf and N. Senechal}.

tLaboratoire des Ecoulements Geophysiques et Industriels {OASU-EPOC, Universite Bordeaux I

BP53, 38041 Grenoble cedex, France Avenue des Facultes, 33405 Talence Cedex, France
herve.michallet@hmg.inpg.fr parisot@epoc.u-bordeauxl.fr

* Present address: Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees de Nantes, Route de Bouaye, BP 4129 44341 Bouguenais Cedex, France
isabelle.emmanuel@lcpc.fr

ABSTRACT
attain,
Emmanuel, I., Parisot, J.P., Michallet, H., Barthelemy, E., and Senechal, N., 2009. Sediment transport
particular events and beach profile response. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 56 (Proceedings of the 10th
International Coastal Symposium), 1766 - 1770. Lisbon, Portugal, ISSN 0749-0258.

A field campaign was carried out as part of the ECORS project on the macro-tidal beach of True Vert (France,
March-April 2008). Velocities, sediment concentrations and bed evolutions recorded at the mid intertidal zone
are presented, covering calm (Hs ~ 0.5 m) and energetic (Hs ~ 1 m) conditions. Cross-shore transport rates were
estimated using the Bailard (1981) model for the total load transport, beach profile changes for the net transport
and suspended sediment fluxes. Under energetic wave forcing the undertow was large (0.1 to 0.3 m s"1) and
sediment transport was directed offshore whereas under calm conditions the undertow was weaker (less than 0.1
m s"1) and sediment transport was directed onshore.
Alongshore upper beach profile variations were small and the analysis is restricted on cross-shore transport.
Good qualitative agreement is found between Bailard model predictions, suspended transport estimates and bed
level changes based on low tide surveys. Nevertheless, the predicted total load transport represents about 20% of
the net transport. A closer examination of wave sequences shows that 3% of the waves may induce more than
80% of the suspended transport in some cases. This is attributed to steep crested waves associated with a late
trough that produce onshore transport. During energetic conditions, low frequency waves may contribute to
largely increase offshore transport. Such rare events would require a wave-to-wave analysis rather than the
statistical Bailard approach.
These new results are discussed along with recently published measurements of the True Vert 2006 field
experiment (Masselink et ai, 2008).

ADITIONAL INDEX WORDS: net transport, suspended transport, Bailard model jnfragravity waves

INTRODUCTION - the sediment transport estimated from Bailard equation are

Estimating sediment transport in the natural environment isvalid a for both bed load and suspension transport within 30% error;
difficult task. The overall net sediment transport Q, which can -bethe overall net transport is about 5 times the sum of bed load
estimated from topographic surveys considering the whole beach and suspension transports (Qbr + Qs). They attributed the
evolutions, may be separated into several components: descrepancy to the very large amount of transport in the swash
zone which is not evaluated directly in their computations.
Q = Qbr + Qsf+Qs (1) In the present paper, we present measurements from the ECORS
field campaign undertaken on True Vert beach in March and April
The bed load transport is linked to ripples migration for moderate
2008. We estimate Q and Qs for several tides typical of calm and
forcing (Qbr). The study of ripples propagation can be achieved
energetic forcings. Qs obtained from measurements of both
through optical or acoustic scanning of the bed (e.g. Austin et al,
concentration and velocities is compared to estimates computed
2008). For energetic forcing, the estimation of sand transport as
from Bailard equation with velocity statistics.
sheet flow (Qsf) requires more specific measurements devices for
capturing velocities and concentrations variations in a very dense
medium. The measurement of sand transport into suspension (Qs) MEASUREMENTS UNDERTAKEN
requires vertical profiles of concentration and velocities. Figure 1 shows several instruments deployed on True Vert
Recently, Masselink et al (2008) obtained estimates of Q, Qbr beach: five Pressure sensors fixed on a vertical beam, a vertical
and Qs for calm wave conditions on True Vert beach in a 2006 array of eight Fiber Optics sensors, four Optical Backscatter
Sensors (OBS3+, Downing, 2006), an Acoustic Doppler
field campaign. They used ripple scanning to get bed load
Velocimeter (a Vector from Nortek?), two Acoustic Doppler
transport, combined Optical Backscatter Sensors and Acoustic
Velocimeter Profilers (working at 1 and 2 MHz). Pressure sensors
Doppler Velocimeter to get the transport into suspension, and
and Fiber Optics were mainly devoted for studying the sand bed
topographic surveys to get the net transport. They demonstrate
that: stability (see Mory et al, 2007; Michallet et al, 2009).

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 _Emmanuel et al._

Fiber
Optics

Pressure
sensors

Figure 1. Photo of the instruments placed on a rig (at low tide).

The data provided by the uppermost pressure sensor is used here

for determining the water level variations. The bed level evolution
along the tide was determined through the echo sounding provided
by the ADVP (see Berni et al, 2009, for details). The ADVP data
lead to establish vertical profiles of the three velocity components
(see Mignot et ai, 2009). The velocity data used here are from
the Nortek ADV when its measurement volume was located
between 15 cm and 45 cm above bottom. This corresponds to
conditions of relatively shallow water and it has been checked that
the orbital velocities are roughly uniform over the water column
for these cases.
We focus in the present paper on measurements obtained during
Figure 2. Beach topography on 27/03/08 (above) and 5/04/0
four tides by the end of March and six tides beginning of April forthe north is for increasing y, east is for increasing jc
(below),
which the wave conditions were respectively energetic The
and calm
rig location is indicated as a symbol. The regions
(the corresponding offshore significant wave height measured by
considered for net transport computation are limited by the
the Candhis-CETMEF Cap-Ferret DAT A WELL buoy was 3 mlines.
dashed
and 0.7 m, resp.).
The evolution of the mean cross-shore profiles (averaged ov
BEACH TOPOGRAPHIC EVOLUTIONS
the 60 m wide zone) is shown in Figure 4. We note that th
During the whole field experiment (from 4/03/08 until accretion
8/04/08) is not regular along the eight tides considered. It is firs
the beach topographic survey was accomplished with GPS every uniform between jc = -90 m and jc = -130 m from t
relatively
two low tides (for each noon tide) with typical cross-shore
4th untilandthe 6th of April. Between the 6th and the 7th, an erosio
long-shore sampling steps of 4 m and 20 m, respectively, occurs and
at athe foot of the dune as a strong accretion occurs betwee
vertical accuracy of the order of 3 cm. Figure 2 presents jc
the
=Lbeach
-105 m and the rig. Lastly, a small accretion occurs betwe
topography the 27th of March and the 5th of April over the whole
the 7th and the 8th of April on the whole profile.
GPS surveyed zone on these dates. We note that the upper Thesebeach
topographic evolutions may be linked to the forcing. The
is mainly two-dimensional. For the low wave forcing at thewave height Hs recorded at high tide at the rig was less
significant
beginning of April, the water level at low tide allowed to
thaninspect
0.6 m for the four tides from the 5th in the morning until the
part of the lower beach (below z -0). This part of the lower
6th inbeach
the evening. The rig was then in the shoaling zone at high
clearly indicates three-dimensional sand structures of tide.
alternate
In contrast, the rig was in the surf zone (Hs/hC>^0.5) at high
bars and rips. tide with Hs = 0.8 m and Hs = 1 m the 4th in the afternoon and 7th
The rig supporting the instruments (shown in Figure 1) morning,
in the is respectively. These two tides induced the beach
indicated as a symbol in Figure 2 (x = -170m, v =main
-50m in over the four days period in April. In March,
response
March; x = -150 m, y - 50 m in April). We focus on the
Hs =beach
1 m and Hs/h >D0.5 at high tide for the four tides
evolutions between the rig and the foot of the dune. Weconsidered,
considerwith a peak the 27th in the afternoon. The net erosion
the region above the rig position up to z = 6 m (for x = -70 m) and
was strong for the two days, especially between the 27th and the
30 m alongshore on each side. The topographic variations 28th. are
shown in Figure 3 for the two corresponding periods.The
Fornetthe
transport values deduced from the mean profile
energetic waves conditions at the end of March, the upper variations
beachare is reported in Table 1. A sensitivity analysis has been
clearly in erosion, especially for x <-120 m and jc > -170 conducted
m. Atin order to evaluate the uncertainty on the net transport
the souther boundary of the studied zone, we note the
estimation. By increasing or reducing the considered zone of 20 m
enhancement of the rip channel (stronger erosion for y < 40 in the
m long-shore,
and the relative error on Q is about 50% in March
and 20%
y > 20 m). In contrast, for the calm waves forcing at the beginning in April. The larger uncertainty for the March evolutions
was expected
of April, the studied zone is in accretion, especially for as the three-dimensional changes were larger (see
x<-100 m and x>-150m. Figure 3). The estimated values of Q will be compared to the total
transport deduced from Bailard equation in the next section.

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 _Sediment Transport and Beach Profile Response_

5:" -?4/4/081 / "

-5/4/08 ' /
4- ---- 6.14/08 / -
. 7/4/08 /
3,1-8/4/081 ^

-150 -140 -130 -120 110 -100 -90 -80

x (m)

Figure 4. Mean beach profiles averaged over a region extending

30 m on each side of the rig for the April installation.

The volumetric transport rate Q was computed from the

immersed weight transport rate as follows:

Figure 3. Topographic variations from 27/03/08 to 29/03/08

(above) and 4/04/08 to 8/04/08 (below).
NET TRANSPORT ESTIMATED FROM
BAILARD EQUATION
The well-known Bailard (1981) equation is an attempt to derive
sediment transport from velocity measurements only. Stirring by
wave motion is due to cross-shore flows but also to longshore
flows. The Bailard equation (4) can be written as follows:
(2)
-2+v2 (3)
tarvf) ' ws l" ' ^
and
q = qb + qs (4)
where qb, qs and q are respectively, bedload, suspended load and
total immersed weight sediment transport, u is the cross-shore
velocity, v the long-shore velocity, sb = 0.135 and zs =D0.015 are
efficiency factors, ws =U0.05 m s"1 is the sediment fall velocity, Cf
= 0.003 is a friction coefficient, and tan^=D0.63 is the tangent
of the internal angle of friction. The values of those constants are
taken from Gallagher et aL, (1998) and also used by Masselink
et aL, 2008. Both studies used this equation to simulate the
migration of a subtidal bar (respectively on Duck Beach and on
True Vert Beach). Alongshore bed gradients were determined
daily thanks to the cross-shore transects.
Q=g{ps-p\\-?) (5)
with Q in m3 s"1 per unit meter beach width (or m2 s"1), ps and p
the densities of sediment and seawater respectively
(ps = 2650 kg m"3; p = 1000 kg m~3), g the gravity (g = 9.8 m s"2)
and |i the pore space (u= 0.3).
The Bailard equation (4) has been used for estimating bed load,
suspended load and total (net) transport. Evolutions along two
typical tides of energetic and calm forcings are shown in Figure 5.
Under high wave conditions (Hs = 1 m at high tide), the relative
wave height Hs/h remains higher than 0.5 and the measure point is
in the surf zone. The mean cross-shore velocity is offshore
(negative) and is large (up to 0.3 m s"1). Net sediment transport is
offshore. Under low wave conditions (Hs = 0.5 m at high tide),
Hs/h becomes lower than 0.5. The measure point is in the shoaling
zone at high tide. The mean cross-shore velocity remains close to
zero. Net sediment transport is onshore. In both cases the mean
long-shore currents are low (less than 0.2 m s"1).
The total transports computed with (5) on each 20 minutes wave
series are summed to get the overall net transport per tide (bottom
plots of Figure 5). The values deduced for the two succesive tides
per day are indicated in Table 1 for comparison with the net
transport deduced from topographic changes (velocity data were
not available for the morning tide on 6/04). The ratio of estimated
net transport from topographic variations to total transport
deduced from Bailard equation is 5 ? 2. This estimate is of the
same order as the one obtained by Masselink et al. (2008). These
authors attributed this large ratio to the fact that the transport in
the swash zone is not taken into account in the computation, as
velocity measurements were not available for very shallow depths.

Table 1: Comparison of net sediment transport in m2 computed from bed level changes and with Bailard model.
27/03 -28/03 28/03 -29/03 4/04-5/04 5/04-6/04 6/04- 7/04 7/04- 8/04

Net sediment transport (m*) from ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ^~

bed level changes
Predicted net sediment transport ^ ^ _Q ^ Q^ _ Q8 ^
(m2) using Bailard model
Ratio 4 5 7 - 5 6

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 _Emmanuel et al._

o
0.041

4= 0.02
~ Mr 0.4 r
1(c) %
i o
> -0.4L
0
-0.4
P o
-0.021-'-'-1-l
-A04- - - - 35 37 39 41
5? 0 1(d) lime <h)
(c)
'.* ] oL?i!Lti!i
r5 -,-,-,-,-,
O .0.2.
02480 10 12 0 2 4 8

MTU
(e)

-1

Figure 5. High wave conditions on 27/03 (left) and low wave

conditions on 5/04 (right), (a) mean water level, (b) relative
wave height, (c) mean cross-shore velocity (dots) and mean
longshore velocity (crosses), (d) bedload (pluses), suspended
(crosses) and total cross-shore sediment transport (dots)
500 520 540 m0 580 600
estimated over 20 minutes data segments, (e) bedload (light
gray), suspended (dark grey) and total (black) net sediment
transport.

SUSPENDED SEDIMENT TRANSPORT .l.i.,??,..t.i._. . i ,,.-L......d

500 520 540 580 580 600
ESTIMATION time (s)
The suspended transport has been estimated as the product ofFigure 6. Low wave conditions (5/04). (a) mean water level, (b)
concentration and cross-shore velocity. The velocity profile issuspended cross-shore transport from suspended sediment fluxes
assumed to be uniform for the shallow water conditions (dots) and from Bailard model (crosses), (c) Wave series
considered. The concentration is deduced from the Optical analysis of the point / = 37 h in (b), from top to bottom: water
Backscattered Sensors located in the water column. This leads to level, instantaneous cross-shore (solid) and long-shore
rough estimates that nevertheless bring interesting observations. velocities, sediment concentration and instantaneous sediment
Globally, the values obtained are similar to suspended sediment transport.
transport estimated with Bailard model, as shown for instance in
Figure 6. However, the first one can be up to 6 times higher than plotted in Figure 8. While a peak corresponding to gravity waves
the second one (at t = 37 h for example). A closer inspection of the
of period about 10 s is clearly seen for the tide in April, the
corresponding wave series indicates that concentration peaks infragravity component at about 60 s is a lot more energetic for
associated with steep crested waves and late troughs may produce the tide in March.
onshore transport. This is the case for the waves at / = 522 s and
532 s, compared to the waves at / = 494 s, t = 544 s and 585 s for CONCLUSIONS
which the sediment has not settled as the flow reversal take place
The net sediment transport on True Vert beach has been
and contributes to offshore transport. About 8 waves of the first
computed from beach overall evolutions and estimated with
type (3% of the waves over the 20 minutes wave series) may thus
Bailard (1981) model for calm and energetic conditions.
contribute for about 80% of the suspended transport.
Estimations from topographic changes are about five times larger
Under high wave conditions suspended sediment transport
than those deduced with the model. This may be attributed to the
computed from suspended sediment fluxes follows the same
very large transport in the swash zone which is not evaluated.
tendency as the one estimated by Bailard model but is often a lot
Besides, rare events (less than 3% of the waves) may represent
more negative (up to 8 times, r = 101.5 h in Figure 7 for example).
more than 80% of the suspended transport in somes cases. This
The inspection of the wave series in Figure 7c shows that a very
indicates that more sophisticated formulations as those of
high concentration peak occurs during a long wave trough (at
Dibajnia and Watanabe (1998) or da Silva et al (2006) would
/ = 330 s). This corresponds to a low frequency component of the
be required for getting a better picture of the sand transport on a
cross-shore velocity as shown in the bottom plot. This single event
natural beach.
contributes to 50% of the transport over the 20 minutes wave
series.
To emphasize the fact that low frequency wave components may
dominate the flow for energetic conditions, power spectra are

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 _Sediment Transport and Beach Profile Response_

io2 10'1
f {Hi)

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100

Figure 8. Power spectral density of water elevations and velocities for

1 0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 BOO 900 1000 1100
fime is)
Figure 7. High wave conditions (27/03). (a) mean water level,
(b) suspended cross-shore transport from suspended sediment
fluxes (point) and from Bailard model (cross), (c) Wave series
analysis of the point /= 101.5 h. From top to bottom: water
elevation, instantaneous cross-shore velocity, instantaneous
long-shore velocity, sediment concentration, instantaneous
sediment transport and low frequency velocities.
LITERATURE CITED
Austin, M., Masselink, G., O'Hare, T. and Russel, P. E., 2007.
Relaxation time effects of wave ripples on tidal beaches,
Geophys. Res. Lett, 34, L16606, doi:10.1029/2007GL030696.
Bailard, J., 1981. An energetic total load sediment transport
model for a plane sloping beach. Journal Geophysical
Research, 86, 10938-10954. We would like to thank everyone involved in the data collection,
Berni, C, Mignot, E., Michallet, H., Dalla-Costa, C, without whom the present work would have been impossible. This
Grasso, F. and Lagauzere, M., 2009. Diversity of bed research was supported by the French project ECORS-SHOM.
the tides computed over 20 minutes wave series corresponding to
Figures 6 and 7: 27/03 (above) and 5/04 (below).
evolution at wave and tidal scales on True-Vert beach. Journal
of Coastal Research, SI 56.
da Silva, P. A., Temperville, A., and Seabra Santos, F., 2006.
Sand transport under combined current and wave conditions:
A semi-unsteady, practical model, Coastal Eng., 53, 897-913.
Dibajnia, M., and Watanabe, A., 1998. Transport rates under
irregular sheet flow conditions, Coastal Engineering, 35, 167?
183.
Downing, J., 2006. Twenty-five years with OBS sensors: the
good, the bad, and the ugly. Continental Shelf Research, 26,
2299-2318.
Gallagher, E.L., Elgar, S. and Guza, R.T., 1998. Observations
of sand bar evolution on a natural beach. Journal Geophysical
Research, 103,3203-3215.
Masselink, G., Austin, M., Tinker, J., O'Hare, T. and Russel,
P., 2008. Cross-shore sediment transport and morphological
response on a macro-tidal beach with intertidal bar
morphology, True Vert, France. Marine Geology, 251, 141
155.
Michallet, H., Mory, M. and Piedra-Cueva, I., 2009. Wave
induced pore pressure measurements near a coastal structure.
Journal Geophysical Research, submitted.
Mignot, E., Hurther, D., Chassagneux, F-X., and Barnoud, J
M., 2009. A field study of the ripple vortex shedding process
in the shoaling zone of a macro-tidal sandy beach. Journal of
Coastal Research, SI 56.
Mory, M., Michallet, H., Bonjean, D., Piedra-Cueva, I.,
Barnoud, J.-M., Foray, P., Abadie, S. and Breul, P., 2007.
A field study of momentary liquefaction caused by waves
around a coastal structure. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal
and Ocean Engineering, 133, 28-38.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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