138

given by
Figure 5.11 Rhomboid marks in beach sands The scale is
5.10 Ladder-back ripples: wave{ormed rippleswith linear' point the directi0n 0f
Figure
if,ri pr*lf ff-lt acute angles of the rhomboids in
nriurcairnq crests, in between which are smaller, current{ormed ripples of the picture in this case)'
given by flow (towards the bottom
ir'.trs iit,snt angles to the wave{ormed ripples The scale is
the camera lens cap.

Figure 5.12 A line of cusps bordering a

well-developed berm at the top of a steeply
sloping shingle beach.

5.2.3LoNGSH0RESEDtMENTTRANSPoRTBYWAVE.GENERATEDcURRENTS
angle' as commonl-v
When waves approach a straight coastline at an oblique
is established which flows along the
happens, a tongihore l'
"o.r"ni The speeds of such
,fro."fi,r" withipeeds between about 0'3 and 1 m s
orbital velocities
longshore cuffents are proportional both to the maximum
the wave-fronts make
of iaue, in the breakei ror", and to the angle that
best
with the shoreline as they approach it' Longshore currents are
way in. which
developed along straighi.ouitti'"t and are an important
is moved along shorelines where there are gently sloping beaches'
sediment
backwash of waves
On steep beaches, longshore transport by the swash and
longshore cuffents' When a wave breaks
i, *or"'i-portant tha; that by
swash drives sediment up the beach face at an
ffirety to the shoreline, the sediment down the
angt. toit shoreline while the backwash drags the
beich at
"
right angles to the shoreline - so successive waves move the
sediment along the beach face \n a zrg-zag pattern'
 139

The longshore movement of sediments in the beach zone is often referred to

as longshore drift, and it can lead to the formation of spits of sand or
shingle, elongated in the direction of longshore transport. Spits are
generally linear extensions of bpaches, sometimes terminating in the open
water of bays and estuaries (Figure 5.13), sometimes lying relatively close
inshore, forming long narrow coastal lagoons (see Section 6.3).

Figure 5.13 (a) Spurn Head at the mouth of the Humber (see Figure 6.5) is formed by
longshore drift southward along the Humberside (Holderness) coastline (we are looking south,
so east is to the left, west to the right). From time t0 time, the narrowest part of the spit is
severed by winter storms.
(b) Closer view of Spurn Point (the lighthouse is about half-way along), showing megaripples
and tidal flats (see Secti0n 6.3) 0n its western sh0re.
140

The longshore sediment transport rate

In order to quantify longshore drift (the longshore transport rate), we need
to know the longshore wave power (P1) available. This depends on the
height of the waves at their break point (F1), their group speed (cr), and
angle (a) between the advancing wave crest and the shoreline at the break
point (Figure 5.1 4). The relationship can be expressed by:

I
Pr = t',( ^ PRI+) sina cosa (s.3)

shoreline where p is the density of the seawater and g is the acceleration due to gravity.

You should recognize the expression in brackets as defining wave energy

Figure 5.14 Diagram of a wave crest
approaching a shoreline obliquely at an angle a.
(E;Equation 1.11) and cg as the speed with which the energy is ar:riving
(i.e. group speed). The sine term in Equation 5.3 is needed in order to
determine the longshore component of wave power (per metre crest length
of wave). To be meaningful, however, this must be converted into power per
metre length of shoreline, which is the reason for using the cosine term in
Equation 5.3.
If you were to stand on a beach and watch the breaking waves, you could
use Equation 5.3 to arrive at a first-order estimate of wave power in the
beach zone by making a few simple observations and estimates of basic
wave characteristics. Conveniently, group speed is the same as wave speed
in shallow water (Section 1.3), and you would need to estimate the average
wave height at the break point (plunge point) of the waves.

OUESTION 5.7
(a) Given wave grollp spccd = 0.5 m s I and avcrage wave hcight = I m,
and usingP = l0rkg, I and g - 9.8 Ins I, calcttlatc what thc longshore
wave powcr woulcl bc if wave crests approached thc shorcline al- an angle o1
30'. Pay attention to units nnd note that your answer shor-rld be in joules per
second (watts) per metre length ol shoreline.
(b) What would you expecl the longshore wave power to be when the
crests o1'these same waves approach parallel to the shoreline'J

The wave power for waves breaking directly on the beach is, therefore, simply:

P=csE
I
i.e. P=c,.(;pRI!) (s.4)

Having calculated the wave power, the longshore rate of sediment

movement for sand-sized grains, ey cat be determined from the empirically
derived equation:

o.11P.
"ll
(s.s)
s(p. -p) 0.6

where 41 is measured in m3 s l, p. and p are the densities of sediment and

water respectively,0.Tl is a coefficient of efficiency relating to loss of water
due to percolation through the sediments, and 0.6 is another coefficient which
represents the average proportion ofthe bulk sediment occupied by particles,
rather than pore space. The longshore transport of sediment is often quite
substantial. For example, along parts of the south-eastern coast of the USA,
the net southwards transport rate may be as much as 0.5 x 106m3 per year.
 141

Sediment transport by combined waves and currents

to the
Although we have coniined our discussion in preceding sections
and currents act together in the
influenle of wave action, in practice waves
coastalzone.Mostnetsedimenttransportislikelytooccurwheremovement
very effective
by curents is enhanced by wave motions, because waves are
(cf' Figure 4' 16)' Once waves have
ai stining up sediment onthe sea-bed
transported by cur:rents which
lifted sediment into suspension, it can then be
by themselves. These
would be unable to lift the sediment off the sea-bed
curTents include both longshore curTents and rip currents (see below), as well
astidal currents, and evei the slight landwards movement of water caused
by the wave drifi described in Section 1'2' 1 '

5,2.4 RIP CURBENTS

Rip currents are strong, narrow cuffents with speeds up te 2 m s-l

which
fl& seawards from the surf zone (Figure 5 ' 1 5, overleat) ' They are
potentially very dangerous because a swimmer caught in a rip current
may
exhausted by
be swept out to sea quite rapidly and drown after becoming
The best means of
trylng L swim backio the shorl against the current.
the rip
is to swim parallel to the shore for a few metres' away from
"r.ui"
.o.a"nt, before trying to swim shorewards' However' experienced surfers
are quite happy to exploit these currents by riding them
out to sea' Beach
ongf"r, ulr.,ino* that rip currents can be productive areas in which to fish'

The longshore current generated where waves break obliquely

on the
surf zone landward of the breaker zone'
shorelin-e is confined laigely to the
longshore components on breaking, the
As more and more V/ur"i add their
This
longshore current tends to increase with distance along the shore'
ctea:rty cannot happen indefinitely and the requirements of continuity
(Section 2.4.1) dictate that the discharge of water from waves
into the
longshore current must be balanced by an offshore flow'
i'e' at intervals
theremustbetransportof.excess,wateroutthroughthesurfzone.Thisis
one way in which rip currents develop (Figure 5'15(a))'
Ripcurrentsalsodevelopwherewavesaremovingdirectlyonshore.Asyou
know,anincreaseinwareheightalongawavecrestoccurswhenthewave
enters shallow water and begins to slow down
(Section l'5)' Variations in
wave height along a wave crest will occur if one section of the crest
either when a wave
encounteis shallow water before another' This happens
water is encountered
crest approaches an irregular coastline and shallow
submarine topography
first off seaward pro.lectLns, or where the nearshore
In short' the location of the
is irregular for otireireasons (cf' Figure 1 ' 16)'
Just shorewards of
rip culents is determined by the ofishore bathymetry.
i
(Figure 5'1)' the average water
the breaking waves, i.e. in the surf zone
an increase in
level falls. and then rises continuously towards the shore'
which can also occur with
level known as wave set-up (Figure 5'15(b)) -
waves. wheie wave heights are greatest along the wave
obliquely breaking
crest,thewaveset-upisalsogreatestandhorizontalpressuregradientsare
set-up (i'e' higher
established betweeniegions o,-f higher and lower wave
and lower average watJr level). water therefore tends to flow from positions
which move
of higher to lower wave height, generating longshore currents
at the convergence as
towaids each other in the surf zone, turning seawards
forry a cell-like
rip currents. Rip currents generated in this way thus
93rt.9f
The
circulation of water (traced out by the arrows in Figure 5.15(c))'
and size of the waves that
strength of rip currents depends upon the nature
geneiate them, and may vary with the state of the tide'
 142

."."1\,
.,.e riP head -*e'

u1\-"-
\\ *Q

,if ,,

!s

,,-*'{ --*
rip head

-"'\\f'
(a)

Figure 5.15(a) plan view of a section

of
coastline showing the development of rip
currents from a longshore current generated by
obliquely breaking waves.
(b) Wave set-up: the rise in the mean water
level inshore of a breaker. For (c)-(d), see
opposite.

Some of the sediment being transported by longshore

cur:rents will be
carried.seawards by rip currents
lFigure s.ts(a)), which thus scour out and
maintain the channers in which they flow. Rip curent
circuration can also
be an important means of renewing water in ihe nearshore
zone and
flushing out sewage and other po,utants discharged
in .ourtui."giorr.

5.3 DYNAMIC EOUILIBRIUM OF SEDIMENT SUPPTY

If estimates can be made of the amount of sediment moved by

different
means in the beach zone, a sediment budget can
be drawn up or
imported (e.g' from rivers or cliff erosionJ and material -ut"riut
uy
used to"rpirt"aJ"g.
longshore or offshore transport), and the balance
determine whether
the beach at any one place is undergoing active
deposition or erosion