Contribution of infragravity waves to run-up and overwash in the pertuis breton embayment (France)

Christopher H. Lashley*, Xavier Bertin, Dano Roelvink, Gaël Arnaud

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)
93 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Wave run-up and dune overwash are typically assessed using empirical models developed for a specific range of often-simplistic conditions. Field experiments are essential in extending these formulae; yet obtaining comprehensive field data under extreme conditions is often challenging. Here, we use XBeach Surfbeat (XB-SB)-a shortwave-averaged but wave-group resolving numerical model-to complement a field campaign, with two main objectives: i) to assess the contribution of infragravity (IG) waves to washover development in a partially-sheltered area, with a highly complex bathymetry; and ii) to evaluate the unconventional nested-modeling approach that was applied. The analysis shows that gravity waves rapidly decrease across the embayment while IG waves are enhanced. Despite its exclusion of gravity-band swash, XB-SB is able to accurately reproduce both the large-scale hydrodynamics-wave heights and mean water levels across the 30 × 10 km embayment; and the local morphodynamics-steep post-storm dune profile and washover deposit. These findings show that the contribution of IG waves to dune overwash along the bay is significant and highlight the need for any method or model to consider IG waves when applied to similar environments. As many phase-averaged numerical models that are typically used for large-scale coastal applications exclude IG waves, XB-SB may prove to be a suitable alternative.

Original languageEnglish
Article number205
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Marine Science and Engineering
Volume7
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Coastal flooding
  • Combined field experiment and numerical modeling
  • Dune erosion
  • Infragravity waves
  • Overwash
  • Wave run-up
  • XBeach

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Contribution of infragravity waves to run-up and overwash in the pertuis breton embayment (France)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this