1,720,979 research outputs found
Video observations of rip currents on an embayed beach
No full textRip currents and their interaction with waves and underwater morphology are still poorly understood. This study presents a conceptual model demonstrating how rip channels respond to changes in wave conditions, focusing on wave energy and wave event duration. Past attempts to relate rip channels to wave conditions have not resulted in good relationships between rip characteristics (e.g. rip spacing) and waves. In order to address this problem, a 3.3 year rip channel data set was obtained using an improved computer-based technique to locate rips from video imagery. In this study we show how the scale of rip channels (i.e. cross-shore extent ), previous wave conditions and the duration of high wave events determine how rip channels will evolve. Observations of six events when rip channels changed their spatial configuration are used to create a conceptual model for how rip channels respond to changes in the wave conditions. When rip channels are small in relation to the wave energy, these rips are more likely than larger rips (extending less than ~70m cross-shore) to evolve. Conversely when rip channels are large in relation to the wave energy, these rips are less likely to evolve than smaller rips (extending more than ~80 m cross-shore)
Observations of rip channels, sandbar-shoreline coupling and beach rotation at Tairua beach, New Zealand
No full textInterannual wave climate variations along the north east coast of New Zealand have caused significant changes to the erosional state of many of the popular tourist beaches. These changes threaten property, ruin expensive and labour-intensive dune plantings and destabilise walkways. The alongshore spatial and temporal variation of erosion can, however, not always be directly dependant on the variability in the wave climate. The response appears to be dependant on the alongshore extent of the beach and the existence of headlands. This work takes a 3.4 year data-base of rip channel location, sandbar position and shoreline position to quantify the patterns that occur on a headland-controlled embayed beach. Findings show that when wave events had a strong alongshore component, the alongshore bar and shoreline rotated and three dominant, persistent, rip channels developed on the end of the beach at which both the shoreline and barline were more seaward. This pattern where the beach rotated in one direction occurred on three occasions: at the beginning of the dataset (early 1999), during the persistent small storms during the winter of 2000, and in the other direction during the large storm in mid 2001. The rotation events were clearly related to the dominance of northward versus southward alongshore flux events over 3500 J/m2. These results show that on embayed beaches, the alongshore wave energy flux is pivotal in controlling shoreline erosion and the severity and location of rip channels
Modeling the morphodynamic response of tidal embayments to sea-level rise
No full textSea-level rise has a strong influence on tidal systems, and a major focus of climate change effect studies is to predict the future state of these environmental systems. Here, we used a model to simulate the morphological evolution of tidal embayments and to explore their response to a rising sea level. The model was first used to reproduce the formation of channels and intertidal flats under a stable mean water level in an idealised and initially unchannelled tidal basin. A gradual rise in sea level was imposed once a well-developed channel network had formed. Simulations were conducted with different sea-level rise rates and tidal ranges. Sea-level rise forced headward erosion of the tidal channels, driving a landward expansion of the channel network and channel development in the previously non-inundated part of the basin. Simultaneously, an increase in channel drainage width in the lower part of the basin occurred and a decrease in the overall fraction of the basin occupied by channels could be observed. Sea-level rise thus altered important characteristics of the tidal channel network. Some intertidal areas were maintained despite a rising sea level. However, the size, shape, and location of the intertidal areas changed. In addition, sea-level rise affected the exchange of sediment between the different morphological elements. A shift from exporting to importing sediment as well as a reinforcement of the existing sediment export was observed for the simulations performed here. Sediment erosion in the inlet and the offshore transport of sediment was enhanced, resulting in the expansion of the ebb-tidal delta. Our model results further emphasise that tidal embayments can exhibit contrasting responses to sea-level rise.<br/
A numerical model to simulate the formation and subsequent evolution of tidal channel networks
No full textWe present a numerical model that simulates morphological change as a result of the interactions between hydrodynamics, sediment transport and bed elevation change. Numerical simulations indicate that these morphodynamic interactions can lead to the initiation of tidal channels and potentially give rise to large-scale channel networks. We perform a sensitivity analysis to show how model outcome is sensitive to the numerical scheme adopted, hydrodynamic and morphological time-steps, and initial bathymetry. Furthermore, the formation of tidal channels and intertidal areas affects both the large-scale flow patterns, as well as the asymmetry between flood- and ebb-tidal currents<br/
Modelling the effects of tidal range and initial bathymetry on the morphological evolution of tidal embayments
No full textTidal embayments are characterized by a wide variety of landscape features, often including either complex tidal channel networks or extensive flood-tidal deltas. The origin of these features and the influence of hydrodynamic drivers and initial geological setting on their long-term characteristics are essentially unexplored. A model was applied to simulate the long-term morphological evolution of tidal embayments, with the purpose of providing insight into the environmental conditions that lead to the differences in tidal embayment morphology. Numerical simulations indicated that the interaction between hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and the evolving topography gives rise to the formation of channel networks. The tidal range and the depth of the initially unchannelized tidal basin controlled the way in which the morphology evolved and determined the timescale over which channels and intertidal areas developed. Channel network formation occurred more rapidly when the tidal range increased and/or when the initial basin depth decreased. Tidal basins with a large initial depth showed the development of a flood-tidal delta and for these deep basins channel incision could remain absent over long timescales. Both tidal range and initial bathymetry affected final basin hypsometry and channel network characteristics, including the channel density and the fraction of the basin occupied by the channels. All the simulated morphologies, with different combinations of the tidal range and depth of the basin, evolved towards a state of less morphodynamic activity for which the relative intertidal area was proportional to the ratio of tidal amplitude to basin depth<br/
On the ecogeomorphological feedbacks that control tidal channel network evolution in a sandy mangrove setting
No full textAn ecomorphodynamic model was developed to study how Avicennia marina mangroves influence channel network evolution in sandy tidal embayments. The model accounts for the effects of mangrove trees on tidal flow patterns and sediment dynamics. Mangrove growth is in turn controlled by hydrodynamic conditions. The presence of mangroves was found to enhance the initiation and branching of tidal channels, partly because the extra flow resistance in mangrove forests favours flow concentration, and thus sediment erosion in between vegetated areas. The enhanced branching of channels is also the result of a vegetation-induced increase in erosion threshold. On the other hand, this reduction in bed erodibility, together with the soil expansion driven by organic matter production, reduces the landward expansion of channels. The ongoing accretion in mangrove forests ultimately drives a reduction in tidal prism and an overall retreat of the channel network. During sea-level rise, mangroves can potentially enhance the ability of the soil surface to maintain an elevation within the upper portion of the intertidal zone, while hindering both the branching and headward erosion of the landward expanding channels. The modelling results presented here indicate the critical control exerted by ecogeomorphological interactions in driving landscape evolution
The role of biomorphodynamics in estuarine evolution in New Zealand
No full textBiomorphodynamic interactions, the feedback loops that operate between physical processes, biology and morphology, affect the long-term evolution of estuaries. This paper outlines how consideration of such interactions and implementation through innovative modelling techniques can become the next crucial step needed to advance understanding of estuarine evolution
Onshore sandbar migration at Tairua Beach (New Zealand): numerical simulations and field measurements
No full textWe observed the onshore migration (3.5 m/day) of a nearshore sandbar at Tairua Beach, New Zealand during 4 days of low-energy wave conditions. The morphological observations, together with concurrent measurements of waves and suspended sediment concentrations, were used to test a coupled, wave-averaged, cross-shore model. Because of the coarse bed material and the relatively low-energy conditions, the contribution of the suspended transport to the total transport was predicted and observed to be negligible. The model predicted the bar to move onshore because of the feedback between near-bed wave skewness, bedload, and the sandbar under weakly to non-breaking conditions at high tide. The predicted bathymetric evolution contrasts, however, with the observations that the bar migrated onshore predominantly at low tide. Also, the model flattened the bar, while in the observations the sandbar retained its steep landward-facing flank. A comparison between available observations and numerical simulations suggests that onshore propagating surf zone bores in very shallow water (< 0.25 m) may have been responsible for most of the observed bar behaviour. These processes are missing from the applied model and, given that the observed conditions can be considered typical of very shallow sandbars, highlight a priority for further field study and model development. The possibility that the excess water transported by the bores across the bar was channelled alongshore to near-by rip-channels further implies that traditional cross-shore measures to judge the applicability of a cross-shore morphodynamic model may be misleading.<br/
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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