Sand Bed Roughness in the Nearshore, COAST 3D Experiment, Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands

Abstract

Sand bed roughness was measured in the near shore during a variety of hydrodynamic conditions using an array of seven 1 MHZ sonar altimeters mounted on the WESP (an amphibious vehicle used for measuring large-scale bathymetry) during the COAST 3D Experiment 1998, at Egrnond aan Zee, The Netherlands. Corollary waves were modeled using the Thronton and Guza (1983) wave transformation model. Wave height and current measurements were made in the surf zone using pressure sensors and electromagnetic current meters, and offshore wave heights were measured using an advectional wave-rider buoy. Measurements of sand bed roughness showed patterns similar to those observed by Clifton et al. (1971), but are highly variable both spatially and temporally with dependence on large scale morphology and wave and current conditions. Mobility number (Psi) calculated from the modeled wave field and also from measured currents revealed that roughness is a function of Psi. Roughness was observed to be highly variable at low Psi (< 100) calculated from the modeled wave heights. As Psi increased (100-150), roughness decreased gradually, but was still highly variable. As PSI reached values greater than 150, roughness was restricted to the lowest observed values (< 3 cm) implying planar beds under sheet flow conditions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA380327

Entities

People

  • Robert L. Kendall

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustics
  • Altimeters
  • Boundary Layer
  • California
  • Grain Size
  • High Energy
  • Marine Geology
  • Measurement
  • Mobility
  • Oceanography
  • Offshore
  • Regions
  • Sedimentation
  • Shores
  • Three Dimensional
  • Two Dimensional
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Fluid Dynamics.