Distribution and Mechanics of Nearshore Bedforms
Abstract
To understand the physics of sediment transport by waves and currents and to use that understanding to predict the evolution of nearshore bathymetry given the nearshore fluid velocity field. A concomitant goal is to interpret the environment of deposition from the sedimentary record. These small-scale studies provide direct input to intermediate-scale understanding of morphologic evolution, in the form of sediment transport formulae; they also connect small-scale sedimentary and morphologic information to large-scale coastal evolution, via interpretation of the sedimentary record. Present objectives are to identify characteristic bedform patterns and their modes of evolution in the nearshore environment at Duck, North Carolina using sidescan sonar images obtained during the SandyDuck '97 Nearshore Field Experiment; to describe bedload transport over non-planar sediment beds, with particular application to megaripples; to generate computer simulation models for evolution of nearshore morphology; and to improve or replace the energetics-based Bagnold-Bowen-Bailard models for surf zone sediment transport (Bagnold, 1966; Bowen, 1980; Bailard, 1981).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA569403
Entities
People
- Thomas G. Drake
Organizations
- North Carolina State University