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Depth of Closure (DoC) calculation has been analysed for engineers and researchers during decades due to its relevant importance on marine works, such as beach nourishments or littoral defense projects. Several methods can be found in the literature related to the evaluation of DoC. However, they just focus on the bottom elevation change, leaving aside the cross-shore sediment transport issue. This work deals with all requests of the DoC definition and presents a new method based on the comparison of repetitive beach profiles. The main contribution of this research is the methodology presented to quantify the cross-shore sediment transport by the calculation of the Net Cross-shore Sediment Transport Parameter (NCSTP C). Its application to a complex area of the East Spanish coast concludes that NCSTP C values less than or equal to 10% can be considered as no significant. The differences between several criteria based on the change of the bottom elevation are also studied in order to evaluate if they are relevant for engineering works. The new methodology developed is a great advance in the knowledge of this imaginary boundary (DoC), since it allows to discriminate between different possible DoC values when applying any method based on profile surveys comparison. • New method to obtain the Depth of closure from profile surveys. • Quantification of the net cross-shore sediment transport. • 762 periods of time analysed over 22 years (1992–2014). • Five profile survey criteria have been compared. • The new method permits the selection of the DoC among several possible values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four southern California beaches were nourished with offshore sand placed as subaerial pads several meters thick, ∼ 50 m wide, and spanning between 500 and 1500 m alongshore. Three nourishments constructed with coarser than native sand, placed in 2012 at Imperial, Cardiff and Solana Beaches, elevated subaerial sand volumes for several years even when exposed to the energetic winter waves of the 2015-16 El Niño, followed by a stormy 2016-17 winter. As these relatively resilient pads were overwashed, landward tilted subaerial profiles (accretionary crowns) formed at the eroding front face of the originally flat-topped pads and pooling occurred in the backbeach. At Imperial Beach, nourishment sand helped prevent waves from directly impacting riprap fronting houses, while groundwater flooding behind the pad was observed at a location where the pad was elevated ∼ 1.6 m above the street. As the nourishments retreated, alongshore oriented spits grew downdrift from the eroding face. The alongshore displacement of the subaerial center of mass of the 2012 nourishments is positively correlated with the seasonally varying S x y (the alongshore radiation stress component). After four years, the net southward drift of the Imperial Beach nourishment contributed to the winter 2016 closure of the Tijuana River mouth and the associated hyper-polluted and anoxic estuary conditions. Nourishment impacts on sand levels on rocky reefs were not unambiguously detectable in the background of natural variability. Over several years, gains or losses in the total sand volume (integrated from the back beach to 8 m depth, over the few km alongshore survey spans) are sometimes comparable to nourishment volumes, suggesting relatively large interannual sediment fluxes across the control volume boundaries. The clearest trend in total volume is at Torrey Pines; during 16 years since the 2001 nourishment, about 300,000 m 3 of sand has been lost. If the trend continues, the thinning veneer of sand will be removed more often from the subaerial winter beach, exposing rocks and cobbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beach accretion is the natural mechanism that allows dry beaches to recover. Human response to climate change produces hardening of the coasts and the incident marine climate, which increases beach erosion produced during winter and prevents a full recovery during summer. Beach nourishments are performed all around the world to fight coastal erosion with a nature-friendly philosophy. Softer techniques as beach scraping are also widely applied. A kind of beach scraping is proposed here as an innovative nature-assisted beach enhancement technique, that aims to accelerate naturally produced sand accretion on the beach profile. It consists of mechanically ploughing the intertidal area of a beach to create ridges and furrows. Prototype-scale laboratory experiments were performed to analyse its effectiveness under controlled conditions. Seven 1 h tests having different water levels and the same initial bottom geometry and sea state conditions (H s = 0.3 m, T p = 7 s) were performed. Sea state, sand, and initial slope characteristics assured accretive conditions. Ploughed and flatbed initial slope geometries were simultaneously tested into two sub-channels of the wave flume. The results indicate that the bottom roughness is 3.57 times larger for the ploughed geometry. Consequently, wave energy dissipation is larger for the ploughed geometry, and therefore, the significant wave height at the shoreward end of the study area is 11% smaller for the ploughed geometry. This smaller wave height under the ploughed morphology leads to more accretive conditions, as observed from the measured onshore sediment transport, which is 2.9 times larger than the natural transport, and the larger accreted sediment volume in all seven test cases. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of ploughing to enhance natural beach accretion under highly probable accretion conditions. Further research is required to define the thresholds of marine conditions in which the potential of beach ploughing can be exploded. • Working with nature. • Ploughing the intertidal area of a beach enhances natural accretion. • Real scale laboratory experiments measuring sediment transport. • Mechanically ploughing increases bed roughness. • Extra wave energy dissipation is produced by ploughing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A moderate-size (344,000 m3) subaerial beach nourishment was placed in 2012 in front of flood-prone homes at Imperial Beach, California. The subaerially persistent coarser-than-native nourishment sand spread alongshore over a ∼ 4 km span. By winter 2018/19 subaerial sand volumes in front of the flood-prone homes were eroded to near pre-nourishment levels, while sand accumulated near a river mouth ∼ 1.5 km to the south. The observed alongshore patterns of post-nourishment erosion/accretion are consistent with the modeled convergence/divergence of alongshore currents driven by wave radiation stress S x y gradients associated with refraction over a relic cobble ebb shoal. The same alongshore patterns of subaerial erosion/accretion were observed in the 6 years preceding the nourishment, indicating a wave-driven erosion hotspot in front of the flood-prone homes, and an accretion hotspot near the region of river mouth migration. Over the 13-yr observation period, the river mouth migrated 600 m southward and closed in 2016, possibly owing to nourishment sand and El Niño intensified local drift convergence. The computationally efficient drift (radiation stress) gradient model uses simplified wave and surfzone dynamics, assumes proportionality between alongshore sediment transport and the radiation stress component S x y , but nevertheless captures the overall patterns of alongshore nourishment evolution and provides a framework to inform sand management. • The subaerial influence of relatively coarse beach nourishment sand spans 4 km of coast 6 years after placement. • Accretion and erosion hotspots are persistent, 6 years before and after nourishment. • A simple drift divergence model that captures refraction over an ebb shoal describes the alongshore variable sand volume trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beaches are dynamic systems characterized by frequent morphological changes due to storm events, gradients in longshore sediment transport, seasonal variations in wave climate and more. The complexity of variations in beach morphology can increase significantly after a beach nourishment, particularly when coastal structures are involved. This study investigates the impacts of a groin field, consisting of both notched and traditional groins, on the morphological evolution of a beach in Deal, New Jersey, USA. More specifically, an evaluation of the performance and specifications of the notched groins is undertaken. In 2016, the beach in Deal was nourished and three of the eight groins comprising the groin field were concurrently notched in order to promote increased movement of longshore sediment transport while maintaining a stable shoreline. The study site was monitored nine times over a period of two years (2018–2019) using Unmanned Aerial Systems Structure from Motion (UAS-SfM) photogrammetry. The near-term morphological response of the study site was evaluated by analyzing high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) and longshore sediment transport estimates based on measured wave data. The elevation change maps established that in general, the groin notching was partially successful in reducing shoreline asymmetry in consequence of sediment transport bypassing through the notches. Differences in behavior and patterns of elevation change adjacent to each individual notched groin was observed even though they were all notched according to the same specifications. While all three notched groins were effective in stabilizing the adjacent shoreline, they varied in their effectiveness at promoting longshore sediment transport through the notch. This is likely attributable to the relative location of the notched groins within the groin field and the characteristics of the post-nourishment morphological evolution; the direction of net annual longshore sediment transport at Deal beach is northward, which caused the southern areas of the study site to narrow and the northern areas of the study site to widen. Consequently, the notched groins in the wider sections of beach did not function as intended, as the notches filled in with sediment causing them to mimic the behavior of a traditional groin, including restricted longshore sediment transport and significant erosion/accretion offsets. In the narrower section of beach, the notched groin functioned as designed, such that the notch was located in the swash zone and therefore allowed bi-directional sediment transport and maintained a stable and relatively symmetrical shoreline. Thus, the notched groins performed most effectively when the notch was consistently located toward the seaward end of the swash zone. • Groin notches function optimally when the notch is located in the swash zone. • Improperly constructed notches can fill-in with sediment and behave like traditional groins. • Notch specifications can vary to account for position and uncertainty in the equilibrated beach. • Notch designs should reflect the direction and magnitude of net longshore sediment transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Numerical modeling of a beach nourishment project is conducted to enable a detailed evaluation of the processes associated with the effects of nearshore dredge pits on nourishment evolution and formation of erosion hot spots. A process-based numerical model, Delft3D, is used for this purpose. The analysis is based on the modification of existing bathymetry to simulate “what if” scenarios with/without the bathymetric features of interest. Borrow pits dredged about 30 years ago to provide sand for the nourishment project have a significant influence on project performance and formation of erosional hot spots. It was found that the main processes controlling beach response to these offshore bathymetric features were feedbacks between wave forces (roller force or alongshore component of the radiation stress), pressure gradients due to differentials in wave set-up/set-down and bed shear stress. Modeling results also indicated that backfilling of selected borrow sites showed a net positive effect within the beach fill limits and caused a reduction in the magnitude of hot spot erosion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although beach nourishment policy in the Netherlands is generally successful in maintaining the 1990 shoreline, the efficiency of nourishments at several locations along the North Sea coast is unacceptably low. These locations are identified as “erosion hotspots”. Egmond aan Zee is such a hotspot. The bathymetric longshore irregularities make this coastal stretch highly susceptible to rip currents and horizontal circulations, which transport large volumes of (nourished) sand to the sea. In 1999, an alternative nourishment design was implemented. This consisted of a shoreface nourishment at the outer bar (at 7.5-m depth) combined with a nourishment of the beach behind it. High-resolution bathymetric surveys, carried out with the WESP, revealed that the shoreface nourishment resulted in a significant shoreward migration of the outer bar during 1999–2001. After 2 years, the system started to return to its natural dynamic equilibrium and lost the positive influence of the shoreface nourishment area: shoreward movement of bars and increase of bar height, which forms the first defense line of the mainland against the sea, and positive contribution to the sand budget, which increased as a result of the nourishment. After 3 years (May 1999 to April 2002), the sediment volume still had an increase of 477,500 m3 (45% of the applied sand) relative to May 1999. The shoreface nourishment area did not have a direct effect on the beach. The shoreface nourishment area probably will have to be maintained to retain the sediment on the beach in the long run. In Egmond, the shoreface nourishment started to disappear before the sediment could reach the beach. The time scale of sediment feed to the beach zone probably is of the order of 5–10 years. The shoreface nourishment seems to function as a reef, creating a lee-side effect that influences both cross-shore and longshore sediment transport, resulting in two main hypotheses. Firstly, the longshore effect, in which large waves break at the shoreface nourishment, cause a calmer wave climate shoreward of the shoreface nourishment area and a reduction of the longshore current. The shoreface nourishment partially blocks the wave-driven longshore current. Secondly, the cross-shore effect, in which shoaling waves generate onshore transport. These hypotheses are supported by generated model results with both a process-based profile model, UNIBEST-TC, and a process-based coastal area model, DELFT3D-MOR. The UNIBEST-TC model was able to predict the detachment of the outer bar from the shoreface nourishment and, to some extent, the shoreward bar movements. In the lee of the shoreface nourishment area, the model found an increase in sediment, confirming the shielding effect of the shoreface nourishment area. The DELFT3D model found, as a result of the shoreface nourishment area, a decrease of the flow velocity and the wave height just shoreward of the shoreface nourishment area. The model was able to predict the similar trend in sedimentation/erosion pattern, although the intensities were smaller. In the lee of the shoreface nourishment area, a clear sedimentation was found. Erosion was found south and seaward of the shoreface nourishment area. The modeled profiles did not follow the measured profile changes. The separation of the shoreface nourishment from the outer bar and the shoreward migration of the bars could not be accurately modeled. Because the cross-shore transport caused by wave asymmetry is not taken into account in the standard version of DELFT3D, these results were in line with the expectations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In many places, sandy coastlines and their associated assets are at high risk of erosion and flooding, with this risk increasing under climate change and sea level rise. In this context, dynamic cobble berm revetments represent a potentially sustainable protection technique to armour sandy beaches, reduce wave runup and protect the hinterland against wave attack. However, the behaviour and performance of such structures is not well understood. The dynamic cobble berm revetment located in North Cove, WA, USA, was monitored over a spring tidal cycle in January 2019. A representative 60 m alongshore section was monitored over 10 days using 2D laser scanner (lidar) measurements, GPS ground elevation surveys, Radio Frequency Identification of individual cobbles and revetment thickness measurements. These data were used together to assess the dynamic behaviour and functionality of the revetment throughout the experiment. Over the course of the experiment, the surface elevation changed by up to ±0.5 m, and the revetment volume reduced by an average 0.67 m3/m. These changes were found to be caused by relatively large significant wave height and high water levels. The revetment demonstrated a dynamic stability and the capacity to quickly reshape under changing hydrodynamic conditions. The instrumented cobbles were transported along and cross-shore and accumulated at the toe of the revetment, but were never transported seaward of the toe. The revetment also managed to recover some of the lost volume under moderate wave conditions. The revetment behaviour was found to be influenced by variation in the cobble-sand matrix. The underlying sand dynamics – i.e. , accumulation or removal of sand within the cobbles – were found to govern the overall volume changes and were important to the overall stability of the revetment. Seven possible transport regimes were identified, and a model of the internal sand dynamics was developed. During the spring tidal cycle measured here, the revetment protected the sand scarp immediately landward and prevented flooding of the hinterland, while armouring the underlying sand. Over time, renourishment will likely be required due to longshore sediment transport, and preliminary guidelines for this and other aspects of design are suggested. • A field experiment was undertaken on a dynamic cobble berm revetment in North Cove, US. • The revetment showed a dynamic stability and a rapid adaptability to external forcing. • The water level at the toe of the structure appeared to be the primary driver of change. • A novel model highlighting the importance of internal sand dynamic was created. • Guidelines are proposed for design and nourishment of the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]