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Detailed measurements of bed level motions and sheet flow processes in the lower swash are presented. The measurements are obtained during a large-scale wave flume experiment focusing on swash zone sediment transport induced by bichromatic waves. A new instrument (CCM + ) provides detailed phase-averaged measurements of sheet flow concentrations, particle velocities, and bed level evolution during a complete swash cycle. The bed at the lower swash location shows a clear pattern of rapid erosion during the early uprush and progressive accretion during the middle backwash phase. Sheet flow occurs during the early uprush and mid and late backwash phases. Sheet flow sediment fluxes during these instances are highest in the pick-up layer. Sediment entrainment from the pick-up layer occurs not only during instances of high horizontal shear velocities but also in occurrence of wave–backwash interactions. As opposed to oscillatory sheet flow, the pivot point elevation of the sheet flow layer is time-varying during a swash event. Moreover, the upper sheet flow layer concentrations do not mirror the concentrations in the pick-up layer. Both differences suggest that in the lower swash zone the dynamics of the upper sheet flow layer are not only controlled by vertical sediment exchange (such as in oscillatory sheet flows) but are strongly affected by horizontal advection processes induced by the non-uniformity of the flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This work presents a detailed analysis of suspended sediment concentration measured in the inner surf and swash zone under large-scale wave flume conditions. Controlled hydrodynamic conditions tested in the laboratory corresponded to highly energetic (erosive) conditions. Hydrodynamic, bottom evolution and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) data were acquired at several locations within the inner surf and the swash zone. A limited number of hydrodynamic type of events have been identified to induce important suspended sediment concentrations. These hydrodynamic conditions include incident broken wave, wave capture, weak and strong wave backwash interactions or pure backwash events. The acquired data showed the variability of the suspended sediment concentration pattern depending on the cross-shore location from which measurements were taken. This suspension mechanism also varied depending on the time series characteristic. There was a clear predominance of incident wave/bore as a forcing term in the surf zone, whilst the SSC measured in the swash zone showed that wave-swash interaction controls the most significant events. Finally, the importance of a wave-by-wave analysis is highlighted in this study. It was observed that despite the fact that most of the time series induce profile accretion in the mid and upper swash area, only one or two swash events are able to erode extensive parts of the beach and change the final output of the entire time record from accretion to erosion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present study presents a database of hydrodynamic properties and suspended sediment concentration collected within the inner surf and swash zones aiming to improve the current understanding of the sediment dynamics occurring within the beach area closest to the shoreline. Experimental measurements were conducted in a large-scale wave flume under high-energy wave conditions at three cross-shore locations, representing inner surf and swash zone conditions. 47 tests, each one comprising 500 wave trains with identical wave conditions were measured. Obtained hydrodynamic properties and suspended sediment concentrations were observed to be highly repeatable between successive tests despite the sediment suspension event-like pattern, the beach evolution between tests, and the apparent randomness of the sediment suspension phenomenon. The hydrodynamics close to the shoreline (inner surf and swash zone) is dominated by short incident broken waves and long-wave water level oscillations induced by wave grouping. The analyzed time series of measured water surface elevation, horizontal velocity, computed Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE), and sediment concentration revealed that the suspended sediment concentration in this coastal zone does not correlate strongly with either the incident bore height, or the short-wave horizontal velocity or the TKE; in other words high/low values of these variables do not always promote high/low values of sediment suspension. In contrast, the highest suspended sediment concentrations were observed to occur by the combined action of incident bores and the trough of long-period water level oscillations. This pattern was more apparent in the inner surf than in the swash zone. High suspended sediment concentrations were also observed to coincide with negative peaks in long-wave horizontal velocity modulation resulting in enhanced negative sediment transport rates and beach erosion close to the shoreline. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]