Wave Climate and Nearshore Processes on the Mediterranean Coast of Egypt.

The climates of wave-related nearshore processes important to coastal erosion have been investigated based on analyses of wave data measured at six sites along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, spanning 0.92 to 5.25 years. Wave climates along this 900-km coastline are nearly identical in their significant wave heights, periods, and directions. The evaluated nearshore processes that depend on combinations of deep-water wave heights and periods are found to respond to seasonal changes in wave conditions. These processes include the climates of breaker heights on beaches, beach face slopes, the morphodynamic classification of beaches, swash runup elevations induced by storm waves, the depth of closure of beach profiles, and calculated sediment transport rates. The seasonal changes observed in the wave-related nearshore processes are ultimately responsible for the episodic morphologic changes identified in the beach and seabed environments of the Nile Delta. The largest storm waves measured during the study period had deep-water significant wave heights of 7.7 and 6.8 m at the Dabba and Abu Qir coastlines, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]