This paper studies hydrodynamic and morphodynamic field measurements of two storms with dune erosion in the swash-dune collision regime. It analyses (a) the behavior and change of the total dune profile over the course of both storms (b) the erosion rate at the dune base, (c) the slumping frequency, and (d) the volumes of individual slumps. The erosion rate at the dune base shows a strong positive correlation with the square of the total water levels that were exceeded for 2% of the time, recorded approximately 5–6 m in front of the dune face (r = 0.91). Individual slumping events occurred when nearly all sediments from previous slumps at the dune base were transported away from the dune. A strong positive correlation was found between the time between two consecutive slumps, and the volume of the first slump divided by the mean erosion rate between the two slumps (r = 0.90). As a consequence, smaller slumps were followed more rapidly by a new slump than larger slumps, under identical erosion rates. The majority of the slumping events occurred after the last wave impact before a slumping event, when the instantaneous water level in front of the dune was still retreating. No clear process based on the incident hydrodynamics could be identified that determined the size of individual slumps. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the morphodynamic behavior of the upper dune face and dune crest is primarily steered by the erosion at the dune base.@en

In spectral wave models, the nonlinear triad source term accounts for the transfer of energy to the bound higher harmonics. This paper presents an extension to commonly used spectral models that resolves the evolution of the bound wave energy by keeping track of the energy that has been bound by the triad interactions. This extension is referred to as the bound wave evolution (BWE) model. From this, the spatial evolution of the bound wave height is obtained, which serves as a proxy for the nonlinear wave shape. The accuracy of these bound wave heights, and thus wave shape predictions, is highly dependent on the accuracy of the triad source term. Therefore, in this study, the capability of the LTA and SPB triad formulations to capture the growth of the bound wave height is evaluated. For both of these formulations, it is found that slope dependent calibration parameters are required. Overall, despite being computationally more expensive, the SPB method proves to be significantly more accurate in predicting the bound wave evolution. In the shoaling zone, where the bound wave energy is dominated by triads, the BWE model is well capable of predicting the nonlinear wave’s shape. In the surf zone, however, where a combination of triads and wave breaking control the spectral evolution, the BWE model over-predicts the bound wave height. Nevertheless, this paper shows the promising capabilities of spectral models to predict the nonlinear wave shape.@en

High-resolution wave measurements at intermediate water depth are required to improve coastal impact modeling. Specifically, such data sets are desired to calibrate and validate models, and broaden the insight on the boundary conditions that force models. Here, we present a wave data set collected in the North Sea at three stations in intermediate water depth (6–14 m) during the 2021/2022 storm season as part of the RealDune/REFLEX experiments. Continuous measurements of synchronized surface elevation, velocity and pressure were recorded at 2–4 Hz by Acoustic Doppler Profilers and an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter for a 5-month duration. Time series were quality-controlled, directional-frequency energy spectra were calculated and common bulk parameters were derived. Measured wave conditions vary from calm to energetic with 0.1–5.0 m sea-swell wave height, 5–16 s mean wave period and W-NNW direction. Nine storms, i.e., wave height beyond 2.5 m for at least six hours, were recorded including the triple storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin. This unique data set can be used to investigate wave transformation, wave nonlinearity and wave directionality for higher and lower frequencies (e.g., sea-swell and infragravity waves) to compare with theoretical and empirical descriptions. Furthermore, the data can serve to force, calibrate and validate models during storm conditions. Dataset: https://doi.org/10.4121/233f11ff-7804-4777-8b32-92c4606e56d8 Dataset License: CC-BY 4.0.

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Nearshore hydro- and morphodynamic data were collected during a field experiment under calm conditions, moderate conditions, and storm conditions with dune erosion in the collision regime. The experiment was conducted on the Sand Engine near Kijkduin, the Netherlands, from October 18, 2021, to January 7, 2022. Two artificial unvegetated dunes were constructed just above the high water line to measure storm erosion and dune impacts from higher water levels and waves. During the experiment, three storms occurred that resulted in significant erosion of both dunes. The collected hydrodynamic data include pressure sensor and velocimeter data along two cross-shore transects. The collected morphodynamic data include bathymetry and topography surveys, optical backscatter sensor data in the inner surf zone, and a continuous cross-shore line-scanning lidar data set of the dune face. This comprehensive data set can be used to (1) study relevant nearshore hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes that occur during calm conditions, moderate conditions, and storm conditions with dune erosion in the collision regime, and (2) validate existing dune erosion models.@en

Storm conditions can lead to excessive dune erosion with potential floods as a consequence. Barrier islands and low-lying countries protected by dunes are especially vulnerable to dune erosion. To properly assess the risks these areas face, a clear understanding of the physical processes during dune erosion is required. One of such processes is the effect of wave obliquity on sediment transport in the surf zone. Classic dune erosion models assume that dune erosion volumes decrease under oblique wave attack, because the time-averaged cross-shore undertow decreases in magnitude and with that offshore directed sediment transport decreases (Steetzel, 1993). More recent process-based erosion models predict an increase in erosion quantities, because the generated longshore currents increase surf zone sediment concentrations, and with that offshore directed sediment transport increases (Den Heijer, 2013). The main objective of this study is to analyse the effect of wave obliquity on dune erosion through a field experiment, by quantifying the effect of the decreasing undertow but increasing alongshore current on sediment concentrations in the surf zone. @en

Changing (wind) climate might influence the magnitude, direction, and frequency of wave systems (Lobeto et al., 2021). However, in coastal engineering applications, generalized wave parameters are commonly used in climate change assessments with the risk of, for example, misrepresenting the nearshore transformation of wind-driven wave climates (Hegermiller et al., 2017). In consequence, these uncertainties in the nearshore (wind) climate will affect, amongst others, ship navigation, the implementation of marine renewable energy farms, the feasibility of coastal infrastructure and defences, or the efficiency of sandy coastal maintenance, and thus the decision-making of long-term, multidecadal coastal strategies (Rijksoverheid, 2013), especially when they are designed accounting for the Building with Nature concept (de Vriend et al., 2015). This study analyses the importance and application of considering multiple coexisting wave trains on the Dutch shoreface. @en

Currents can affect the evolution of waves in nearshore regions through altering their wavenumber and amplitude. Including the effect of ambient currents (e.g., tidal and wind-driven) on waves in phase-resolving wave models is not straightforward as it requires appropriate boundary conditions in combination with a large domain size and long simulation duration. In this paper, we extended the non-hydrostatic wave-flow model SWASH with additional terms that account for the influence of a depth-uniform ambient current on the wave dynamics, in which the current field can be taken from an external source (e.g., from observations or a circulation model). We verified the model ability by comparing predictions to results from linear theory, laboratory experiments and a spectral wave model that accounts for wave interference effects. With this extension, the model was able to account for current-induced changes to the wave field (i.e., changes to the wave amplitude, length and direction) due to following and opposing currents, and two classical examples of sheared currents (a jet-like current and vortex ring). Furthermore, the model captured the wave dynamics in the presence of strong opposing currents. This includes reflections of relatively small amplitude waves at the theoretical blocking point, and transmission of breaking waves beyond the theoretical blocking point for larger wave amplitudes. The proposed model extension allows phase-resolving models to more accurately and efficiently simulate the wave dynamics in coastal regions with tidal and/or wind-driven flows.

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Infragravity (IG) waves are key drivers for coastal erosion and thus need to be properly included in process-based modelling of coastal hazards. Uncertainties remain regarding the offshore boundary conditions for these long waves. Typically, only bound IG waves are included at the boundary, which means that the possible contribution of free IG waves, such as those radiated from distant coastlines, is neglected. Recent studies however suggest that incoming free IG waves could be significant, particularly in semi-enclosed basins such as the North Sea where they could contribute to coastal hazards (e.g., Reniers et al., 2021, Rijnsdorp et al. 2021). The objective of this work is to improve the understanding of the incoming IG wave field along the Dutch coast. We will quantify how bound and free IG waves develop in intermediate water depths and assess in which conditions (onshore directed) free IG waves become significant.@en

A field experiment to study dune erosion was conducted on the Sand Engine near Kijkduin, the Netherlands, from November 7th 2021 to January 7th 2022. Two artificial unvegetated dunes were constructed near the high water line, and experienced significant erosion through avalanching during three storms. This paper aims to identify what drives dune erosion through avalanching by using the collected data and equilibrium theory. Results suggest that the cumulative volume eroded through avalanching during a single high water is positively correlated with the profile mismatch between the pre-storm profile and a ‘storm equilibrium profile’, described by a 2/3rd power law, an empirical coefficient A, and the total water level. This mismatch is quantified by calculating the area integral of the profile that is acquired when the upper 35 m of the pre-storm profile is subtracted from the upper 35 m of the equilibrium profile. Avalanching commences when this mismatch becomes larger than approximately 0, after which 1 m3/m of sediment erodes from the dune face for every 3 m3/m mismatch. In addition, during one event avalanching occurred even though the elevation of the total water level did not exceed the initial elevation of the dune toe. This implies that a total water level that exceeds the initial elevation of the dune toe is not a requisite for avalanching and a collision regime to occur, which contradicts conventional definitions of dune erosion regimes. These results have implications on risk assessment of storm conditions on dune erosion.@en

The present paper reports on a field experiment performed over a shallow, roughness-varying barrier reef at Maupiti island, French Polynesia. The spectral wave energy balance is examined, outside the breaking zone and accounting for non-linear transfers and mean current, to estimate the wave friction factor. This latter varies from 0.05 to 4, with dependence on the ratio between near-bed orbital amplitude and roughness height well predicted by an adjusted parameterization from Madsen (1995). The present results are discussed with respect to other field data recovered on coral and rocky grounds.

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Storm conditions can lead to excessive dune erosion with potential floods as a consequence. Barrier islands and low-lying countries protected by dunes are especially vulnerable to dune erosion. To properly assess the risks these areas face, a clear understanding of the physical processes during dune erosion is required. An international field experiment was conducted to study dune erosion during storm surges from November 6 2021 until January 6 2022. on the Sand Engine. During the Realdune/Reflex experiment, two prototype un-vegetated dunes of 5.5 m high and 150 m long were built just above the high waterline. Due to a different shoreline orientation and nearshore bathymetry, these dunes eroded differently during moderate storm conditions. 3 storms were captured during the campaign. This abstract presents preliminary results of morphodynamic change during these 3 storms, by means of profile changes and erosion volumes.@en

The prediction of wave runup, as well as its components, time-averaged setup and the time-varying swash, is a key element of coastal storm hazard assessments, as wave runup controls the transitions between morphodynamic response types such as dune erosion and overwash, and the potential for flooding by wave overtopping. While theoretically able to simulate the dominant low-frequency swash, previous studies using the infragravity-wave–resolving model XBeach (XBSB) have shown an underestimation of the observed swash variance and wave runup, which was in part related to the absence of incident-band swash motions in the model. Here, we use an incident-band wave-resolving, non-hydrostatic version of the XBeach model (XBNH) to simulate wave runup observed during the SandyDuck '97 experiment on an intermediate–reflective sandy beach. The results show that the XBNH model describes wave runup and the individual setup and swash components well. We subsequently examine differences in wave runup prediction between the XBSB and XBNH models and find that the XBNH model is a better predictor of wave runup than XBSB for this beach, which is due to better predictions of both the incident-band and infragravity-band swash. For a range of beach states from reflective to dissipative it is shown that incident-band swash is underestimated by XBSB relative to XBNH, in particular for reflective conditions. Infragravity-band swash is shown to be lower in XBSB than XBNH for most conditions, including dissipative conditions for which the mean difference is 16% of the deep water wave height. The difference in infragravity-band swash in XBNH relative to XBSB is shown to mainly be the result of processes occurring outside the swash zone, but approximately 15% of the difference is caused by explicitly resolving incident-band wave motions within the swash zone, such as swash-swash interactions, which inherently cannot be simulated by wave-averaged models.

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Meteotsunami waves can be triggered by atmospheric disturbances accompanying tropical cyclone rainbands (TCRs) before, during, and long after a tropical cyclone (TC) makes landfall. Due to a paucity of high-resolution field data along open coasts during TCs, relatively little is known about the atmospheric forcing that generate and resonantly amplify these ocean waves, nor their coastal impact. This study links high-resolution field measurements of sea level and air pressure from Hurricane Harvey (2017) with a numerical model to assess the potential for meteotsunami generation by sudden changes in air pressure accompanying TCRs. Previous studies, through the use of idealized models, have suggested that wind is the dominant forcing mechanism for TCR-induced meteotsunami with negligible contributions from air pressure. Our model simulations show that large air pressure perturbations (∼1–3 mbar) can generate meteotsunamis that are similar in period (∼20 min) and amplitude (∼0.2 m) to surf zone observations. The measured air pressure disturbances were often short in wavelength, which necessitates a numerical model with high temporal and spatial resolution to simulate meteotsunami triggered by this mechanism. Sensitivity analysis indicates that air pressure forcing can produce meteotsunami with amplitudes O(0.5 m) and large spatial extents, but model results are sensitive to atmospheric factors, including model uncertainties (length, forward translation speed, and trajectory of the air pressure disturbance), as well as oceanographic factors (storm surge). The present study provides observational and numerical evidence that suggest that air pressure perturbations likely play a larger role in meteotsunami generation by TCRs than previously identified.

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To calculate tsunami forces on coastal structures it is of great importance to determine the shape of the tsunami front reaching the coast. Based on literature reviews, analytical reasoning,video footage, and numerical modelling it is concluded that both the continental shelf slope and the bay geometry have a significant influence on the transformation of a tsunami wave near the coastline. After conducting 1D and 2DH wave simulations, a distinction is made between three types of tsunami waves; a non-breaking front (surging), a breaking front and an undular bore breaking front. Tsunami waves transform into these three wave types over a steep continental shelf, an intermediate sloped continental shelf, and a gentle sloped continental shelf, respectively. A new tsunami surf-similarityparameter is proposed to quantitatively predict the type of wave at the coastline, which was validated based on observations during the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami.@en

High quality laboratory measurements of nearshore waves and morphology change at, or near prototype-scale are essential to support new understanding of coastal processes and enable the development and validation of predictive models. The DynaRev experiment was completed at the GWK large wave flume over 8 weeks during 2017 to investigate the response of a sandy beach to water level rise and varying wave conditions with and without a dynamic cobble berm revetment, as well as the resilience of the revetment itself. A large array of instrumentation was used throughout the experiment to capture: (1) wave transformation from intermediate water depths to the runup limit at high spatio-temporal resolution, (2) beach profile change including wave-by-wave changes in the swash zone, (3) detailed hydro and morphodynamic measurements around a developing and a translating sandbar.

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Coastal safety assessments with wave-resolving storm impact models require a proper offshore description for the incoming infragravity (IG) waves. This boundary condition is generally obtained by assuming a local equilibrium between the directionally-spread incident sea-swell wave forcing and the bound IG waves. The contribution of the free incident IG waves is thus ignored. Here, in-situ observations of IG waves with wave periods between 100 s and 200 s at three measurement stations in the North Sea in water depths of O(30) m are analyzed to explore the potential contribution of the free and bound IG waves to the total IG wave height for the period from 2010 to 2018. The bound IG wave height is computed with the equilibrium theory of Hasselmann using the measured frequency-directional sea-swell spectra as input. The largest IG waves are observed in the open sea with a maximum significant IG wave height of O(0.3) m at 32 m water depth during storm Xaver (December 2013) with a concurrent significant sea-swell wave height in excess of 9 m. Along the northern part of the Dutch coast, this maximum has reduced to O(0.2) m at a water depth of 28 m with a significant sea-swell wave height of 7 m and to O(0.1) m at the most southern location at a water depth of 34 m with a significant sea-swell wave height of 5 m. These appreciable IG wave heights in O(30) m water depth represent a lower bound for the expected maximum IG wave heights given the fact that in the present analysis only a fraction of the full IG frequency range is considered. Comparisons with the predicted bound IG waves show that these can contribute substantially to the observed total IG wave height during storm conditions. The ratio between the predicted bound-and observed total IG variance ranges from 10% to 100% depending on the location of the observations and the timing during the storm. The ratio is typically high at the peak of the storm and is lower at both the onset and waning of the storm. There is significant spatial variability in this ratio between the stations. It is shown that differences in the directional spreading can play a significant role in this. Furthermore, the observed variability along the Dutch coast, with a substantially decreased contribution of the bound IG waves in the south compared to the northern part of the Dutch coast, are shown to be partly related to changes in the mean sea-swell wave period. For the southern part of the Dutch coast this corresponds to an increased difference with the typically assumed equilibrium boundary condition although it is not clear how much of the free IG-energy is onshore directed barring more sophisticated observations and/or modeling.

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Waves are important drivers for reef hydrodynamics, and therefore strongly contribute to flooding over reef-lined coasts. While high-frequency waves are largely dissipated when they propagate over the reef flat due to breaking and friction, low-frequency (LF) waves are generally able to reach the back-reef beach. There, they can reflect and form (quasi-) standing wave patterns, which under resonant conditions can lead to disproportionally high run-up on the beach (e.g., Pequignet et al., 2009; Gawehn et al., 2016). The probability of this phenomenon is expected to increase due to sea-level rise (e.g., Pequignet et al., 2009). In this study, we numerically investigate long wave resonance and the processes enhancing or limiting the resonant amplification of long waves over the reef flat. Besides the role of frictional dissipation (e.g., Pomeroy et al. 2012), we investigate how the nonlinear transformation of long waves influences the amplification rate.@en

Infragravity (IG) waves are expected to contribute significantly to coastal flooding and sediment transport during hurricane overwash, yet the dynamics of these low-frequency waves during hurricane impact remain poorly documented and understood. This paper utilizes hydrodynamic measurements collected during Hurricane Harvey (2017) across a low-lying barrier-island cut (Texas, U.S.A.) during sea-to-bay directed flow (i.e., overwash). IG waves were observed to propagate across the island for a period of five hours, superimposed on and depth modulated by very-low frequency storm-driven variability in water level (5.6 min to 2.8 h periods). These sea-level anomalies are hypothesized to be meteotsunami initiated by tropical cyclone rainbands. Estimates of IG energy flux show that IG energy was largely reduced across the island (79-86%) and the magnitude of energy loss was greatest for the lowest-frequency IG waves (<0.01 Hz). Using multitaper bispectral analysis, it is shown that, during overwash, nonlinear triad interactions on the sea-side of the barrier island result in energy transfer from the low-frequency IG peak to bound harmonics at high IG frequencies (>0.01 Hz). Assuming this pattern of nonlinear energy exchange persists across the wide and downward sloping barrier-island cut, it likely contributes to the observed frequency-dependence of cross-barrier IG energy losses during this relatively low surge event (<1 m)

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The nonlinear wave shape, expressed by skewness and asymmetry, can be calculated from surface elevation or pressure time series using bispectral analysis. Here, it is shown that the same analysis technique can be used to calculate the bound superharmonic wave height. Using measured near-bed pressures from three different field experiments, it is demonstrated that there is a clear relationship between this bound wave height and the nonlinear wave shape, independent of the measurement time and location. This implies that knowledge on the spatially varying bound wave height can be used to improve wave shape-induced sediment transport predictions. Given the frequency-directional sea-swell wave spectrum, the bound wave height can be predicted using second order wave theory. This paper shows that in relatively deep water, where conditions are not too nonlinear, this theory can accurately predict the bispectrally estimated bound superharmonic wave height. However, in relatively shallow water, the mismatch between observed and predicted bound wave height increases significantly due to wave breaking, strong currents, and increased wave nonlinearity. These processes are often included in phase-averaged wind-wave models that predict the evolution of the frequency-directional spectrum over variable bathymetry through source terms in a wave action balance, including the transfer of energy to bound super harmonics. The possibility to calculate and compare with the observed bound super harmonic wave height opens the door to improved model predictions of the bound wave height, nonlinear wave shape and associated sediment transport in large-scale morphodynamic models at low additional computational cost.

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Sous, D.; Tissier, M.; Bouchette, F.; Dodet, G., and Rey, V., 2020. Extreme wave events on barrier reefs: A driver for critical regime? In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 654-658. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. This paper describes the hydrodynamic regimes reached over barrier reefs during extreme wave events. The study is based on a combined approach relying, on one hand, on an extensive in-situ experiment over the Ouano reef-lagoon system, New Caledonia and, on the other hand, on wave-resolving numerical modeling.

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