Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The role of frequency spread on swash dynamics

  • Original
  • Published:
Geo-Marine Letters Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The swash zone is the most dynamic part of the upper beach. Here breaking waves interact with sediments, leading to beach morphodynamics, and eventually to coastal erosion and flooding. An understanding of swash characteristics such as the vertical excursion and mean swash period is of vital importance to identify and predict the possible impact of storms in coastal areas. The prediction of these swash parameters is commonly based on bulk offshore spectral wave parameters and the beach slope, the latter being expensive to monitor. In this study, a dataset from an intermediate beach on the south-west coast of Sylt, Germany was derived to analyze swash characteristics. Field observations show high variability in swash excursion even for similar incident wave conditions if expressed by bulk parameters. Here, the role of frequency spread was further investigated. An inverse relationship between swash frequency spread and swash characteristics (excursion and mean period) was identified. A parameterization for the swash frequency spread based on incident wave parameters is proposed, and a new approach to obtain total swash excursion and mean swash period is developed. The parameterization is validated using two independent swash datasets (Duck 1982 and Duck 1994) and compared to the predictive ability of other parameterizations. It is highlighted that common parameterizations based on peak period do not perform well in characterizing incident conditions when bi-modal spectra are present. The choice of the right descriptor for wave periods may have a more pronounced influence on the predictive skill than the inclusion of the beach slope.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aagaard T, Holm J (1989) Digitization of wave run-up using video records. J Coast Res:547–551

  • Almar R, Almeida P, Blenkinsopp C, Catalan P (2016) Surf-swash interactions on a low-tide terraced beach. J Coast Res 75(sp1):348–353

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almar R, Nicolae Lerma A, Castelle B, Scott T (2018) On the influence of reflection over a rhythmic swash zone on surf zone dynamics. Ocean Dyn 68:899–909

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldock TE, Holmes P. (1999) Simulation and prediction of swash oscillations on a steep beach. Coast eng 36(3):, 219–242

  • Blossier B, Bryan KR, Daly CJ, Winter C (2017) Spatial and temporal scales of shoreline morphodynamics derived from video camera observations for the island of Sylt, German Wadden Sea. Geo-Mar Lett 37(2):111–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-016-0461-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brocchini M, Baldock TE (2008) Recent advances in modeling swash zone dynamics: influence of surf-swash interaction on nearshore hydrodynamics and morphodynamics. Rev Geophys 46(3):1–21. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006RG000215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryan KR, Coco G (2010) Observations of nonlinear runup patterns on plane and rhythmic beach morphology. J Geophys Res 115(August 2009):1–16. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BSH (2019) https://www.bsh.de/DE/DATEN/Seegang/seegang_node.html accessed on 1.5.2019

  • Cartwright DE, Longuet-Higgins MS (1956). The statistical distribution of the maxima of a random function. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Math Phys Sci 237(1209):, 212–232

  • Cohn N, Ruggiero P (2016) The influence of seasonal to interannual nearshore profile variability on extreme water levels: modeling wave runup on dissipative beaches. Coast Eng 115:79–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2016.01.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elgar S, Guza RT, Raubenheimer B, Herbers THC, Gallagher EL (1997) Spectral evolution of shoaling and breaking waves on a barred beach. J Geophys Res Oceans 102(C7):15797–15805

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goda Y (1970) Numerical experiments on wave statistics with spectral simulation. Rep Port Harb Res Inst 9:3–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomes da Silva PG, Medina R, González M, Garnier R (2018) Infragravity swash parameterization on beaches: the role of the profile shape and the morphodynamic beach state. Coast Eng 136:41–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guedes RMC, Bryan KR, Coco G, Holman R (2011) The effects of tides on swash statistics on an intermediate beach. J Geophys Res 116(C4):C04008. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006660

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guedes RMC, Bryan KR, Coco G (2013) Observations of wave energy fluxes and swash motions on a low-sloping, dissipative beach. J Geophys Res Oceans 118(7):3651–3669. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrc.20267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guza RT, Feddersen F (2012) Effect of wave frequency and directional spread on shoreline runup. Geophys Res Lett 39(11)

  • Guza RT, Thornton EB (1982) Swash oscillations on a natural beach. J Geophys Res Oceans 87(C1):483–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland KT, Holman RA (1996) Field observations of beach cusps and swash motions. Mar Geol 134(1–2):77–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holman RA (1986) Extreme value statistics for wave run-up on a natural beach. Coast Eng 9(6):527–544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holman RA, Sallenger AH Jr (1985) Setup and swash on a natural beach. J Geophys Res Oceans 90(C1):945–953

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holthuijsen LH (2008) Waves in ocean and coastal waters. Cambridge University Press https://doi.org/1-4244-1484-9/08/$25.00

  • Hughes MG, Aagaard T, Baldock TE, Power HE (2014) Spectral signatures for swash on reflective, intermediate and dissipative beaches. Mar Geol 355:88–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2014.05.015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longuet-Higgins MS (1983) On the joint distribution of wave periods and amplitudes in a random wave field. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Proc R Soc Lond A Math Phys Sci 389(1797):241–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Masselink G, Puleo JA (2006) Swash-zone morphodynamics. Cont Shelf Res 26:661–680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2006.01.015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medellín G, Brinkkemper JA, Torres-Freyermuth A, Appendini CM, Mendoza ET, Salles P (2016) Run-up parameterization and beach vulnerability assessment on a barrier island: a downscaling approach. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 16(1):167–180. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-167-2016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Passarella M, Goldstein EB, De Muro S, Coco G (2018) The use of genetic programming to develop a predictor of swash excursion on sandy beaches. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 18(2):599–611. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-599-2018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peláez-Zapata DS, Montoya RD, Osorio AF (2018) Numerical study of run-up oscillations over fringing reefs. J Coast Res 345:1–16. https://doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-17-00057.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poate TG, McCall RT, Masselink G (2016) A new parameterisation for runup on gravel beaches. Coast Eng 117:176–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2016.08.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polidoro A, Dornbusch U, Pullen T (2013). Improved maximum run-up formula for mixed beaches based on field data. In From Sea to Shore–Meeting the Challenges of the Sea: (Coasts, Marine Structures and Breakwaters 2013) (pp. 389-398). ICE Publishing.

  • Puleo JA, Torres-Freyermuth A (2016) The second international workshop on swash-zone processes. Coast Eng 115:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roelvink D, McCall R, Mehvar S, Nederhoff K, Dastgheib A (2018) Improving predictions of swash dynamics in XBeach: the role of groupiness and incident-band runup. Coast Eng 134:103–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2017.07.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruessink BG, Kleinhans MG, Van den Beukel PGL (1998) Observations of swash under highly dissipative conditions. J Geophys Res Oceans 103(C2):3111–3118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruju A, Lara JL, Michallet H, Sénéchal N, Losada IJ (2013, June). Transient swash motions on a gently sloping beach. In Proceedings Coastal Dynamics.

  • Sallenger AH (2000) Storm impact scale for Barrier Islands. J Coast Res 16(3):890–895. https://doi.org/10.2307/4300099

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senechal N, Coco G, Bryan KR, Holman RA (2011) Wave runup during extreme storm conditions. J Geophys Res Oceans 116(7):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006819

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senechal N, Coco G, Plant N, Bryan KR, Brown J, MacMahan JHM (2018). Field Observations of Alongshore Runup Variability Under Dissipative Conditions in the Presence of a Shoreline Sandwave. J Geophys Res Oceans 123(9):, 6800–6817. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014109

  • Stockdon HF, Holman R a, Howd P a, Sallenger AH (2006) Empirical parameterization of setup, swash, and runup. Coast Eng 53(7):573–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2005.12.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Meer JW, Janssen JPFM (1994) Wave run-up and wave overtopping at dikes and revetments. Delft Hydraulics publication no. 485

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG) for hosting the camera system in the COSYNA framework and for the wave data which was obtained from http://codm.hzg.de/codm/. Bathymetric data was provided by Landesbetrieb für Küstenschutz, Nationalpark und Meeresschutz Schleswig-Holstein. Jennifer Montaño acknowledges the Uni-Bremen bridge scholarship for prospective PhD students. We thank Alec Torres-Freyermuth and the anonymous reviewers for valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript.

Funding

This study has been supported by the DFG-Research Center/Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean in the Earth System.”

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Jennifer Montaño

  2. Sede Medellín-Facultad de Minas-Departamento de Geociencias y Medio Ambiente, Grupo de Investigación OCEANICOS, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Cr. 80 # 65 -223, M2, 209, Medellín, Colombia

    Jennifer Montaño & Andres F. Osorio

  3. MARUM, Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Brice Blossier

  4. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel-Institute of Geosciences, Otto-Hahn-Platz 1, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Christian Winter

Authors
  1. Jennifer Montaño
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Brice Blossier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Andres F. Osorio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christian Winter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer Montaño.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

Previous run-up parameterizations used in this study

Stockdon et al., (2006)

$$ S=\sqrt{S_{\mathrm{in}}^2+{S}_{\mathrm{ig}}^2} $$

Incident swash excursion is calculated as \( {S}_{\mathrm{in}}=0.75\beta \sqrt{H_0{L}_0} \) and swash excursion at the infragravity band is calculated as \( {S}_{\mathrm{ig}}=0.06\sqrt{H_0{L}_0} \).

Passarella et al. (2018)

The two equations proposed by Passarella et al. 2018 were applied in this study. However, only those obtained with P18-[1] are shown in the figures. The results obtained with P18-[2] were similar to those obtained with P18-[1].

Passarella 18-[1]:

$$ S=12.314\beta +0.087{T}_p-0.047\frac{T_p}{H_0} $$

Passarella 18-[2]:

$$ S=146.737{\beta}^2+\frac{T_p{H}_0^3}{5.8+10.595{H}_0^3}-4397.838{\beta}^4 $$

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Montaño, J., Blossier, B., Osorio, A.F. et al. The role of frequency spread on swash dynamics. Geo-Mar Lett 40, 243–254 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-019-00591-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-019-00591-1

Search

Navigation