Longshore transport of cobbles on a mixed sand and gravel beach, southern Hawke Bay, New Zealand

Few large-scale field measurements of longshore sediment transport have been undertaken on beaches composed of coarse sediments, in part owing to difficulties associated with measurement in energetic swash zones in which large clasts are moving. Here we present results from a field experiment in which Passive Integrated Transponder tags were used to investigate patterns of cobble transport over 8 months on a mixed sand and gravel beach on the east coast of New Zealand. The study objectives were to document rates of alongshore transport, and measure rates of cobble abrasion under field conditions. Cobble recovery rates were highly variable over the study period with 30–60% recovery at site 1 compared to much lower (0–20%) recovery rates at sites 2 and 3. Consistent uni-directional patterns of net alongshore sediment transport were observed. The median cobble transport rate was approximately 500 m over 207 days, indicating long-term net northward transport rates on the order of 2–2.5 m/day. Results highlight a number of factors, in addition to longshore energy flux, that are important for understanding the observed patterns. In particular, across-shore sediment transport during storms may have been smaller at site 1 than the other sites owing to lesser wave exposure. This is partly responsible for higher cobble recovery rates at this site and also an increased amount of time during which cobbles were able to be transported alongshore on the lower beachface. Unique to this study, results demonstrate the use of PIT tags to provide direct measurement of cobble abrasion under natural processes. Repeat weight measurement on individually tracked cobbles show that after 207 days the median loss was 11.3 g, or 1.8% of total weight. There was a general trend of abrasion increasing with net transport distance, but longshore cobble movement was highly variable ranging from 130 to 2500 m.

► PIT technology is used to track cobble movement.
► Field measurements of sediment transport on mixed sand and gravel beach.
► Tagging technology used to provide in-situ measurements of cobble abrasion.