Re-evaluation and improvement of three commonly used bulk longshore sediment transport formulas

Longshore sediment transport (LST) is one of the main drivers of beach morphology. Bulk LST formulas are routinely used in coastal management/engineering studies to assess LST rates and gradients. Over 50 years of research has resulted in several bulk LST formulas that have been tested with varying levels of rigour. In this study, the predictive skill of three of the most commonly used bulk LST formulas (CERC, Kamphuis and Bayram) is rigorously evaluated using the most extensive LST data set presently available. The calibration coefficients in the three formulas are improved using a least-squares optimization algorithm, resulting in a significant improvement in the predictive skill of all three formulas. The generality of the improved formulas is verified via the statistical methods of bootstrapping and cross-validation. While the performance of all three improved formulas is very similar, the improved Kamphuis formula performs best, followed by the improved Bayram formula.

► 3 Bulk formulas for longshore sediment transport were tested with a large data set.
► New coefficients using non-linear functions were suggested.
► The suggested new coefficients significantly improved the predictive skills.
► The generality of the new coefficients was confirmed by two methods.