On tridimensional rip current modeling

•A tridimensional wave-current model is calibrated using coastal video data off Biscarrosse Beach.•The model shows excellent match with in situ data.•The vertical dimension is important to the rip system dynamics.•The model produces a large amount of observed Very Low Frequency motions.•Rip instabilities may be an important process for VLF generation.

Do lateral shear instabilities of nearshore circulation account for a substantial part of Very Low-Frequency (VLF) variability? If yes, it would promote stirring and mixing of coastal waters and surf-shelf exchanges. Another question is whether tridimensional transient processes are important for instability generation. An innovative modeling system with tridimensional wave-current interactions was designed to investigate transient nearshore currents and interactions between nearshore and innershelf circulations. We present here some validation of rip current modeling for the Aquitanian coast of France, using in-situ and remote video sensing. We then proceed to show the benefits of 3D versus 2D (depth-mean flow) modeling of rip currents and their low-frequency variability. It appears that a large part of VLF motions is due to intrinsic variability of the tridimensional flow. 3D models may thus provide a valuable, only marginally more expensive alternative to conventional 2D approaches that miss the vertical flow structure and its nonlinear interaction with the depth-averaged flow.