Modelling the effect of bottom sediment transport on beach profiles and wave set-up

In this paper we augment the wave-averaged mean field equations commonly used to describe wave set-up and wave-induced mean currents in the near-shore zone, with an empirical sediment flux law depending only on the wave-induced mean current and mean total depth. This model allows the bottom to evolve slowly in time, and is used to examine how sediment transport affects the beach profile and wave set-up in the surf zone. We show that the mean bottom depth in the surf zone evolves according to a simple wave equation, whose solution predicts that the mean bottom depth decreases and the beach is replenished. Further, we show that if the sediment flux law also allows for a diffusive dependence on the beach slope then the simple wave equation is replaced by a nonlinear diffusion equation which allows a steady-state solution, the equilibrium beach profile.

► A new empirical model for wave-driven sediment transport in the surf zone. ► An explicit description of wave set-up and beach evolution. ► Analytical determination of equilibrium beach profiles.