The observed relationship between wave conditions and beach response, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, CA
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Abstract
Understanding how sandy beaches respond to storms is critical for effective sediment management and developing successful erosion mitigation efforts. However, only limited progress has been made in relating observed beach changes to wave conditions, with one of the major limiting factors being the lack of temporally dense beach topography and nearshore wave data in most studies. This study uses temporally dense beach topographic and offshore wave data to directly link beach response and wave forcing with generally good results. Ocean Beach is an open coast high-energy sandy beach located in San Francisco, CA, USA. From April 2004 through the end of 2008, 60 three-dimensional topographic beach surveys were conducted on approximately a monthly basis, with more frequent “short-term surveys during the winters of 2005-06 and 2006-07. Shoreline position data from the short-term surveys show good correlation with offshore wave height, period, and direction averaged over several days prior to the survey (mean R*=0.54 for entire beach). There is, however, considerable alongshore variation in model performance, with R- values ranging from 0.81 to 0.19 for individual sections of the beach. After wave height, the direction of wave approach was the most important factor in determining the response of the shoreline, followed by wave period. Our results indicate that an empirical predictive model of beach response to wave conditions at Ocean Beach is possible with frequent beach mapping and wave data, and that such a model could be useful to coastal managers.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | The observed relationship between wave conditions and beach response, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, CA |
| Series title | Journal of Coastal Research |
| Issue | Special Issue 56 |
| Year Published | 2009 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Coastal Education & Research Foundation |
| Contributing office(s) | Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center |
| Description | 5 p. |
| First page | 1771 |
| Last page | 1775 |
| Public Comments | Proceedings of the 10th International Coastal Symposium |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| City | San Francisco |
| Other Geospatial | Ocean Beach |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |