Daniel Calvete Manrique

A mechanism inhibiting rip channel formation for oblique waves

Previous numerical modelling studies based on 2DH morphodynamical model show that oblique waves tend to inhibit the formation of rip channel systems, but the mechanisms were not investigated. Field observations do not always agree with this model result, thus, understanding the mechanisms seems essential. To this end, the global analysis technique, originally developed to describe the long term behavior of bars (saturation of the bar growth), is also applied here to the initial stage of the bar evolution (formation of the bars). As a result, rip channels grow slower for larger wave angle because of the weakening of the instability mechanism -that only depends on the cross-shore current- rather than the increase of the damping due to the diffusive bedslope transport.

A new instability mechanism related to high-angle waves

Waves with a large incidence angle in deep water can drive a morphodynamic instability on a sandy coast whereby shoreline sand waves, cuspate forelands, and spits can emerge. This instability is related to bathymetric perturbations extending offshore in the shoaling zone. Here, we explore a different mechanism where the large incidence angle is supposed to occur at breaking and the bathymetric perturbations occur only in the surf zone. For wave incidence angles at breaking above ≈ 45∘, the one-line approximation of coastal dynamics predicts an unstable shoreline. This instability (EHAWI) is scale-free and the growth rate increases without bound for decreasing wavelength. Here we use a 2DH morphodynamic model resolving surf zone instabilities to investigate whether EHAWI could approximate a real instability in nature with a characteristic length scale. Assuming very idealized conditions on the bathymetric profile and sediment transport, we find a 2DH instability mode consisting of shore-oblique up-current bars coupled to a meandering of the longshore current. This mode grows for high-angle waves, above about 30∘ (offshore) and the maximum growth rate occurs for the angle maximizing the angle at breaking, about 70∘ (offshore). The dominant wavelength is of the order of the surf zone width. Interestingly, for long sand waves, the growth rate never becomes negative and it matches very well the anti-diffusive behavior of EHAWI. This distinguishes the present instability mode from other modes found in previous studies for other bathymetric and sediment transport conditions. Thus, we conclude that EHAWI approximates a real morphodynamic instability only for quite particular conditions. In such case, a characteristic length scale of the instability emerges thanks to surf zone processes that damp short wavelengths.