Monitoring and modelling ground water behaviour in sandy beaches as a basis for improved models of swash zone sediment transport

An examination is made of two aspects of beach ground water behaviour: (i) water table fluctuations in response to tidal forcing, and (ii) pressure propagation through a saturated sand bed under swash. Models and measurements of each are presented. It is found that a 1-D Boussinesq model of water table behaviour provides good predictions of observed water table fluctuations. Further field work is needed before a simple model of pressure propagation can be properly tested