Near-bed sediment transport during offshore bar migration in large-scale experiments

This study presents novel insights into hydrodynamics and sediment fluxes in large-scale laboratory experiments with bichromatic wave groups on a relatively steep initial beach slope (1:15). An Acoustic Concentration and Velocity Profiler provided detailed information of velocity and sand concentration near the bed from shoaling up to the outer breaking zone including suspended sediment and sheet flow transport. The morphological evolution was characterized by offshore migration of the outer breaker bar. Decomposition of the total net transport revealed a balance of onshore-directed, short wave-related and offshore-directed, current-related net transport. The short wave-related transport mainly occurred as bedload over small vertical extents. It was linked to characteristic intrawave sheet flow layer expansions during short wave crests. The current-related transport rate featured lower maximum flux magnitudes but occurred over larger vertical extents. As a result, it was larger than the short wave-related transport rate in all but one cross-shore position, driving the bar’s offshore migration. Net flux magnitudes of the infragravity component were comparatively low but played a nonnegligible role for total net transport rate in certain cross-shore positions. Net infragravity flux profiles sometimes featured opposing directions over the vertical. The fluxes were linked to a standing infragravity wave pattern and to the correlation of the short wave envelope, controlling suspension, with the infragravity wave velocity.The experiments described in this study were funded by the European Community’s Horizon 2020 Program through the grant to the budget of the Integrated Infrastructure Initiative HYDRALAB+, Contract no. 654110, and were conducted as part of the transnational access project RESIST. FG acknowledges funding from the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR). DH acknowledges funding from the French DGA funded ANR ASTRID Maturation project MESURE (ANR-16-ASMA-0005-01). JA acknowledges funding from the Serra Húnter Program (SHP). The authors wish to thank fellow RESIST researchers and the CIEM staff (Joaquim Sospedra, Oscar Galego, Dr. Andrea Marzeddu) for their contributions to the experiments.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version