Observation and Modeling of the Equilibrium Slope Response of a High-Energy Meso-Macrotidal Sandy Beach

Beach slope is a critical parameter to, e.g., beach safety, wave reflection at the coast and longshore transport rate. However, it is usually considered as a time-invariant and profile-average parameter. Here, we apply a state-of-the-art equilibrium model to hindcast beach slope variability from the time scales of days to years at the high-energy meso-macrotidal sandy beach of Truc Vert, southwest France. We use 9 years of bimonthly beach surveys to compute beach slope time series at different elevations. Results show that beach slope exhibits an equilibrium response with contrasting behaviors along two distinct areas of the beach profile. From 0 to 2 m above mean sea level, which is located under the berm crest, a slope response predominantly at the storm time scale is observed. The beach slope steepens under low energy waves, with the equilibrium model explaining up to 40% of the observed beach slope variability. In contrast, from 2.5 to 4 m above mean sea level, which is above the berm crest, the beach slope steepens under high-energy waves. Within this region of the beach profile, the response time scale increases upwards from seasonal (similar to 2.5 m) to seasonal (similar to 4 m), with the model explaining up to 65% of the observed beach slope variability. Such behaviors are found to be enforced by the berm dynamics developing from the end of the winter to early autumn, providing new perspectives to model and predict beach slope on sandy beaches.

Automated summary

In this study, a state-of-the-art equilibrium model was used to investigate the variability of beach slope at the high-energy sandy beach of Truc Vert, southwest France, on time scales ranging from days to years. The results showed that beach slope exhibited an equilibrium response with contrasting behaviors along different areas of the beach profile, which were enforced by the dynamics of the berm developed from winter to early autumn.