Sand transport in the swash zone in low-energy wave conditions

Abstract

The interaction between waves and morphological changes at the beach face under low wave-energy conditions is examined from data obtained during a field survey at Praia de Faro (Algarve, Portugal). This work describes and analyses measurements of swash velocities acquired with current-meters, water surface elevation obtained with pressure transducers and topographic surveys undertaken during the field campaign. Estimations of sand transport rates are calculated considering different empirical formulations, and the results are then compared against the transport rates deduced from topographic measurements. A representative swash velocity time series based on the non-linear formulation of Abreu et al. (2010) is derived to study the dependence of the bed shear-stress skewness on the tidal phase and how this can affect sediment transport in the swash zone.