Longshore Transport Estimation on Ofir Beach in Northwest Portugal: Sand-Tracer Experiment
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 2
Abstract
This work aims to shed some light on longshore sediment transport (LST) in the highly energetic northwest coast of Portugal. Data achieved through a sand-tracer experiment are compared with data obtained from the original and the new re-evaluated longshore sediment transport formulas (USACE Waterways Experiment Station’s Coastal Engineering and Research Center, Kamphuis, and Bayram bulk formulas) to assess their performance. The field experiment with dyed sand was held at Ofir Beach during one tidal cycle under medium wave-energy conditions. Local hydrodynamic conditions and beach topography were recorded. The tracer was driven southward in response to the local swell and wind- and wave-induced currents (, , ). The LST was estimated by using a linear sediment transport flux approach. The obtained value () approached the estimation provided by the original Bayram formula (). The other formulas overestimated the transport, but the estimations resulting from the new re-evaluated formulas also yield approximate results. Therefore, the results of this work indicated that the Bayram formula may give satisfactory results for predicting the longshore sediment transport on Ofir Beach.
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Acknowledgments
This work had the support of the research projects PTDC/CTE-GIX/111230/2009 (EROS), PTDC/ECM/099999/2008 (MOZCO) and PEst-OE/CTE/UI4035/2014, funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portuguese Government). S. Fernández-Fernández developed this work during her scientist visit at the University of Aveiro through the Formación de Profesorado Universitario (FPU) Research Stay program (Ministry of Education, Spanish Government). P. Baptista was supported by the FCT grant reference SFRH/BPD/63141/2009, and V. A. Martins was supported by the Programa de Cooperação Técnico-CientÕfico (PROTEC) Convention of Universidade do Rio de Janeiro/Universidade Estatal Amazónica (UERJ/UEA) fellowship. The authors acknowledge D. Santos and E. Aldeano for their help during the fieldwork. The constructive comments of the anonymous reviewers are greatly appreciated.
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Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 2 • March 2016
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 14, 2014
Accepted: May 15, 2015
Published online: Oct 16, 2015
Published in print: Mar 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Mar 8, 2016
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