Response of Sandy Bluffs to Random Wave Actions
Publication: Geo-Congress 2024
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the recession of sandy coastal bluffs under random waves and changing water levels. A laboratory flume experiment was conducted in the wave flume at Stony Brook University using a sandy beach-bluff model subjected to waves and fluctuating surges. A laser-camera system monitored bluff profile evolution. Results showed rapid toe erosion and undercutting leading to major slope failures. Repeated wave impacts generated pore pressures, while toe erosion increased shear stresses, causing episodic collapses. Elevated pore pressures and lowered matric suction from wave run-up, and rising surges reduced stability. However, progressive toe erosion by waves was the most critical factor. The laser-camera technique effectively captured profile changes, revealing dynamics linking pore pressure fluctuations and bluff erosion from intermittent wave impacts.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.
REFERENCES
Buckler, W., and H. Winters. 1983. “Lake-Michigan Bluff Recession.” Ann. of the Assoc. of Amer. Geog. 73: 89–110.
Carter, C., and D. Guy. 1988. “Coastal Erosion— Processes, Timing, and Magnitudes at the Bluff Toe.” Marine Geology 84: 1–17.
Castedo, R., M. Fernández, A. Trenhaile, and C. Paredes. 2013. “Modeling Cyclic Recession of Cohesive Clay Coasts: Effects of Wave Erosion and Bluff Stability.” Marine Geology 335: 162–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2012.11.001.
Farhadzadeh, A. 2022. “Effects of Constituent Material Properties on Erosion of Flat Bed and Recession of bluff”, 37th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Sydney, Australia, December 2022, https://doi.org/10.9753/icce.v37.sediment.39.
Farhadzadeh, A., and M. G. Arabi. 2020. “Linking Geomechanical Characteristics of Soil with Erosion of Steep Shore and Recession of Bluff”, AGU Fall Meeting 2020.
Farhadzadeh, A., M. G. Arabi, and T. Xiang. 2022. “Impacts of Soil Properties on Bluff Recession under Combined Waves and Surge Actions: An Experimental Study with Uncertainty Quantification”, Ocean Engineering, Volume 266, Part 3, 15 December 2022, 112988.
Arabi, M. G., and A. Farhadzadeh. 2019. “Initiation of Erosion of Cohesionless and Cohesive Soil Mixtures: Effects of Density and Fine Content on the Erosional Behavior of Soil”, AGU Fall Meeting 2019, San Francisco, CA.
Arabi, M. G., and A. Farhadzadeh. 2022. “Characterizing Incipient Motion of Low Fines Content Soils with Varying Compositions, Water Contents, and Relative Densities”, International Journal of Sediment Research, March 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2022.03.002.
Arabi, M. G., M. Khosravi, and A. Farhadzadeh. 2020. “Effects of Fines Content and Relative Density on Erosion and Recession of Predominantly Sandy Beach-Bluff System”, Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WW.1943-5460.0000625.
Kamphuis, W. 1990. “Influence of Sand or Gravel on the Erosion of Cohesive Sediment.” Journal of Hydraulic Research. 28 (1): 37–41.
Rohan, K., G. Lefebvre, and S. Douville. 1980. “Erosion Mechanisms of Intact Clay (in French).” In Proceedings of the Canadian Coastal Conference, 200–219. Burlington, Ontario.
Skafel, M., and C. Bishop. 1994. “Flume Experiments on the Erosion of till Shores by Waves.” Coastal Engineering 23: 329–48.
Sunamura, T. 1976. “Feedback Relationship in Wave Erosion of Laboratory Rocky Coast.” J. Geol. 84: 427–37.
Swenson, M., C. Wu, T. Edil, and D. M. Mickelson. 2006. “Bluff Recession Rates and Wave Impact Along the Wisconsin Coast of Lake Superior”, Journal of Great Lakes Research, Vol. 32, Issue 3, Pages 512–530.
Vallejo, L., and R. Degroot. 1988. “Bluff Response to Wave Action.” Engineering Geology 1 (16): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-184620080003000.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Geo-Congress 2024
Pages: 510 - 519
History
Published online: Feb 22, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Channels (waterway)
- Continuum mechanics
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Engineering mechanics
- Erosion
- Fluid mechanics
- Flumes
- Geology
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydraulic engineering
- Hydraulic structures
- Hydrologic engineering
- Pore pressure
- Pressure (type)
- Random waves
- Sea water
- Shear stress
- Solid mechanics
- Stress (by type)
- Structural analysis
- Structural engineering
- Water (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water waves
- Waterways
- Wave action
- Waves (fluid mechanics)
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.