Tracer Studies in a Laboratory Beach Subjected to Waves
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 133, Issue 7
Abstract
This work investigated the washout of dissolved nutrients from beaches due to waves by conducting tracer studies in a laboratory beach facility. The effects of waves were studied in the case where the beach was subjected to the tide, and that in which no tidal action was present. The following may be inferred: (1) waves created a steep hydraulic gradient in the swash zone and a mild one landward of it; (2) waves increased the residence time of a plume when they broke seaward of it. They also created additional pathways for transport of the tracer to the beach surface; and (3) in the presence of a tide that completely covered the solute plume, overall, the waves increased the washout of the tracer from the intertidal zone of the beach in comparison with the no-wave case. The residence time of the tracer plume due to waves superimposed on the tide was estimated as 75% of that resulting from the tide with no waves. Discussion on scaling up the results and implications for bioremediation are also presented.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported, in part, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, Ohio under Cooperative Agreement No. CR-821029. However, it does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 133 • Issue 7 • July 2007
Pages: 722 - 732
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 10, 2006
Accepted: Nov 16, 2006
Published online: Jul 1, 2007
Published in print: Jul 2007
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