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Storm-wave development of shore-normal grooves (gutters) on a steep sandstone beach face

Storm-wave development of shore-normal grooves (gutters) on a steep sandstone beach face
Storm-wave development of shore-normal grooves (gutters) on a steep sandstone beach face
Shore-normal grooves (gutters) cut into the seabed have been reported widely from the marine geological record. Grooves commonly are spaced regularly across plane, consolidated surfaces in the littoral and sub-littoral zones and may be deeply incised. Despite their common occurrence in the rock record, there are few detailed descriptions of examples from modern environments. Previously reported examples have been ascribed to erosion by wave-induced currents, especially storm-driven near-shore flows. In particular, examples from beach faces have been related to either wave swash or backwash. However, no conceptual model exists to explain the presence of grooves, their morphology or their spacing alongshore.

Herein, quasi-regularly spaced grooves on a soft sandstone beach face are described and interpreted to have formed due to wave breaking and swash zone processes consequent upon exceptional storms at sea. The groove morphologies are quantified using terrestrial laser scanning. Numerical modelling of the translation from offshore waves to nearshore breaking waves provides estimates of the swash zone parameters. A consideration of swash zone processes provides an explanation for formation of the grooves. In particular, the swash zone shear stress distribution and consequent bed erosion is a dome-shaped function of distance across the beach face, and this controls the cross-shore variability in groove depths. High-speed sheet flows, such as swash and backwash, develop periodic, shore normal, high and low speed streaks alongshore. Consequent streaky erosion produces the quasi-regular alongshore groove spacings. However, on any given beach face the specific spacing of grooves is likely a property, not only of the local sheet flow attributes, but also of larger-scale morphological forcing. This outcome suggests that spacing is an emergent property of the coupled sheet flow and larger-scale forcing, and thus specific spacings on any beach face remain unpredictable.
0272-7714
312-324
Carling, Paul
8d252dd9-3c88-4803-81cc-c2ec4c6fa687
Williams, Jon
a2e3bccf-b9b5-4296-8ba4-6cad196df346
Leyland, Julian
6b1bb9b9-f3d5-4f40-8dd3-232139510e15
Esteves, Luciana
003cc04b-5346-47f0-9e7c-3e140060f7b7
Carling, Paul
8d252dd9-3c88-4803-81cc-c2ec4c6fa687
Williams, Jon
a2e3bccf-b9b5-4296-8ba4-6cad196df346
Leyland, Julian
6b1bb9b9-f3d5-4f40-8dd3-232139510e15
Esteves, Luciana
003cc04b-5346-47f0-9e7c-3e140060f7b7

Carling, Paul, Williams, Jon, Leyland, Julian and Esteves, Luciana (2018) Storm-wave development of shore-normal grooves (gutters) on a steep sandstone beach face. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 207, 312-324. (doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2018.04.024).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Shore-normal grooves (gutters) cut into the seabed have been reported widely from the marine geological record. Grooves commonly are spaced regularly across plane, consolidated surfaces in the littoral and sub-littoral zones and may be deeply incised. Despite their common occurrence in the rock record, there are few detailed descriptions of examples from modern environments. Previously reported examples have been ascribed to erosion by wave-induced currents, especially storm-driven near-shore flows. In particular, examples from beach faces have been related to either wave swash or backwash. However, no conceptual model exists to explain the presence of grooves, their morphology or their spacing alongshore.

Herein, quasi-regularly spaced grooves on a soft sandstone beach face are described and interpreted to have formed due to wave breaking and swash zone processes consequent upon exceptional storms at sea. The groove morphologies are quantified using terrestrial laser scanning. Numerical modelling of the translation from offshore waves to nearshore breaking waves provides estimates of the swash zone parameters. A consideration of swash zone processes provides an explanation for formation of the grooves. In particular, the swash zone shear stress distribution and consequent bed erosion is a dome-shaped function of distance across the beach face, and this controls the cross-shore variability in groove depths. High-speed sheet flows, such as swash and backwash, develop periodic, shore normal, high and low speed streaks alongshore. Consequent streaky erosion produces the quasi-regular alongshore groove spacings. However, on any given beach face the specific spacing of grooves is likely a property, not only of the local sheet flow attributes, but also of larger-scale morphological forcing. This outcome suggests that spacing is an emergent property of the coupled sheet flow and larger-scale forcing, and thus specific spacings on any beach face remain unpredictable.

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Carling_et_al_accepted - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 20 April 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 25 April 2018
Published date: 31 July 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 420354
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/420354
ISSN: 0272-7714
PURE UUID: 85f7f0d7-c725-45ee-9aa2-83363b61ccb4
ORCID for Julian Leyland: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3419-9949

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Date deposited: 04 May 2018 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 06:32

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Contributors

Author: Paul Carling
Author: Jon Williams
Author: Julian Leyland ORCID iD
Author: Luciana Esteves

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