EXPERIMENTAL CONTROL OF BEACH FACE DYNAMICS BY WATER-TABLE PUMPING

The dynamic sediment budget on the intertidal face of sandy surf beaches is influenced by interaction of swash/backwash flows with the beach watertable. Watertable height variations are coupled to tides and pass into the beach as a slow wave of diminishing amplitude and increasing lag. High-frequency pulses from the onshore wave train also propagate into the beach. The height at which the watertable outcrops on the beach face is affected by antecedent tide and wave history and influences balance of sand deposition and entrainment during swash and backwash. Experimental lowering of the watertable by pumping an array of wells induces sand deposition. Energy expended in pumping is less than 0.3% of the onshore flux in the wave train. © 1979.