A general framework for modeling sediment supply to coastal dunes including wind angle, beach geometry, and fetch effects

A series of spatially explicit equations are derived that form the foundation of a modeling framework that provides insight into how the interaction of the fetch effect and angle of wind approach leads to tradeoffs that govern the magnitude of aeolian sediment transport across beaches of different geometry. The spatial distribution of sediment transport rate per unit width at any point on the beach is shown to vary predictably as a function of wind angle, critical fetch, and beach geometry; and this has evident implications for the total volume and distribution of sediment transport into the dunes behind the beach as well as the proportion of sediment lost from the beach-dune system at the downwind margin. As the wind field shifts from onshore (shore perpendicular) to oblique (shore parallel) approach angle, total sediment transport rate across a dune line segment will reflect a tradeoff between transport reduction because of the cosine effect and transport enhancement because of potentially longer fetch distances traversed by the wind prior to encountering the dune line. This tradeoff is most evident on long, narrow beaches when beach width is less than the critical fetch. For such beaches and with onshore winds, the total sediment transport rate across the dune line will be less than that predicted for a wide beach because of the constraint imposed by the fetch effect. However, as the angle of wind approach becomes oblique, the available fetch becomes progressively longer, transport limitations imposed by the fetch effect are negated, and transport enhancement across the dune line is to be expected. With very large angles of wind approach, the cosine effect dominates the interaction and transport reductions across the dune line occur until the wind is shore parallel and sediment supply to the dunes ceases altogether. This sequence of adjustments and tradeoffs were only partially understood prior to this study, and yet they form the foundation of coastal dune modeling. The framework proposed in this paper serves to place future studies of process-form interaction in beach-dune systems on a robust theoretical foundation. It also facilitates the testing of various alternative hypotheses regarding the uneven spatial and temporal distribution of dune height and growth rate in coastal environments. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.