Numerical simulations of rip currents off arc-shaped coastlines

The rip currents induced by waves off arc-shaped coastlines are seriously harmful to humans, but understanding of their characteristics is lacking. In this study, the FUNWAVE model was used to calculate the wave-induced currents in the Haller experiment and the ideal arc-shaped coast similar to Sanya Dadonghai, Hainan Province,China. The results showed that the FUNWAVE model has considerable ability to simulate the rip currents, and it was used to further simulate rip currents off arc-shaped coastlines to investigate their characteristics. The rip currents were found to be stronger as the curvature of arc-shaped coastline increased. Coastal beach slope exerts a significant influence on rip currents; in particular, an overly steep or overly mild slope is not conducive to creating rip currents. Furthermore, the rip currents were found to become weaker as the size of arc-shaped coast decreased. When the height and period of waves increase, the strength of rip currents also increases, and, in some cases, wave heights of 0.4 m may produce dangerous rip currents.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL NUMERICAL MODELLING OF THE WAVE-IN-DUCED RIP CURRENTS UNDER IRREGULAR BATHYMETRY

A process-based 3-D hydrodynamic model is established to simulate the rip current structures under irregular bathymetry. The depth-varying wave-induced residual momentum, the surface rollers, the turbulent mixing and the wave-current interactions are considered. Experimental datasets are used to validate the model, and it is shown that the model can effectively describe the 3-D structures of the rip currents in both normal and oblique wave incident cases. The flow patterns of the rip currents see various characteristics for different incident wave directions. In the normal incident case, pairs of counter-rotating primary circulation cells are formed, and an offshore rip flow occurs in the embayment troughs. The peak seaward velocities occur at the top of the bed boundary layer, and the undertow is incorporated in addition to the rip currents. In the oblique incident case, the longshore currents are dominant, which result in a meandering flow along the depth contour, and the undertow is weaker compared to that in the normal incident condition.

埃及亚历山大市Al-Nakheel离岸流水动力模拟案例研究

Al-Nakheel beach is located northwest of Alexandria city,Egypt,along the Mediterranean coast.During the period from 1998 to 2003,seven detached breakwaters were constructed along Al-Nakheel beach to create a sheltered area for swimming.Unfortunately,the structures amplify rip currents,shoreline accretions,and erosions.The aim of this research is to track the variations of the rip currents within the study area and show the effects of the breakwaters on the shoreline.The research is based on the hydrodynamic and morphological data of the study area and uses the Delft3D hydrodynamical model combined with other data analysis tools to serve the model input.The data include measured sea-level observations in 2013,the ERA-interim wave datasets from 2015 to 2018 and wind data in 2018,bed morphologies,and Google Earth satellite images from 2010 to 2020.The model is calibrated on the basis of the available current measurements within the nearshore zone.Results show that the shoreline eroded at an average rate of about 0.9 m/yr.Moreover,pairs of vortices are formed behind the breakwaters with an average current velocity of 0.6 m/s.The predominant northwest waves induce rip currents on the leeside of the structures with velocities reaching 1.2 m/s,associated with the rip pulsation that extends offshore.The problem solution decision recommends the removal of the sand deposition on the leeside of the breakwaters by an average amount of 100000 m3/yr and the fencing of the safe area for swimming by a floating fence of 1000 m length and 65 m average width.

Ancient rip current records and their implications: an example from the Cretaceous Ukra Member, Kutch, India

Poorly-sorted conglomerate patches rich in granules or sturdy fossils or both, and reddish mud matrix within the interstices stand out amidst fine-grained siliciclastic shelf sediments of the trangressive systems tract(TST) of the Lower Cretaceous Ukra Member, Kutch Basin, India. The siliciclastic shelf sediments contrast the conglomerates with their remarkable lateral extension. The fossils belong to a low-diversity group of sedentary bivalves that can be traced into the shoreface facies assemblage. The shelf sandstones are almost always sculpted by wave structures,especially hummocky cross-stratification while textures in the conglomerates suggest that the sediment settling was generally from suspensions. Textural variations in conglomerates reflect an immediate variation in flow viscosity prior to the downloading. The current structures obtained from the conglomerates record offshoreward palaeocurrent, in contrast to the shore-parallel palaeocurrent in the TST. The hummocky cross-stratified(HCS) beds are interpreted as seasonal storm deposits, while the conglomerate patches are taken as rip current deposits induced by waves of much longer periods. The glauconite-rich shale that alternates with conglomerates is probable fair-weather products. The conglomerates could not be recognized either in the coarse-grained shoreface deposits occupying the lower part of the overall fining-upward TST or in the coarsening-upward and glauconite-depleted highstand systems tract(HST). In contrast to the TST, the HST is dominantly tide-imprinted, having shore-normal palaeocurrent direction. It appears that intensification of waves and weakening of tides during transgression favored strong rip currents generation, which had presumably caused severe damage to the sea coast and to the shell banks growing preferably at the necks of the rip current channels. Rapid lateral facies transitions in the shoreface deposits at the basal part of the TST suggest enhanced irregularity in the coastline, possibly because of the mega cusps indented upon it. Frequency and intensity of storms enhanced during periods of global warming caused the transgression of the Early Cretaceous Ukra Sea.