BARDEX: A large-scale laboratory study of gravel barrier dynamics

Abstract

Significant advances in the understanding of coarse gravel beaches have been made in recent decades. The advent of community access to large scale wave facilities has made it possible to complete near full scale simulations of cross shore processes with the interaction of the gravel beach. The European research scene is vibrant and a large amount of knowledge has been built up from the programmes of applied research. The role of laboratory hydraulic modelling with structures, sediments and ecology is recognised as bridging the gap between numerical modelling and field experimentation. Best practice has been distilled and published recently on these topics as well as on composite modelling which is the “balanced use of physical and numerical models” (Frostick et al., 2011). Almost ten years ago the results from gravel and mixed beach experiments from the Large Wave Channel (GWK) in Germany were obtained (Lopez de San Roman-Blanco et al., 2006). This work led to improved understanding of the interaction of profile development, swash and run-up and groundwater processes as well as berm dynamics. This work was completed with European Community funding and national funding in the UK from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). The experimental data was used by that particular research group, results were published and the data was made available for use by the wider scientific community.