Spatial and Temporal Variability of Dissipative Dry Beach Profiles in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Diez, J.; Cohn, N.; Kaminsky, G.M.; Medina, R., and Ruggiero, P., 2018. Spatial and temporal variability of dissipative dry beach profiles in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. Dissipative beaches in the U.S. Pacific Northwest are subject to a marked seasonality in wave climate and water levels, which leads to periodic oscillations in the morphology of the typically dry part of the beach profile. The back-and-forth, seasonal sediment exchange between the emerged and submerged parts of the beach system induces two main dry-beach profile-equilibrium configurations. During approximately 70% of the year, the dry beach adapts its configuration to a uniform positive slope from the mean high-water level to the dune toe. The remaining 30% of the time, typically corresponding to summer, the profile adopts a berm-like profile. These changes are quantified by studying intra-annual and interannual variations of the dry-beach profile shape. For intra-annual variations, a monthly profiling campaign between July 201...