Author(s): Diogo Mendes; Alphonse Nahon; Kevin Martins; Andre B. Fortunato; Xavier Bertin; Baptiste Mengual; Laura Lavaud; Marc Pezerat; Antonio A. Pires-Silva
Linked Author(s): Diogo Mendes
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: During storm conditions, infragravity (IG) waves with periods between 25 s and 300 s can dominate the sea-surface oscillations near the shoreline. Through processes like wave run-up, overwash and wave overtopping, IG waves can hence become major drivers of coastal hazards. Although IG dynamics are relatively well understood in open beaches, their contribution of the hydro-sedimentary dynamics of more complex coastal settings, such as tidal inlets characterized by their ebb and flood deltas connected through a transitional channel, is not well understood. Here, we assess the performance of the widely used XBeach numerical model to predict IG wave dynamics through a comparison against field observations collected on an ephemeral tidal inlet (Albufeira Lagoon) during storm Leslie (2018). XBeach accurately predicted the observed IG significant wave heights reaching up to 1 m over a 2-day period. This performance is assessed at both the nearby beaches and the flood-delta.
Year: 2024