Dune Erosion During Storm Surges PDF Download

The Delft Hydraulics Laboratory of the Netherlands has developed a reasonable and simple method for estimating dune and beach erosion caused by severe storms. The method requires knowledge of the sediment size, wave height, and surge level. Major assumptions are that the expected shape of the poststorm beach profile can be perdicted by the incident deepwater wave height and sediment size, and that the amount of material eroded will equal the deposition (i.e., cross-shore transport). The method has been verified for the Dutch coast based on both field measurements and laboratory experiments. An evaluation using a limited amount of data for the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States found quantitative agreement with the method, justifying its application to storm conditions in the United States. This report discusses the method and identifies its inherent limitations. The procedure may be solved graphically or by using the included FORTRAN computer program.