Beach Erosion and Accretion: Comparison of the Seasonal Influence of Suspended- and Bedload-Sediment Transport at Grays Harbor, Washington, U. S. A.

We conducted field studies on the ebb-tidal delta near the entrance to Grays Harbor, Washington in Autumn, 1999 and Spring 2001, with the objectives of 1) providing directional wave data to validate a shoaling and refraction model for the ebb-tidal delta, and 2) measuring forcing (wave- and current-induced near-bottom velocities, accelerations, and shear stresses) and responses (bedforms, suspended-sediment profiles, and sediment fluxes) associated with intervals of beach erosion and accretion. In the Autumn experiment (October - December), tripods were deployed at shallow ( ~14-m) and deep ( ~24-m) sites on the northern, middle, and southern flanks of the ebb tidal. In the Spring experiment (May - mid-July), tripods were redeployed at four sites and a new inshore site ( ~9-m depth), and pressures, current velocities, and suspended-sediment concentrations were measured with 5-MHz acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs), optical backscatterance sensors, upward-looking acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs), a downward-looking pulse-coherent acoustic Doppler profiler (PCADP), and an acoustic backscatterance sensor (ABS). We also measured bedforms with profiling and imaging sonars and estimated Reynolds stresses with a pair of 10-MHz ADVs at the inshore site. Incident waves, nearshore circulation patterns, statistics of near-bottom wave- and current-induced velocities, and sediment fluxes were distinctly different in the two experiments. During the Autumn measurements, the general direction of wave approach shifted from WNW to WSW as the North Pacific weather pattern shifted from summer to winter, and we observed a large storm (offshore significant wave heights H_s of ~8 m) and a sequence of about 8 smaller events with ~4 to 5-m waves. Sediment transport was dominated by storm-induced, downwelling-favorable circulation that transported suspended sediments northward and offshore. Inferred bedload fluxes were directed shoreward, but were much smaller. In contrast, Spring wave conditions were much milder (maximum H_s of ~4 m), and waves approached mostly from the WNW. There were long periods of upwelling-favorable circulation interrupted by intervals of storm-induced northward flow. Net suspended-sediment transport was directed northward at the deeper sites and southward at the inshore sites. Near-bottom transport remained offshore at the deeper sites, but was lower, with negligible net cross-shore component at the shallow sites. The relative contribution of shoreward bedload transport was much larger. These changes in sediment transport outside the breaker zone are consistent with measured changes in beach and bar morphology.