One dimensional modeling of anthropogenic beach berm erosion

Anthropogenic beach berms (sometimes called artificial berms or artificial dunes) are in use internationally to guard against beach overtopping and consequent coastal flooding. Berms can be constructed on a seasonal basis or in anticipation of a hazardous event, e.g., when a storm is expected to arrive coincident with an astronomical high tide. In either case, a common approach is to scrape sand from the foreshore with heavy equipment and deposit it on the crest of the natural beach dune, thus providing added protection from the possibility of wave overtopping. Given the potential for higher sea levels globally and more extreme storm events, anthropogenic berms will surely be tested to their limits and will ultimately fail, causing flooding. A better understanding of the conditions under which these berms fail is therefore needed to support coastal flood risk management. An experimental campaign in Newport Beach, California was conducted to document the dynamic erosion of prototype beach berms under a rising tide and mild to moderate wave conditions. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) of the berm produced a digital model of how the berm shape evolved over time. Here, a numerical model of swash zone hydromorphodynamics based on shallow-water flow physics is presented to evaluate whether and to what extent the timing and degree of berm erosion and overtopping can be predicted from first principles. The model tightly couples flow and sediment transport within an approximate Riemann solver, and thus is of the Godunov-type variety of finite volume schemes. Additionally, the model includes an avalanching scheme to account for non-hydrodynamic slumping down the angle of repose. Results indicate that it is possible to calibrate the model for a particular event, and then successfully predict erosion for another event, but due to parameter sensitivities, it is unlikely that the model can be applied at a site without calibration (true prediction).