Storm-Induced Evolution on an Artificial Pocket Gravel Beach: A Numerical Study with XBeach-Gravel
Coarse-grained beaches consisting of gravel, pebbles, and cobbles play a crucial role in coastal protection. On the Croatian Adriatic coast, there are artificial gravel pocket beaches created for recreational and protective purposes. However, these beaches are subject to constant morphological chang...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/7/1209 |
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| author | Hanna Miličević Dalibor Carević Damjan Bujak Goran Lončar Andrea Tadić |
| author_facet | Hanna Miličević Dalibor Carević Damjan Bujak Goran Lončar Andrea Tadić |
| author_sort | Hanna Miličević |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coarse-grained beaches consisting of gravel, pebbles, and cobbles play a crucial role in coastal protection. On the Croatian Adriatic coast, there are artificial gravel pocket beaches created for recreational and protective purposes. However, these beaches are subject to constant morphological changes due to natural forces and human intervention. This study investigates the morphodynamics of artificial gravel pocket beaches, focusing on berm formation and crest build-up processes characteristic for low to moderate wave conditions. Despite mimicking natural formations, artificial beaches require regular maintenance due to sediment shifts dominantly caused by wave action and storm surges. Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry and UAV-based surveys were used to monitor morphological changes on the artificial gravel pocket beach Ploče (City of Rijeka). The XBeach-Gravel model, originally adapted to simulate the effects of high-energy waves, was calibrated and validated to analyze low to moderate wave dynamics on gravel pocket beaches. The calibration includes adjustments to the inertia coefficient (<i>ci</i>), which influences sediment transport by shear stress at the bottom; the angle of repose (<i>ϕ</i>), which controls avalanching and influences sediment transport on sloping beds; and the bedload transport calibration coefficient (<i>γ</i>), which scales the transport rates linearly. By calibrating XBeach-G for low to moderate wave conditions, this research improves the accuracy of the model for the cases of morphological responses “berm formation” and “crest build-up”. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-96cc92acd603460a8fb51e58a971b4ef |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-96cc92acd603460a8fb51e58a971b4ef2025-08-20T03:32:32ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122025-06-01137120910.3390/jmse13071209Storm-Induced Evolution on an Artificial Pocket Gravel Beach: A Numerical Study with XBeach-GravelHanna Miličević0Dalibor Carević1Damjan Bujak2Goran Lončar3Andrea Tadić4Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, 10 000 Zagreb, CroatiaFaculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, 10 000 Zagreb, CroatiaFaculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, 10 000 Zagreb, CroatiaFaculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, 10 000 Zagreb, CroatiaFaculty of Civil Engineering, University of Rijeka, 51 000 Rijeka, CroatiaCoarse-grained beaches consisting of gravel, pebbles, and cobbles play a crucial role in coastal protection. On the Croatian Adriatic coast, there are artificial gravel pocket beaches created for recreational and protective purposes. However, these beaches are subject to constant morphological changes due to natural forces and human intervention. This study investigates the morphodynamics of artificial gravel pocket beaches, focusing on berm formation and crest build-up processes characteristic for low to moderate wave conditions. Despite mimicking natural formations, artificial beaches require regular maintenance due to sediment shifts dominantly caused by wave action and storm surges. Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry and UAV-based surveys were used to monitor morphological changes on the artificial gravel pocket beach Ploče (City of Rijeka). The XBeach-Gravel model, originally adapted to simulate the effects of high-energy waves, was calibrated and validated to analyze low to moderate wave dynamics on gravel pocket beaches. The calibration includes adjustments to the inertia coefficient (<i>ci</i>), which influences sediment transport by shear stress at the bottom; the angle of repose (<i>ϕ</i>), which controls avalanching and influences sediment transport on sloping beds; and the bedload transport calibration coefficient (<i>γ</i>), which scales the transport rates linearly. By calibrating XBeach-G for low to moderate wave conditions, this research improves the accuracy of the model for the cases of morphological responses “berm formation” and “crest build-up”.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/7/1209pocket gravel beachessediment transportXbeach-Gbeach erosionberm formationcrest build-up |
| spellingShingle | Hanna Miličević Dalibor Carević Damjan Bujak Goran Lončar Andrea Tadić Storm-Induced Evolution on an Artificial Pocket Gravel Beach: A Numerical Study with XBeach-Gravel Journal of Marine Science and Engineering pocket gravel beaches sediment transport Xbeach-G beach erosion berm formation crest build-up |
| title | Storm-Induced Evolution on an Artificial Pocket Gravel Beach: A Numerical Study with XBeach-Gravel |
| title_full | Storm-Induced Evolution on an Artificial Pocket Gravel Beach: A Numerical Study with XBeach-Gravel |
| title_fullStr | Storm-Induced Evolution on an Artificial Pocket Gravel Beach: A Numerical Study with XBeach-Gravel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Storm-Induced Evolution on an Artificial Pocket Gravel Beach: A Numerical Study with XBeach-Gravel |
| title_short | Storm-Induced Evolution on an Artificial Pocket Gravel Beach: A Numerical Study with XBeach-Gravel |
| title_sort | storm induced evolution on an artificial pocket gravel beach a numerical study with xbeach gravel |
| topic | pocket gravel beaches sediment transport Xbeach-G beach erosion berm formation crest build-up |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/7/1209 |
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