Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Coastal Education and Research Foundation
Résumé : The present work concerns cuspate spits: slightly symmetrical geomorphic features growing along the shoreline in shallow waters. We develop a new formulation for the dynamics of cuspate spits. Our approach relies on classical paradigms such as a conservation law to the shoreface scale and an explicit formula for alongshore sediment transport. We derive a non-linear diffusion equation and a fully explicit solution for the growth of cuspate spits. From this general expression, we found interesting applications to quantify shoreline dynamics in the presence of cuspate spits. In particular, we point out a simple method for the datation of a cuspate spit given a limited number of input parameters. Furthermore, we develop a method to quantify the mean alongshore diffusivity along a shoreline perturbed by well-defined cuspate spits of known sizes. Finally, we introduce a formal relationship between the geometric characteristics (amplitude, length) of cuspate spits, which reproduce the self-similarity of these geomorphic features.
ISSN: 0749-0208

hal-01234952
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01234952
DOI : 10.2112/SI70-009.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The present work concerns cuspate spits: slightly symmetrical geomorphic features growing along the shoreline in shallow waters. We develop a new formulation for the dynamics of cuspate spits. Our approach relies on classical paradigms such as a conservation law to the shoreface scale and an explicit formula for alongshore sediment transport. We derive a non-linear diffusion equation and a fully explicit solution for the growth of cuspate spits. From this general expression, we found interesting applications to quantify shoreline dynamics in the presence of cuspate spits. In particular, we point out a simple method for the datation of a cuspate spit given a limited number of input parameters. Furthermore, we develop a method to quantify the mean alongshore diffusivity along a shoreline perturbed by well-defined cuspate spits of known sizes. Finally, we introduce a formal relationship between the geometric characteristics (amplitude, length) of cuspate spits, which reproduce the self-similarity of these geomorphic features.
13th International Coastal Symposium
Durban, South Africa

hal-01006569
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01006569
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01006569/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01006569/file/JCR_SI_70_009_Bouchette_et_al.pdf