Observations of sand waves, megaripples, and hummocks in the Dutch coastal area and their relation to currents and combined flow conditions

Observations of sand waves, megaripples, and hummocks in the Dutch coastal area and their relation to currents and combined flow conditions

TNO Bouw en Ondergrond
Passchier, S.
Kleinhans, M.G.

2005

[1] This paper aims to investigate the distribution and stability of large-scale bed forms in response to storm and fair-weather conditions in a shallow marine environment. Multibeam and side-scan sonar data off the Dutch coast (median grain size 0.25-0.35 mm) were collected to monitor sand waves (λ = 100-800 m) and superimposed megaripples (λ = 1-40 m) through multiple storm and fair-weather events. Box cores were used to observe the vertical bed structure and grain size. In the Dutch coastal area, two-dimensional (2-D) megaripples (X = 1-15 m) are the dominant bed forms in current-dominated (>0.4 m/s) tidal flow regimes with oscillatory flows 0.4 m/s, undulating bed topography of mound-like 3-D bed forms (λ = 20-40 m) is observed. Immediately after storms, these bed forms are covered by smaller 3-D megaripples, which are related to sets of low-angle converging laminae in box cores, interpreted as hummocky cross stratification (HCS). The sand waves form compound bed forms of sets of 2-D and 3-D megaripples. The morphology of the sand waves is a function of the general wind-wave climate of the marine environmental setting, with flat-topped 3-D sand waves occurring in shallow wave-dominated settings and 2-D sand waves occurring in the tide-dominated environment farther offshore. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.

bedform
climate conditions
coastal zone
current velocity
flow velocity
grain size
hummocky cross-stratification
marine environment
monitoring
ripple
sand wave
shallow water
spatial distribution
wind wave
Benelux
Eurasia
Europe
Netherlands
Western Europe
Lanice conchilega

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:3b3597e0-9442-4e38-a5e5-b973f3bb1ff0

https://doi.org/10.1029/2004jf000215

238865

0148-0227

Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface, 110 (110)

article