Abstract:The swash and surf zones are highly dynamic regions of the nearshore that undergo constant morphological change. Obvious changes are manifested through beach erosion/accretion processes, beach face steepening/flattening and surf zone sand bar migration. This morphologic variability arises from spatial gradients in sediment transport driven by waves and currents. The sediment transport itself is generally subdivided into 2 components: suspended load and bed load. There is another type of sediment transport, sheet flow, that may be categorized as a special type of bed load transport. Sheet flow occurs in the direct vicinity of the bed, is driven by large shear stress and has been described as a “carpet” of sand in motion. Our research group has developed a unique sensor to profile the sheet flow sediment concentration in different nearshore environments. The presentation will describe this novel sensor and include results from recent large-scale laboratory and field data collected in the swash and surf zones.
Bio:
Jack Puleo is an associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware. He received his Ph.D. in Coastal Engineering in 2004 from the University of Florida. In 2011, he was a Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at the University of Plymouthin the United Kingdom. His research interests include inner surf and swash zone hydro dynamics and sediment transport, computational fluid dynamics, sediment suspension in turbulent flows,video-based remote sensing of nearshore processes, and boundary layers.
