W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2010 Observations of storm morphodynamics using Coastal Lidar and Radar Imaging System (CLARIS): Importance of wave refraction and dissipation over complex surf-zone morphology at a shoreline erosional hotspot Katherine L. Brodie College of William and Mary - Virginia Institute of Marine Science Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Geology Commons, Geomorphology Commons, and the Remote Sensing Commons Recommended Citation Brodie, Katherine L., "Observations of storm morphodynamics using Coastal Lidar and Radar Imaging System (CLARIS): Importance of wave refraction and dissipation over complex surf-zone morphology at a shoreline erosional hotspot" (2010). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539616582. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25773/v5-ppcq-gz74 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Observations of Storm Morphodynamics using Coastal Lidar and Radar Imaging System (CLARIS): Importance of Wave Refraction and Dissipation over Complex Surf-Zone Morphology at a Shoreline Erosional Hotspot A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Marine Science The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Katherine L. Brodie 2010 APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Katherine L. Brodie Approved, by the Committee, May 2010 _c~~ mCV~ Jea E. MCNii16h, Ph.D. ' Committee Chairman/Advisor 0vL\~ Carl T. Friedrichs, Ph.D. ·m~~~~ Mw:ers"J,P~~---- Jetefrjksonj;f?'- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers K.~D~~q 1/d Naval Research Laboratory Stennis Space Center, MS To my Dad, who drove me out to Duxbury Beach during every Nor 'Easter and Hurricane to see the waves. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..........................................................................vii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................. ix ABSTRACT .......................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... ! CHAPTER 1 ......................................................................................... 10 Abstract...................................................................................... 11 1. 0 Introduction ............................................................................. 12 2.0 Background............................................................................. 15 2.1 Relevant Remote Sensing Technologies ....................................... 15 2.2 Development and Design of CLARIS: Robustness during Storms ......... 17 3.0 Methods ................................................................................. 19 3.1 CLARIS Operational Overview ............................................. 19 3.2 Radar Morphology Mosaics .....................................................21 3.3 Morphology Metrics .............................................................. 22 3.4 Bathymetry Inversion Calculations ............................................. 24 4.0 Results and Discussion .................................................................... 26 4.1 Lidar Topography ................................................................26 4.2 Bathymetry Inversion Error Assessment ....................................... 27 4.3 Morphology Metrics .............................................................. 32 4.4 Seamless Topography and Bathymetry during Storms ..................... .34 5.0 Conclusions .................................................................................36 References .......................................................................................38 Figure Captions ................................................................................. 44 CHAPTER 2 ..............................................................................................57 Abstract .......................................................................................... 58 111 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................. 59 2.0 Background .................................................................................62 2.1 Suif-Zone Morphodynamics ..................................................... 62 2.2 Three-Dimensional Shoreline Shapes ......................................... 64 3.0 Study Area ................................................................................. 65 3.1 Field Site .......................................................................... 65 3.2 Reference Line ......................................................................................... 66 4.0 Methods .................................................................................... 67 4.1 Storm Event & CLARIS Surveys ............................................... 67 4.1.1 CLARIS- Lidar Data Analysis .................................... 68 4.1.2 CLARIS- Bathymetry ................................................ 69 4.1.3 CLARIS- Morphology Mosaics ....................................70 4.2 Wave Model ........................................................................ 72 4.2.1 Model Setup ........................................................... 73 4.2.2 Model Peiformance: Duck, NC.................................... 74 4.2.3 Model Outputs ........................................................76 5.0 Results ...................................................................................... 72 5.1 Morphology .......................................................................72 5.1.1 Shoreline Morphology during the Storm .......................... 77 5.1.2 Nearshore Bathymetry during the Storm ..........................78 5.1.3 Morphological Links between Nearshore Bathymetry and Shoreline Morphology ........................................................................ 78 5.1.4 Suif-Zone Morphology ............................................... 79 5.2 Wave Model ....................................................................... 76 5.2.1 Alongshore Variations in Wave Height ........................... 81 5.2.2 Alongshore Variations in Wave Direction ........................ 81 5.2.3 Alongshore Variations in Radiation Stress ........................ 82 6.0 Discussion .................................................................................. 83 6.1 Three-Dimensional Morphology ............................................... 83 6.1.1 Persistent Nearshore Bathymetry and Shoreline Morphology.85 6.1.2 Morphological Coupling of the Shoreline, Suif-Zone and Nearshore Bathymetry ...................................................... 87 6.2 Nearshore Hydrodynamics ..................................................... 89 IV 6.2.1 Wave Height and Direction ........................................90 6.2.2 Gradients in Radiation Stress and Implications for Flow ...... 91 7.0 Conclusions .................................................................................95 References ....................................................................................... 97 Figure Captions ................................................................................ 105 CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................ 124 Abstract ......................................................................................... 125 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................... 126 2.0 Background ............................................................................... 129 2.1 Maximum Runup ................................................................ 129 2.2 Wave Breakingin the Surf-Zone ............................................. .132 2.3 Cross-Shore Sediment Transport ............................................. 133 3.0 Study Area ................................................................................. 135 3.1 Field Site ......................................................................... 135 3.2 Storm Event ...................................................................... 136 3.3 Reference Line ................................................................... 138 4.0 Methods .................................................................................... 138 4.1 CLARIS: Coastal Lidar And Radar Imaging System ....................... 138 4.1.1 Maximum Swash Excursion Observations ....................... 139 4.1.2 Foreshore Slope, Shoreline, and Volume Extraction .......... 140 4.1.3 Radar Morphology Mosaics ....................................... 141 4.2 STWAVE-FP Modeled WaveParamters .................................... 142 4.3 Stockdon et al. [2006} Runup Model.. ....................................... 142 5.0 Results ..................................................................................... 143 5.1 Shoreline