Modelling Coastal Processes on Sandy Beaches

The maturity of a scientific field can be measured by its capacity to formulate models. On this basis coastal modelling is in a mature stage with a range of models that have been developed and tested, both analytically and more importantly, in the field.

This article gives details of numerical packages that can hindcast the seastate, solve the wave and current fields around structures in the nearshore zone, make predictions about medium to long-term morphological developments, and predict the effects of storm attack on sandy beaches and dune systems. The models have an accepted mathematical basis and have been tested over a widerange of analytical and field situations.