Suspended Sediment in the Surf Zone

Abstract

The vertical distribution of suspended sediment under broken waves is considered. Close to the seabed, the turbulence is dominated by the wave‐boundary layer, which determines the amount of suspended sediment very close to the bottom. Away from the bottom, the main contribution to the turbulence intensity originates from the surface generated turbulence due to wave breaking. This is described by application of the transport equation for turbulent kinetic energy. The production of kinetic energy is estimated from the energy loss in a hydraulic jump. The vertical distribution of suspended sediment is obtained from the diffusion equation. The theoretical findings are compared with laboratory experiments and field measurements.