Four-Dimensional Model for Beach and Inner Nearshore Sedimentation

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Abstract
Temporal changes in beach and nearshore morphology may be slow and subtle or rapid and quite obvious. In order to measure and assess all of these changes, it is necessary to conduct detailed sequential topographic surveys. Such detailed and closely spaced data can be used to construct a framework for beach and nearshore sedimentation. This framework is constructed from a time sequence of topographic maps and from time-distance diagrams, thus providing a four-dimensional model called an area-time prism. The prism graphically depicts the dynamic nature of the beach and nearshore environment by showing the changes taking place in various key surfaces which are contoured to show their changes through time. These surfaces include the terrace cliff, shoreline, shallow sand bars, and the 4-foot depth contour. The area-time prism makes it possible to show various temporal relationships among these dynamic surfaces. By comparing this four-dimensional model with monitored environmental variables such as barometric pressure, wave height, and longshore current velocity, it is possible to demonstrate how beach and nearshore morphology responds to these variables through time. The result is a comprehensive process-response approach to the study of this dynamic environment; however, it is applicable to any modern sedimentary environment

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