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Formation of coastline features by large-scale instabilities induced by high-angle waves

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An Erratum to this article was published on 07 February 2002

Abstract

Alongshore sediment transport that is driven by waves is generally assumed to smooth a coastline. This assumption is valid for small angles between the wave crest lines and the shore, as has been demonstrated in shoreline models1. But when the angle between the waves and the shoreline is sufficiently large, small perturbations to a straight shoreline will grow2,3. Here we use a numerical model to investigate the implications of this instability mechanism for large-scale morphology over long timescales. Our simulations show growth of coastline perturbations that interact with each other to produce large-scale features that resemble various kinds of natural landforms, including the capes and cuspate forelands observed along the Carolina coast of southeastern North America. Wind and wave data from this area support our hypothesis that such an instability mechanism could be responsible for the formation of shoreline features at spatial scales up to hundreds of kilometres and temporal scales up to millennia.

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Figure 1: As a result of the basic instability, shoreline perturbations grow in the presence of high-angle waves.
Figure 2: Schematic illustration of the model algorithm.
Figure 3: Plan views of the model domain, showing the shoreline evolution.
Figure 4: Satellite images showing naturally occurring large-scale shoreline features.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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Author notes

  1. Olivier Arnoult

    Present address: École Normale Supérieure, 45 rue d'ULM, 75005, Paris, France

  2. Andrew Ashton: Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to A.A.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences/Center for Nonlinear and Complex Systems, Duke University, Box 90227, Durham, 27708-0227, North Carolina, USA

    A. Brad Murray

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Ashton, A., Murray, A. & Arnoult, O. Formation of coastline features by large-scale instabilities induced by high-angle waves. Nature 414, 296–300 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35104541

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