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On the displacement of marked pebbles on two coarse-clastic beaches during short fair-weather periods (Marina di Pisa and Portonovo, Italy)

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Abstract

The aim of the investigation was to define the mechanisms of sediment transport in the swash zone of microtidal coarse-clastic beaches in the very short term by evaluating the displacement rates of marked pebbles under low-energy wave conditions. Tests were performed at two sites (Marina di Pisa, Ligurian Sea, and Portonovo, central Adriatic Sea) to check the consistency of the data over a range of different grain sizes. Two recovery campaigns were carried out at both sites, one 6 h and the other 24 h after the injection. During the experiments wave action was at a minimum (wave heights never exceeded 0.3 m). The results show that 20% of pebbles ranging in diameter from 30–90 mm moved significantly (more than 0.5 m) already 6 h after the injection, with some tracers being lost (3%). After 24 h, 40% of the pebbles were significantly displaced and 10% were lost. The preferential downslope movement of tracers, which suggests that coarse sediment movement under low-energy conditions is mainly controlled by gravity processes enhanced by steep beachface slopes, represents the novelty of the results reported here. It would appear that swash processes on low-energy beaches cause a significant rate of pebble displacement through the destabilization induced by wave uprush and backwash. Despite the microtidal range, the position of the mean water level plays a major role in changing the beach level at which swash processes can actually trigger pebble movement. The results of this study show that considerable, and mostly seaward-directed, coarse sediment transport takes place even during short fair-weather periods.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Regione Marche – P.F. Difesa della Costa for their support during every step of the research. The fieldwork would have been far more tiring without many friends and colleagues who helped us during the recovery campaigns: in particular, we wish to thank Federico Bertocchini, Gino Brambilla, Dr. Mitchell Harley and Prof. Javier Benavente of the University of Cadiz. Wave data at Marina di Pisa were kindly provided by the Tuscany Hydrographic Office. We also gratefully acknowledge ISPRA for the offshore wave data at Ancona. This work was first reported at the October 2012 “Particles in Europe” Conference in Barcelona, Spain, the main organizer being Dr. Ole Mikkelsen of Sequoia Scientific, Inc., Bellevue, WA. Comments from two anonymous reviewers and the editors led to substantial improvement of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, via Saragat 1, 44100, Ferrara, Italy

    Duccio Bertoni, Edoardo Grottoli & Paolo Ciavola

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, via Santa Maria 53, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    Giovanni Sarti

  3. Department of Information Engineering, University of Siena, via Roma 56, 53100, Siena, Italy

    Giuliano Benelli & Alessandro Pozzebon

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  1. Duccio Bertoni
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  2. Edoardo Grottoli
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  6. Alessandro Pozzebon
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Correspondence to Duccio Bertoni.

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Bertoni, D., Grottoli, E., Ciavola, P. et al. On the displacement of marked pebbles on two coarse-clastic beaches during short fair-weather periods (Marina di Pisa and Portonovo, Italy). Geo-Mar Lett 33, 463–476 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-013-0341-3

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