The terms swash and backwash collectively refer to the oscillatory motion of the shoreline due to the continuous arrival of waves. They also describe the associated thin lens of water behind the moving shoreline that periodically covers and uncovers the beach face. Some researchers use the term swash to describe the complete cycle of shoreline oscillation (i.e., both landward and seaward motion), whereas others use the term swash to describe the landward motion of the shoreline and use the term backwash to describe its seaward motion. Other terms synonymous with swash and backwash are wave-runup and -rundown, respectively.
Most of the early work relating to swash was carried out by applied mathematicians with an interest in nearshore oceanography. Benchmark papers from this discipline are those by Carrier and Greenspan (1958) for the case of non-breaking waves, and Shen and Meyer (1963)for the case of breaking waves. Coastal engineers principally interested in wave overtopping of...
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© 1978 Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc.
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Hughes, M.G. (1978). Swash and backwash, swash marks. In: Middleton, G.V., Church, M.J., Coniglio, M., Hardie, L.A., Longstaffe, F.J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3609-5_231
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