Beaches and Coastal Environments of Washington
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Beaches and Coastal Environments of Washington
Southern WA Coast – sandy beaches, spits, lagoons, sediment supply from Columbia River, northward longshore transport
Northern WA Coast – headland beaches, cliff erosion, gravel beaches, stacks and island remnants offshore
Straits of Juan de Fuca – headland beaches, cliff erosion, river supply, eastward swell from ocean, large and complex spits
Puget Sound – headland beaches, cliff erosion, rivers with deltas, much local variability due to morphology
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Wind patterns affecting WA state
Winter ConditionsLow-pressure systems generate winds from S and SW, which push water against coast – causing storm surge
Summer ConditionsHigh-pressure systems generate winds from N and NE, which pull water away from coast – causing deep water to upwell with nutrients
Winter conditions dominate longshore transport
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Seasonal changes in water level and wave height
May August December March
Sea level ~0.5 m rise due to winds during winter
Wave height increases from ~1 m in summer to ~4 m in winter
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Seasonal changes in wave period and direction
May August December March
Wave periods (and wavelengths) reach a maximum in winter
Wave direction from SW during winter, from NW during summer
290
deg
250
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Pathways for Columbia River sand
Predominant direction of transport is northwardSand going to beach is small portion of total supply
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Sediment source for
southern WA coast
beaches
Dams placed on Columbia River during 20th century likely trapped much of sand supplied to beaches
Columbia discharge ~10 million tons/y[Mississippi~200 million tons/yAmazon~1200 million tons/y]
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Southwest Washington Coastal Erosion Study
Beach profiles collected seasonal from a number of beach-perpendicular transects
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Observations of submarine beach profile
Very difficult to obtain accuratelyData now collected using jet skis with depth recorder and GPS
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Changes in beach profiles
Winter 98 profile (yellow) is lower than Summer 97 profile (red) due to seasonal erosionSummer 98 profile (green) is higher and shows berm and bars moving onto beach
S 00
S99
S 98
S 97
W 99
W98
W97
2- and 3-m contours (above MLLW) show erosion during winter (landward migration) and deposition during summer, with a net movement landward between S 97 and S 00
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Shoreline changes over many decades
Sand accumulation occurred before 1950Rate of accumulation slowed since thenSevere erosion on north side of Willapa Bay Inlet has continued through periodSouth side of Grays Harbor Inlet accumulated much sediment before 1950, but has eroded since building jetty
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Changes in Wave Climate
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Pathways for Columbia River sand
Predominant direction of transport is northwardSand going to beach is small portion of total supply
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Elwha River
Drainage basin within Olympic Mountains, supplies sediment to Straits JdFTwo dams have trapped sediment since 1912 and 1926, nearly eliminating supplyScheduled for removal
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Elwha River Delta
Modern spitEdiz Hook
Paleo spits?
Mouth Valley
Paleo spits similar to the present Ediz Hook
4 km Elwha River
Subaqueous topset
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Multibeam Bathymetry
-29 m
-22m-16m
Bathymetric Profile -29 m -22 m -16 m
12
3
1 2 3
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Puget Sound
Predominant north-south orientationComplex morphologyGlacial historyRiver supply and cliff erosionEnergetic, but variable wave activityStrong tidal currents
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Holocene sea-level rise
Glacial rebound had strong impact on local sea level during early Holocene, especially in northern Puget sound – sea level fell
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Recent rise in Puget Sound sea level
For past century, sea-level rise has been ~2 mm/y, similar to global sea-level rise
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Puget Sound
Predominant north-south orientationComplex morphologyGlacial historyRiver supply and cliff erosionEnergetic, but variable wave activityStrong tidal currents
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Skagit BayTidal flats
Saratoga Passage
Skagit River northfork
Skagit River southfork
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Local variability in longshore transport
Due to orientation of land masses and direction of windsResults in dramatic heterogeneity of transport processes: convergent and divergent transport causes deposition and erosion differences over small scales
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Typical Puget Sound Beach
Gravel foreshore and sandy low-tide terrace
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Common profile for Puget Sound beaches
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Impact of waves and tides
Water level rises, exposing higher areas (including cliffs) to erosionWave energy increases, moving sediment seaward and alongshore
Equilibrium profile develops, depending on importance of across-beach and alongshore transport
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Differences in beach profiles
Where across-beach transport dominates, sediment profile changes depending on wave conditionsWhere alongshore transport dominates, profile remains similar but moves landward or seaward
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Impacts of biogenic materials
Oyster beds Drift Wood
Stabilize intertidal and supratidal regions of beach profile
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Impacts of seawalls
They help stabilize shoreline, but increase wave energy
Waves reflect back, rather than break
Superimposed wave height causes stronger wave motions – coarsens seabed and removes subtidal eelgrass (which is important for stabilizing seabed, and providing biohabitats)
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Other stupid human tricksOther Stupid Human Tricks
Sand mining and slope failures destabilize beach profile