The nearshore zone is one of the most dynamic places on earth. Here, the perpetual interaction between waves, tides, wind and the seabed drive the fluid motions that initiate sediment transport and, ultimately, shape the world’s coastal areas. The magnitudes and spatiotemporal scales at which these processes act vary tremendously, and understanding the small-scale processes that underlie large-scale coastal dynamics remains a challenge.
This session welcomes contributions that focus on small scale (from turbulence to mean flow, sand grains to ripples) physical processes in the nearshore zone of wave-dominated coasts. Ranging from approximately 10 m water depth up to the shoreline, this region comprises the shoaling, surf and swash zones. Topics include cross-shore and alongshore wave field evolution, wave-breaking and turbulence, swash-zone processes, cross-shore and alongshore current structures, extreme events, sediment mobilisation and transport, and biophysical interactions. This session will include abstracts describing field measurements, numerical and laboratory modelling, theoretical analysis, and model-data assimilation. We particularly welcome studies including innovative data collection approaches, or with a focus on uncertainties in measurements and predictions.

The solicited speaker in this session is dr. Marion Tissier (Delft University of Technology).