Variation in cross-shore wind speeds influenced by the morphology of nourished beach

The cross-shore variation in wind speeds influenced by beach nourishment, especially the dramatic changes at the nourished berm, is important for understanding the aeolian sand transport processes that occur after beach nourishment, which will contribute to better beach nourishment project design on windy coasts. In this paper, the influencing factors and potential mechanism of wind speed variation at the edge of a nourished berm were studied. Field observations, together with the Duna model, were used to study the cross-shore wind speed distribution for different nourishment schemes. The results show that the nourished berm elevation and beachface slope are the main factors controlling the increase in wind speed at the berm edge. When the upper beach slope is constant, the wind speed at the berm edge has a positive linear correlation with the berm elevation. When the berm elevation remains constant, the wind speed at the berm edge is also proportional to the upper beach slope. Considering the coupling effects of nourished berm elevation and beachface slope, a model for predicting the wind speed amplification rate at the nourished berm edge was established, and the underlying coupling mechanism was illustrated.