Estimation of Coastal Sediment Transport

Abstract

Coastal erosion is a severe problem elsewhere along the Japanese island, and efforts have been paid to cope the situation. For sophisticated management of coastal erosion, we must understand the spatial and temporal distribution of sediment fluxes, however, this item is usually very difficult to observe directly. The alternative way to estimate this item is measurement of bottom topographies, and then assess the sediment flux indirectly using the continuity equation between temporal change of bottom elevation and divergence of sediment flux. In this article, estimation of coastal sediment transport in the field is discussed, and then an attempt to estimate the sediment motion at the river mouth is introduced.