Dealing with sandy coasts – new methods from SANTOSS research project

A report describing the aspects of the SANTOSS project that help coastal managers to understand and predict how sand shifts along coasts.

Documents

Dealing with sandy coasts – new methods from SANTOSS research project - summary (140KB) PDF

Dealing with sandy coasts – new methods from SANTOSS research project - technical report (2.1MB) PDF

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Details

Background

A new way of calculating the movement of sand across the seabed near coastlines should help coastal managers to understand and predict how sand shifts along coasts.

The SANTOSS project was run by a consortium of UK and Dutch universities. Funding from UK and Dutch research councils aimed at improving our understanding of sand movement in the coastal zone.

Outputs

This report describes the aspects of the SANTOSS project that have a direct influence on practical management, science and engineering issues.

The SANTOSS project produced a large database of laboratory observations of suspended sediment transport rates under large, simulated wave conditions.

It also developed a new formula for predicting sediment transport rates. This new formula (the SANTOSS formula) can be used to calculate the transport rate of sand. It includes processes not considered previously and is expected to give more accurate and realistic estimates. This is especially in the shallow nearshore region where waves become steep and forward-leaning as they approach breaking.

This project ran from 2006 to 2012.

Updates to this page

Published 22 February 2021