Onshore sediment transport enhancement and evolution of bedforms: Laboratory experiments of beach ploughing

Progressive coastal retreat has been an issue exacerbated in recent years due to climate change. Sand is eroded from beaches during the winter and partially recovered during summer by slow accretion processes. The development of new working with nature techniques that produce enhanced beach accretion could help recover most of the sand lost during winter and thus reduce the impact of climate change on beaches. The presence of bedforms contribute to increasing onshore sediment transport, but few studies have been performed to quantify their effect. In this study, the evolution and effect of artificially created bedforms on onshore sediment transport were analysed in prototype-scale laboratory experiments. The tested bedforms mimicked a beach ploughing of the intertidal area, with a wavelength of 1.6 m and height of 0.25 m, corresponding to the ploughing dimensions that a tractor can perform. Two tests were performed with the same initial morphology, medium sand (D₅₀ = 0.318 mm), sea state conditions (H_s = 0.3 m, T_p = 7 s) that produced accretion, and different water levels that represent two tidal states. The experimental flume was longitudinally split into two equal channels of 1 m wide, allowing the simultaneous simulation of a natural control geometry and a ploughed geometry, facilitating the comparison and assuring the very same sea conditions. The presence of ploughed bedforms produced two effects: (1) an acceleration of natural accretion rates reaching 40%, and (2) onshore sediment transport due to the migration of the bedforms. The acceleration of natural accretion was explained by the extra bottom roughness induced by the bedforms, which produced more wave dissipation through bottom friction and thus more accretive conditions. The ploughed height decreased exponentially as waves broke over the crest of the ridges, which almost disappeared after 2–3 h of wave action. As a result, the extra bottom roughness also decreased as time passed. Consequently, the nature-assisted beach enhancement technique of ploughing should be applied at each low tide to produce a cumulative effect. Plough bedforms migrated onshore at a rate of approximately 0.2 m/h during the first hour, mobilizing onshore up to 61 kg m⁻¹ h⁻¹ of sediment. Ripples appeared on the tops of the ridge crests and migrated faster onshore, contributing to the migration of the ploughed bedforms. These results demonstrated the importance of considering bedforms while studying accretion processes and the potential of ploughing as an innovative strategy of working with nature to enhance beach recovery.