MODEL FOR PREDICTING FORMATION OF BAY BARRIER

Abstract

A barrier island often develops along the marginal area of a flat shallow sea. Various explanations have been given for the cause of development of barrier islands. Most studies have focused on the development and deformation of a barrier island during increases in sea level in terms of the stratification of sand layers in the sand bar and the change in longitudinal profiles (Schwarz, 1971), and studies on the 3-D development of a barrier considering the water depth where the barrier island develops and wave intensity are rare. In this study, we consider the relationship between wave energy and the water depth where a barrier island develops, in which the wave energy reaching the shoreline is controlled under a constant-sea-level condition. On the basis of the results of a movable bed experiment by Uda et al. (1994), the development of a bay barrier is investigated using the BG model proposed by Serizawa et al. (2009), taking a bay barrier that extends deep in a bay as an example.