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Wave activity on the sea-bed of the english channel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

N.T.L. Grochowski  and
M.B. Collins
N.T.L. Grochowski
Affiliation:
Department of Oceanography, The University, Southampton, SO9 5NH
M.B. Collins
Affiliation:
Department of Oceanography, The University, Southampton, SO9 5NH
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Abstract

Long-term surface wave records from various parts of the English Channel are used to determine the percentage of time during a year for which waves disturb the sea-bed. Most of the bottom sediments are rarely disturbed by waves (<1% of the time), due to water depth and sediment grain size. The coastal zones (<30 m), including the embayments, experience significant wave disturbance at the sea-bed (i.e. >5–10%). The general distribution of surficial sediments can be explained in terms of tidally-induced processes alone. Even in areas where wave activity is high, fine-grained sediment transport is controlled by the same mechanisms.

Type
Short Communications
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 74 , Issue 3 , August 1994 , pp. 739 - 742
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1994

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