Weather and sand deposition

[Jamesey1981]

Hi everyone, I have a question that someone may be able to answer, I can't get out to the beach every day to check for myself so I'm hoping someone will have already figured it out.

Is sand and shingle more likely to be deposited by onshore winds or offshore winds? Presumably sand and shingle would be more likely to be washed out by the opposite.

I would guess that a lot of it will depend on the beach itself but I was just wondering if there is a general rule of thumb that will help me decide which beach to head to when I do go out, the coast is a bit wiggly along here so I have access to beaches that face in different directions.

[botto]

Good question that mate I have wondered that myself..i will be watching for any replies

Cheers,
Gav.

[fred]

On the south coast onshore winds are generally more likely to move shingle but this isn't always for the better. It might pile up or cut.

Unfortunately for anybody looking for an easy answer there are lots of other factors at play. Even slight changes to any one of them can make a hell of a difference. I regularly detect on several miles of beach and can generally find somewhere worth a swing whatever the wind direction. However, after over 50 years of observation I like to think that I can read beaches.

[Jamesey1981]

I had a feeling that there wasn't going to be an easy answer!

The trouble with it is, I can get down about once a week, and there has usually been several different wind directions in that week and I never know which one cut out all the shingle or piled it all up.

Its pretty rare that it's so bad that I have to give up, but that does happen from time to time.

[maylandmanta]

It's not only the wind that causes beaches to "move" , you need to consider local currents and wave direction as well which cause longshore drift . Unfortunately the only way is to build up a knowledge of local beaches over time. I've been fishing and walking my local beaches for over 50 years and they still throw up the odd surprise movement depending on weather.

[Bes99]

If your lucky enough you may have a wave buoy in your area that collects wind speed/direction in near real time as well as other factors such as storm conditions: https://www.channelcoast.org/data_manag ... ta/charts/ if so you could check this and your beach and work out over time what conditions are more likely to cause the change you want.

[Jamesey1981]

There are some wave buoys here, not everywhere but there is one at each end so checking those is a good idea, I also still have a handheld marine radio from when I had my boat so I can listen in to the local marine weather forecast too.

It's been a bit stormy the last couple of days so I think what I'll do is keep an eye on the weather until i can get out later in the week and go to the same place I went at the end of last week and see what has happened to the beach, it was pretty much cut down to the rocks in a large area so I have a good starting point, I took a photo as well so I should be able to compare without having to rely on memory, hopefully that will give me a basic indication of how this beach works.

[beachboy70]

Sometimes the sea follows a pattern and sand / shingle will come on or off depending on wind direction but you also get times when it does something different to what it should do, as other people have said you have to look at beaches yourself and take note no easy answer to your question 100% .