Wind vs Swell to move sand?

[Pav]

I have 2 nights away and will be in Cornwall. Swell looks big so could move some sand, but what do u think re. Wind which is also strong. I know the beaches to choose with offshore, cross shore and onshore winds, but which strips sand?

I have thought it out in my head but cannot understand what wind would be most effective in moving sand?

[i find rubbish]

not Sunday and Monday i hope, have u seen the forecast for down south?

all the best
glen

[Pav]

These are my favourite times! I am happier at night or when the wind is pushing me off my feet or its raining.

I just need to get my head around predicting sand movement. I know the swell will move the sand and stir things up but what part does the wind play

If it is onshore I am guessing the lower beach could lose sand as it pushes it up the beach?
Offshore I am guessing moves sand down the beach.

[ossie]

Pav,if only it was so easy.
To be honest i think it is down to so many variables plus every single beach is totally different, even the next beach along the coast.
I been `teckin beaches for a long time and whenever sand has been stripped etc i`ve always asked myself why,and to be honest i haven`t worked it out yet. rl;

[silverwood]

Pav,if only it was so easy.
To be honest i think it is down to so many variables plus every single beach is totally different, even the next beach along the coast.
I been `teckin beaches for a long time and whenever sand has been stripped etc i`ve always asked myself why,and to be honest i haven`t worked it out yet. rl;

Fair point that mate.
Been studying the beaches for a while..........still baffled
Its only when you watch them week in week out you realise just how amazing a force the sea is.

[Tomo]

It all depends on the under current rather than the sea state and cannot be predicted I'm afraid. Keeping an eye on the the beaches to see were cuts have formed and also sand levels helps if you have regular access is a bonus.
For an example I was working a large cut the other year and a mate came down to find me to work the cut together. After getting out the car and looking down the beach along the area I was he said I was no we're to be seen. It was only after he walked down towards the sea he eventually seen the top of my head lol. The cut was 6 foot deep and when you looked from the car park level across the beach it couldn't be seen.

[Christoph1945]

Pav,if only it was so easy.
To be honest i think it is down to so many variables plus every single beach is totally different, even the next beach along the coast.
I been `teckin beaches for a long time and whenever sand has been stripped etc i`ve always asked myself why,and to be honest i haven`t worked it out yet. rl;

I have recently been pondering the same question, but haven't been beach detecting for very long. There must be a group of factors that move the sands in particular directions.

Having been beach detecting for a long time; have you kept detailed records of sea and weather conditions when a beach has been stripped? If you do keep records; you may just drop on that elusive factor that determines the direction of sand movement on a beach!

ps......you may like to have a peep at the following

http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/ ... cesses.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or just GOOGLE...... "Movement of sand on a beach" and read up on many of the research papers produced by eminent scientists.

[hihosilver]

The wind in itself can strip a beach down to rock or the hard-pack, but it can also redeposit other sand from elsewhere, so it's swings and roundabouts and unpredictable.

The sea can equally do the same, but it also moves around heavier items than sand, including metallic objects, seaweed, rocks, rubbish, etc. Mix all this together with underlying rocks and layered deposits, and beaches can be quite unpredictable. This is how one thing dropped at one end of the beach can even be redeposited 200m down the beach the next day.

Factoring in wind direction, currents under the waves, size of sand grains, distance of the moon from the earth, salinity of the localised sea, etc, you will see how near impossible it is to 100% predict how a beach will react in a storm.

You really just need to get to your beach the next low tide after the storm, and hope it's removed rather than replaced. Being on a beach in a proper storm is a surefire way to lose a lot of skin from being sandblasted.

[ossie]

Pav,if only it was so easy.
To be honest i think it is down to so many variables plus every single beach is totally different, even the next beach along the coast.
I been `teckin beaches for a long time and whenever sand has been stripped etc i`ve always asked myself why,and to be honest i haven`t worked it out yet. rl;

I have recently been pondering the same question, but haven't been beach detecting for very long. There must be a group of factors that move the sands in particular directions.

Having been beach detecting for a long time; have you kept detailed records of sea and weather conditions when a beach has been stripped? If you do keep records; you may just drop on that elusive factor that determines the direction of sand movement on a beach!

ps......you may like to have a peep at the following

http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/ ... cesses.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or just GOOGLE...... "Movement of sand on a beach" and read up on many of the research papers produced by eminent scientists.

Cheers Christopher,interesting read but nothing there that is gonna answer the simple question on what makes the beach strip,take my loca beaches, big waves are normal,big tides are normal yet i`ve seen the same beach stripped of sand on a small tide and also on a small swell.
Just get down there and give it a crack is what it`s all about really. Many thanks.

[Christoph1945]

Any other factors for those days? Wind directions?