Littoral drift by alongshore flow at Visakhapatnam – East Coast of India

The littoral drift in the surf zone of Visakhapatnam has been evaluated using simulated longshore current. In this study we examined littoral processes, driven by longshore currents using a set of numerical models (Mike-21 modeling system). Deepwater waves as they approach shallow water dissipate energy and the water from the broken waves flow parallel to the shoreline known as longshore current. In order to simulate the current from wave breaking, offshore wave data for the period 1995–2004, have been collected from British Meteorological Office (BMO), UK. Waves having an annual exceedance of 20% are allowed to propagate to nearshore using a nearshore spectral wind-wave model from predominant directions. The wave-induced radiation stress obtained from wave model then formed the basis for simulating the longshore current and associated sediment transport. The results of these simulations show the pattern of longshore flow and sedimentation. The net annual discharge at selected coastal stretches is estimated and presented. It has been inferred from the study that the sediment transport for the coast is of the order of 0.4–0.6 million m³/year.