Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33

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Continental Shelf Research

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Research papers

Sediment sorting along tidal sand waves: A comparison between field

observations and theoretical predictions
Tomas Van Oyen a,n, Paolo Blondeaux b, Dries Van den Eynde c
a
Department of Civil Engineering, Ghent University, Technologiepark 904, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
b
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Genoa, Via Montallegro 1, 16145 Genova, Italy
c
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Management Unit of the North Sea Mathematical Models, Gulledelle 100, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A site-by-site comparison between field observations and theoretical predictions of sediment sorting
Received 23 July 2012 patterns along tidal sand waves is performed for ten locations in the North Sea. At each site, the observed
Received in revised form grain size distribution along the bottom topography and the geometry of the bed forms is described in
20 February 2013
detail and the procedure used to obtain the model parameters is summarized. The model appears to
Accepted 4 April 2013
accurately describe the wavelength of the observed sand waves for the majority of the locations; still
Available online 25 April 2013
providing a reliable estimate for the other sites. In addition, it is found that for seven out of the ten
Keywords: locations, the qualitative sorting process provided by the model agrees with the observed grain size
Grain size sorting distribution. A discussion of the site-by-site comparison is provided which, taking into account
Tidal sand waves
uncertainties in the field data, indicates that the model grasps the major part of the key processes
Tides
controlling the phenomenon.
& 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction for a comprehensive overview. These studies illustrate that the

Tidal sand waves are striking periodic morphodynamic features
amply observed along shallow continental shelves dominated by tidal
currents (macro-tidal conditions) and characterized by an abundance
of sand (Terwindt, 1971; Boggs, 1974; Knaapen and Hulscher, 2002;
Santoro et al., 2004; Barnard et al., 2006; Buijsman and Ridderinkhof,
2008). These bed features have a crest-to-crest distance of hundreds of
meters, amplitudes of a few meters, and are organized with their
crests perpendicular to the major axis of the tidal ellipse. In addition, it
is observed that the bed forms are able to migrate, with migration
rates up to tens of meters a year (e.g., Besio et al., 2004; van Dijk and
Kleinhans, 2005).
Due to the ability of tidal sand waves to migrate, these bed
forms pose serious hazards to coastal societal services such as
navigation channels, monopiles and pipe lines. Moreover, tidal
sand waves provide a potential resource for sand extraction which
can be used as a natural measure for coastal management (e.g., for
beach nourishment). Hence, insight in the processes governing the
characteristics of sand waves is a necessary element to formulate
an integrated long-term management strategy of the coastal zone.
The occurrence of tidal sand waves has been intensively
investigated during the past two decades; see Besio et al. (2008)
n Roos et al. (2007a) developed a numerical model in order to
Corresponding author. Tel.: +32 9 264 5489.
E-mail addresses: tomas.vanoyen@ugent.be, tomasvanoyen@hotmail.com.
(T. Van Oyen)
appearance of the bed forms is induced by the interaction between
a bottom perturbation and the oscillating tidal current which leads
to a steady streaming that is directed from the troughs to the
crests of the bed topography; dragging sediment toward the top of
the bed undulation (Hulscher, 1996; Gerkema, 2000; Besio et al.,
2003, 2006). This process is opposed by gravity, which generates a
transport of sediment downslope, and the appearance of sand
waves is controlled by a balance between these two effects.
Recently, numerical and theoretical models have been devel-
oped to study the appearance of sediment sorting patterns along
tidal sand waves (Roos et al., 2007a; Van Oyen and Blondeaux,
2009a). These studies are motivated by field observations (i.e.,
Terwindt, 1971; Van Lancker and Jacobs, 2000; Stolk, 2000;
Anthony and Leth, 2002; Roos et al., 2007a; Svenson et al.,
2009), which highlight the occurrence of prominent spatial
patterns in the mean grain size distribution along the transects
of the bed forms. Opposite to the sediment sorting patterns
observed along tidal sand banks and shoreface connected ridges
(e.g., Swift et al., 1978; Lanckneus et al., 1994; Van Lancker, 1999),
the grain size distribution over tidal sand waves shows less
persistent trends. More specifically, some locations reveal a
coarsening of the mean grain size going from the trough to the
crest of the bed forms while other data report a reverse pattern; i.
e., a finer mean grain size at the crest than in the trough.
describe the grain sorting process along tidal sand waves, which
has the advantage that it can describe the dynamics of the

0278-4343/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2013.04.005
24 T. Van Oyen et al. / Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33

sediment sorting also when the bed forms have a finite amplitude.
With this model, a coarsening at the crests of the bed forms is
obtained. More recently, based on a theoretical approach, Van
Oyen and Blondeaux (2009a) found that the sediment sorting
process along the sand waves is controlled by two physical
processes, which combined, can lead both to a coarsening or a
fining of the mean grain size at the crest. The first process, as
illustrated by Fig. 1a, consists of a balance between hiding effects,
which enhance the transport of the coarse grains, and their
reduced mobility. It follows that for moderate tidal currents, the
fine fraction tends to accumulate at the crests while for stronger
tidal currents, a coarsening of the crest is found. In addition, due to
the distinct tidal excursion lengths of the different grain sizes, for
strong tidal currents and poorly sorted sediment mixtures, the
fractions can be transported during the tidal cycle over a different
number of sand waves, reversing the sorting process, see Fig. 1b.
Van Oyen and Blondeaux (2009b) investigated the influence of
segregated suspended sediment transport on the resulting sorting
patterns and the generation of the bed forms; reporting that the
sorting process leads to bed forms with a smaller (longer)
wavelength, compared to the uniform case, when the mean grain
size is relatively coarse (fine). In addition, Van Oyen and
Blondeaux (2009b) described a brief comparison of the model
predictions with field observations at three locations in the
southern North Sea, in order to provide a preliminary validation
of the model. However, since only three locations are considered
by Van Oyen and Blondeaux (2009b), the validation cannot be
considered conclusive.
Here, we extend this comparison with seven new locations
such that, combined with the sites described in Van Oyen and
Blondeaux (2009b), a more exhaustive comparison can be
obtained. In particular, the aim of this manuscript is to describe
the available relevant field data and compare them with model
predictions in order to obtain a more complete image of the grain
sorting process along the bed forms and to thoroughly evaluate
the abilities and limits of the model introduced by Van Oyen and
Blondeaux (2009b).
The focus of the work is to investigate the performance of the
model to predict sediment sorting patterns; discussing, concur-
rently, the impact of the heterogeneity of the bottom composition
on the predictions of the wavelength of the bed forms. Indeed,
previous research has already demonstrated the ability of stability
analyses to describe the occurrence of sand waves on continental
shelves (Hulscher and van de Brink, 2001; Veen et al., 2006); while
Cherlet et al. (2007) and, more recently, van Santen et al. (2011)
and Blondeaux and Vittori (2011) have investigated the potential
of theoretical models to predict the dominant appearing wave-
length, considering a uniform sediment composition.
In the following section the available field data are described in
detail, after which the theoretical approach employed by Van Oyen
and Blondeaux (2009b) is briefly summarized. In Section 4, the
procedure to determine the input data for the theoretical model is
described. A site-by-site comparison between the field observa-
tions and the model predictions is presented in Section 5; the
results of which are discussed in Section 6. Concluding remarks
are given in the final section.
2. Sediment sorting patterns: field observations
A first analysis of the sediment distribution along tidal sand
waves was conducted by Terwindt (1971), who reported the grain
size variations over sand waves at four sites north of the Hinder
Banks, in the southern North Sea. Sand samples were obtained by
divers with a Zenkovitch scraper and the grain size distribution
was determined by applying a normal sieve analysis. At two
locations, the mean grain size was observed coarser at the crests
of the bed forms than in the troughs, while field data at one
location revealed a fining of the sediment toward the crests of the
bottom topography. The sediment distribution at the last location
did not indicate a clear trend. Based on these observations,
Terwindt (1971) concluded that the different sorting patterns
along the bed forms could be related to different hydrodynamic
conditions and wrote: “The explanation of these differences requires
further hydrodynamic research. It is, however, clear from these grain-
size data that the hydrodynamic conditions governing the grain-size
selection over the sand waves may differ significantly from one place
to another”. Even though the measurements reveal qualitative
trends, these locations are not considered in the present work
since the data do not allow to obtain with reasonable accuracy the
grain size distribution (mean grain size, standard deviation) and
the hydrodynamic conditions.

Coarse Coarse Coarse Coarse

fine fine fine fine

fine fine

Coarse Coarse

Fig. 1. Sketch of the two physical processes which, coupled, govern the tidally induced sediment sorting pattern occurring during the initial formation of the bed forms. The
top figure illustrates the first mechanism: a balance between reduced mobility effects, which favor transport of fine grains, and hiding effects, resulting in larger transport
rates of coarse grains. When the tidal current is weak, reduced mobility effects appear to dominate (left panel of top figure), while hiding effects prevail (right panel of top
figure) for stronger tidal currents. In addition to this mechanism, the distinct grains size classes have a different tidal excursion which can induce that, for strong tidal
currents, the fine and coarse fraction are transported over a different number of bed forms (right panel of lower figure). Figure after Van Oyen and Blondeaux (2009b).
 T. Van Oyen et al. / Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33
Van Lancker and Jacobs (2000) describe the sediment distribu-
tion along a sand wave field occurring in a well-defined zone near
the Baland bank (Blb, location 1 in Fig. 4), on the western Belgian
continental shelf. The bed forms, measured by side-scan sonar
registration, have wavelengths ranging between 100 and 200 m
with heights between 0.5 and 1.25 m and they occur in water
depths between 3 and 15 m. Van Lancker and Jacobs (2000) report
a clear division between the sediment composition at the troughs
and at the crests of the bed features; the mean grain size being
coarser at the crests (see Fig. 2).
Off Thorsminde at the Danish West Coast (Dwc, site 7 in Fig. 4),
in the eastern part of the North Sea, side-scan sonar surveys reveal
the presence of large tidal sand waves, with wavelengths of
approximately 500 m (Anthony and Leth, 2002). In the study area,
the water depth varies between 12 and 18 m. To investigate a
possible relation between the surface sediment grain size and the
2D bed form position, Anthony and Leth (2002) collected 348
sediment samples with a grab-sampler. The collected samples
were analyzed by means of wet sieving and a grain size distribu-
tion map was assembled, based on the mean grain size of the sand
fraction for each sample. Anthony and Leth (2002) communicate a
high positive correlation between the bottom topography and the
Depth MLLWS (m) Mean Grain Size (mm)
0.40
0.35
-4 0.30
-5
-6
-7
-8
-9
2000 1600 1200 800 400 0 between 19 and 28 m. Here, sediment samples reveal coarser
Cumulative distance (m)
Fig. 2. Mean grain size (dots in the upper line) and bottom topography (thick
bottom line) along a transect of the sand waves observed near the Baland Bank,
western Belgian continental shelf. Figure based on Van Lancker and Jacobs (2000).
Fig. 3. Variation of the mean grain size along the tidal sand waves observed off Thorsminde at the Danish West Coast. Figure adapted from Anthony and Leth (2002).
25
mean grain size. In particular, at the top of the bed undulation the
mean grain size is about 0.15 mm and gradually coarsens toward
the troughs (see Fig. 3).
Sediment sorting patterns along tidal sand waves at five
locations in the southern North Sea are described by Roos et al.
(2007a). At these sites, sediment samples were taken in the
troughs, at the crests, and (in the majority of the locations) also
along the slopes of the bed forms (Roos et al., 2007a). The samples
were acquired with a cylindrical box corer (resampled to sediment
cores on board) and at one location with a vibrocorer. The grain
size distribution was analyzed by sieving, for grains coarser than
2 mm, and using laser diffraction (Malvern, 2000) for finer grains.
The first station discussed by Roos et al. (2007a) is a coastal site
near Zandvoort (Znv, location 4 in Fig. 4). Here, the bed features
are observed in depths ranging between 14 and 18 m and have an
average wavelength of 760 m. The median grain size is found finer
at the troughs of the bed undulation (0.219–0.327 mm) than at the
crests (0.340–0.350 mm). The second site is located 50 km off
shore of Egmond aan Zee (Egm, site 5 in Fig. 4). The bed features at
Egm are characterized by an averaged wavelength of about 203 m,
in depths of approximately 28 m. Based on 11 sea bed samples,
taken along two sand waves present in the sand wave field at Egm,
the median grain size is found to vary between 0.273 and
0.297 mm at the crests of the bed forms, and ranges between
0.254 and 0.272 mm in the troughs; revealing thus a coarsening of
the sediment moving from the troughs toward the crests. Roos
et al. (2007a) report also observations of the sand wave field, with
averaged wavelength equal to 206 m, along the Brown bank (Bnb,
site 6 in Fig. 4). At this location, the spatial variation of the median
grain size along the sand waves is based on two sediment samples
along one sand wave only, and is not pronounced. In particular, the
median grain size is only slightly finer at the crest (0.314 mm) than
at the trough (0.316 mm). The fourth location described by Roos
et al. (2007a) is positioned 45 km west-southwest of Hoek van
Holland (Hvh, site 3 in Fig. 4); and it comprises sand waves with
an averaged wavelength of 350 m in water depths ranging
grains at the top of the bed forms (0.396–0.561 mm) than in the
troughs (0.303–0.461 mm). Finally, the spatial pattern of the
median grain size along the Thornton Bank (Tnt, location 2 in
Fig. 4), is discussed by Roos et al. (2007a). Bed forms with a
26 T. Van Oyen et al. / Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33
Fig. 4. Sketch of the locations of the sand wave fields considered in the
comparison. At the brighter sites (locations 2, 6 and 7), finer grains are observed
at the crests while at the darkened sites (locations 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10), a
coarsening of the crests is reported.
wavelength of approximately 145 m are observed at this location,
and the median grain size is observed to fine moving from the
troughs (0.436–0.530 mm) toward the crests (0.397–0.421 mm) of
the tidal sand waves.
Stolk (2000) reports the results of a detailed grab sampling
campaign carried out along two sand wave fields in the northern
part of the Middel kerke Bank area (Mdb1 and Mdb2, locations
9 and 10 in Fig. 4, represented by one point since the sites are very
close to each other). At the first location (Mdb1), 60 samples were
taken at a constant distance of 25 m along a 1.5 km long profile
orthogonal to the crests of the sand waves (Stolk, 2000). Mean
grain sizes vary between 0.25 mm and 0.65 mm (at one point the
mean grain size is higher: 0.9 mm). At the eastern part of this
profile, the sand wave field is superposed on the Middelkerke
Bank. The wavelength of the bed forms here is approximately
270 m. The second profile (Mdb2) is taken in the direction of the
maximum current velocities. Here, 22 samples are analyzed,
collected on a constant distance of 50 m along a profile of
1.5 km, with bed forms characterized by an averaged wavelength
of 350 m. The coarsest mean grain size is approximately 0.66 mm
while the finest mean grain is about 0.4 mm.
For both profiles, the grain size fractions of the samples are
determined by a settling tube and by laser diffraction. Considering
the coarseness of the bottom composition, however, we consider
hereafter the values obtained using the laser diffraction since, in
this case, the settling tube values are less reliable (Stolk, 2000).
Relating the mean grain size with the bed elevation, an increase of
the coarseness of the bottom composition is observed moving
from the troughs to the crests of the bed forms at both locations.
Finally, the grain size composition with respect to the bed
elevation was analyzed by Svenson et al. (2009), for a sand wave
occurring in the Jade tidal inlet channel (Jil, site 8 in Fig. 4). The
wavelength of the observed bed form is about 185 m and the sand
wave reaches a height of 5 m. The grain size composition perpen-
dicular to the crest of the bed form, obtained with a ShipekTM grab
sampler, is analyzed in a MacroGranometerTM settling tube
(Svenson et al., 2009) and indicates a coarsening of the mean
grain size at the crests. Indeed, the medium size of the sediment is
about 0.35 mm in the trough and approximately 0.7 mm at the
crest (Svenson et al., 2009).
In Fig. 4, the locations of the observed sand waves described by
Van Lancker and Jacobs (2000), Anthony and Leth (2002), Stolk
(2000), Svenson et al. (2009) and Roos et al. (2007a) are presented,
and the measured sediment sorting patterns at each site is
illustrated.
3. Theoretical model
The theoretical model, introduced to describe the sediment
sorting process along the bed forms, is presented in detail in Van
Oyen and Blondeaux (2009b). In the following, the main aspects of
the model are briefly summarized for the self-consistency of the
present paper. The interested reader, is referred to Van Oyen
Blondeaux (2009a,b) and Blondeaux and Vittori (2005a,b) for
more details.
The model formulation can be divided into three parts. In the
first part, the model used to describe tidal currents in shallow seas
is specified, while the second part presents the approach
employed to determine the sediment transport. The third part is
devoted to evaluate the generation of the bed forms and the
sediment sorting process.
3.1. Hydrodynamics
The hydrodynamic model aims at describing the flow field
induced by the propagation of a tidal wave, dominated by the M2
tidal constituent, over both a flat bed and a bottom characterized
by small wavy deviations from the mean. In both cases, the flow
field is determined locally, considering an unbounded domain in
the horizontal directions. To this end, a three-dimensional model
is adopted, governed by the continuity and momentum conserva-
tion equations, where the influence of the Coriolis force due to the
Earth rotation is taken into account. The flow field is considered
turbulent and a scalar eddy viscosity is introduced to describe the
Reynolds stresses. The eddy viscosity is assumed to be time-
independent with a vertical profile equal to the profile suggested
by Dean (1974).
At the bottom boundary, the no-slip condition is applied; while
at the free surface, the kinematic boundary condition is considered
together with the dynamic conditions which force the vanishing of
the shear stresses and of the relative pressure (wind shear stresses
are neglected).
The model is formulated considering a Cartesian coordinate
system ðx; ^ z^ Þ with the vertical z^ axis, pointing upwards; and the
^ y;
^ and yaxes
x ^ given by the parallel lines pointing East and the
meridian lines pointing North, respectively.
Following the solution procedure outlined in Blondeaux and
Vittori (2005a,b), the flow field is entirely determined by specify-
ing the mean local depth H, the maximum value of the depth-
averaged flow velocity U, the ratio ecc between the minor and
major axis of the tidal ellipse and the geometric mean grain size
dgm. The latter is required to evaluate the bottom roughness, which
is assumed to be due to current induced ripples and is computed
following Soulsby and Whitehouse (2005).
3.2. Sediment transport and bed evolution
In order to describe the sediment sorting process along the
sand waves, it is necessary to account for the heterogeneity of the
non-cohesive sediment mixture in the bottom composition, the
sediment transport and the bed evolution. First, the mixture of
grain sizes is represented by a discrete amount of grain size
 T. Van Oyen et al. / Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33
classes. In the adopted model, the heterogeneous sediment is
assumed to be described by two grain size classes, similar to other
theoretical studies on the sediment sorting process along mor-
phological features (e.g., Lanzoni and Tubino, 1999; Walgreen
et al., 2003, 2004; Roos et al., 2007b; Vis-Star et al., 2009). Each
grain size class i ( ¼1, 2) is characterized by a probability of
occurrence pi and a grain size diameter di. Note that pi can vary
in space and time, however, it is subject to the constraint
∑2i ¼ 1 pi ¼ 1. The grain size diameter is related to a value ϕi on
the phi-scale defined as


di
ϕi ¼ − log2 ; ð1Þ
dref
with dref equal to 1 mm. The geometric mean grain size is then
given by
dgm ¼ dref 2−ϕm with ϕm ¼ p1 ϕ1 þ p2 ϕ2 :
Hence, in order to evaluate the geometric mean grain size, it is
necessary to specify the diameters of the fine and coarse fractions
and their initial probability of occurrence. The specific methodol-
ogy which is adopted to estimate the grain size diameters and pi,
in order to resemble the occurring bed composition, is discussed in
Section 4.
In addition, the evolution of the bed, based on the conservation
of mass, needs to take into account the availability for transport of
a certain grain size class in the bottom. Thereto, the active layer
model suggested by Hirano (1971) is adopted which, for each grain
size class i, requires


∂ ∂ 1 ∂pi qi ∂pi qi
−pi ðh þ La Þ þ ðpi La Þ ¼ − þ : ð3Þ
∂t ∂t ð1−por Þ ∂x^ ∂y^
Here, por represents the porosity of the sediment mixture, t time, h
the local depth, qi the sediment transport per unit fraction and La
the ‘active layer’ thickness; i.e., the thickness of the upper layer of
the bed in which the grains are assumed to be instantaneously
available for transport and the bottom composition is well mixed.
Summation of (3) over all grain size classes i, leads to a relation
which governs the evolution of the bed


∂h 1 2 ∂pi qi ∂pi qi
¼− ∑ þ : ð4Þ
∂t ð1−por Þ i ¼ 1 ∂x^ ∂y^
Relations (3) and (4) can be integrated once the sediment
transport for both grain size classes is specified. In the model, both
bedload and suspended sediment transport are accounted for. The
former is computed by considering the approach suggested by van
Rijn (1984a, 1984b), adjusted to take into account slope effects as
suggested by Kovacs and Parker (1994). The transport of sediment
in suspension, on the other hand, is determined through two
steps. First, the concentration profile, of each grain size class, is
determined by solving an advection–diffusion equation together
with appropriate boundary conditions. In particular, at the bottom
boundary, a reference concentration is imposed which is deter-
mined following van Rijn (1984b). At the free surface, the flux of
sediment in the direction normal to the free surface is considered
to be equal to the amount of sediment stored between the free
surface elevation at a certain time and the level of the free surface
at the next time step. In the second step, the concentration profile
is used to compute the flux of sediment in suspension.
Finally, the effect of the heterogeneity of the bottom composi-
tion on the transport of sediment is considered in two ways.
Firstly, the sediment transport is computed with respect to the
specific grain size class, such that all the grain-related parameters,
in the sediment transport predictors, are evaluated using the grain
size diameter di of the class under consideration. Secondly, hiding
effects are taken into account by modifying the critical value of the
shear stress, below which no sediment moves, as suggested by
27
Ashida and Michiue (1972). We refer to Van Oyen and Blondeaux
(2009b) for details on the adopted formulations.
3.3. Bed form appearance
To evaluate the sediment sorting along the sand waves, the
model applies a stability analysis, see e.g., Dodd et al. (2003) for
background information on the use of stability approaches in
coastal environments. In particular, small wavy perturbations,
characterized by wavenumbers αx^ and αy^ , are superimposed to a
steady basic state; and it is investigated whether the perturbations
grow or decay in time. Due to the (imposed) smallness of the
perturbations, the resulting equations can be linearized, minimiz-
ing the computational effort and facilitating the physical under-
standing of the governing processes. The disadvantage, however, is
that the analysis is only valid as long as the perturbations are
ð2Þ
small, since non-linear effects are not taken into account. There-
fore, the analysis cannot describe the sorting process along tidal
sand waves of finite amplitude.
Hence, the depth h is considered to be given by
h ¼ h0 −2ϵAðtÞ cos ðαx^ x^ þ αy^ yÞ;
^ ð5Þ
for the generic bed form with wavenumber ðαx^ ; αy^ Þ. In (5), h0
describes the flat bed, A(t) denotes the time development of the
amplitude of the perturbation and ϵ is a parameter introduced to
impose the smallness of the disturbance (i.e., ϵ{1). The wavy
perturbation of the bed induces also changes in the flow field and
sediment transport; which result in wavy perturbations of the
bottom composition and mean grain size such that
½qi ; pi ; dgm  ¼ ½q0;i ; p0;i ; dgm;0 
þ 2ϵ½q1;i ; p1;i ; dgm;1 AðtÞ cos ðαx^ x^ þ αy^ yÞ:
^ ð6Þ
Note that the use of the constraint ∑2i ¼ 1 pi ¼ 1 leads to p1;1 ¼ −p1;2 .
Thus, considering relations (5) and (6), two sets of equations are
obtained which describe the flow field and sediment transport for
different grain size classes over a flat bed and a bed with periodic
undulations. In the latter case, the sediment transport, averaged
over a tidal cycle, results in a spatial pattern of convergence and
divergence of sediment transport which controls the evolution of
the bed. As demonstrated by Van Oyen and Blondeaux (2009b), it
turns out that the amplitude of the initial disturbance A(t) evolves
in time as
AðtÞ ¼ A0 EðtÞ expfΓtg: ð7Þ
Here, the second term (E(t)) on the right hand side of relation (7)
represents small oscillations of the bed that occur during the tidal
cycle, while the term expfΓtg describes the growth/decay of the
bottom waviness. In particular, if a positive value of Γ is obtained,
the initial rhythmic disturbance is exponentially amplified in time.
On the other hand, a negative value of Γ leads to the decay of the
perturbation. In addition, the time development of the perturba-
tion in the probability density of the grain size class 1 is described
by
p1;1 ðtÞ ¼ DðtÞ þ Πt: ð8Þ
In (8), D(t) describes relatively small temporal changes of the
bottom composition which are temporal periodic and do not
impact the long term sorting pattern. It follows that the resulting
averaged sediment distribution is controlled by the value of Π.
More specifically, if we consider the coarse fraction to be repre-
sented by the grain size class 1, a positive (negative) value of Π
indicates that the coarse (fine) grains are piled up at the crests of
the bed undulation such that a coarsening (fining) of the crests is
predicted.
Finally, we remark that, as illustrated by Besio et al. (2006), the
most amplified bed forms are periodic undulations characterized
28 T. Van Oyen et al. / Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33
by crests which are orthogonal to the major axis of the tidal
ellipse, similar to field observations. Therefore, in the following,
we only investigate the generation of this type of bed form.
Considering (x,y)-axes such that the x-axis is aligned with the
main axis of the tidal ellipse, it follows that the analysis is limited
to the study of the formation of bed forms which are characterized
by a wavenumber αx .
4. Methodology
For each site, the theoretical model requires the input of several
independent parameters which describe the local hydrodynamic
conditions, the bathymetry and the bottom composition. In
particular, the latter is assumed to be described by the geometric
mean grain size and two grain sizes representative for the coarse
and fine fractions. The bathymetry is defined by specifying the site
specific mean water depth H; while the tidal current is assumed to
be generated only by the propagation of a semidiurnal tide. Hence,
the hydrodynamics is fully known by fixing the maximum value U
of the depth averaged flow velocity during the tidal cycle and the
ratio ecc between the minor and the major axis of the tidal ellipse.
The hydrodynamic conditions at each location, except at Jil and
Dwc, are provided by the Management Unit of the North Sea
Mathematical Models (MUMM) and were obtained by means of
numerical computations, since the hydrodynamic conditions are
not described in detail by the field data. In particular, the tidal
characteristics are evaluated by means of a harmonic analysis of
the flow velocity, computed by a numerical model (Luyten et al.,
1999; Pison and Ozer, 2003) over a 15 day period. On the Belgian
continental shelf (comprising the sites Blb, Tnt, Mdb1, Mdb2 and
Hvh), the flow field is determined by a three-dimensional numer-
ical model using a 750 m  750 m horizontal grid. On the bound-
ary of the Belgian continental shelf, the model is coupled with a
three-dimensional model with a coarser grid (4 km  4 km), which
computes the tidal current on the North Sea. In turn, this model is
coupled with a depth-averaged model which evaluates the flow
field on the entire northwest European continental shelf. The tidal
characteristics at the locations Znv, Egm and Bnb are evaluated
from the flow velocities obtained with the three-dimensional
model which applies the coarse grid. At the sites where the
hydrodynamic conditions are provided by MUMM, also the bathy-
metric data used by the numerical model are considered as input
for H in the theoretical model, since the flow velocity resulting
from the model is related to the local depth.
The flow velocity and bathymetry at the site off the Danish
west coast (Dwc) and in the Jade tidal inlet (Jil) are determined
based on the data described by Anthony and Leth (2002) and
Svenson et al. (2009), respectively.
The water depth at the study area off the Danish west coast
varies between 12 and 18 m, such that a value of 15 m is
considered for H as input. The flow field is characterized by a tidal
component of approximately 0.35 m/s; however, it is affected also
by the steady Jutland Coastal Current, which flows northward
along the Danish west coast (Kristensen, 1991). Since the theore-
tical model does not consider the influence of steady components
in the flow field, the effect of this current is not taken into account
and U is set equal to 0.35 m/s.
Fig. 3 of Svenson et al. (2009) reveals a mean water depth of
14.4 m at the site under consideration in the Jade tidal inlet.
Moreover, Svenson et al. (2009) report that during maximum ebb
flow, for an averaged tide, the current velocity, depth-averaged
from 1 to 2 m above the sea bed, is observed to increase from the
trough ð∼0:7 m=sÞ toward a pronounced maximum over the crest
ð∼1:1 m=sÞ. Fitting a logarithmic profile through the data described
in Fig. 3 of Svenson et al. (2009), we obtain a spatially mean value
of 0.95 m/s for U. Taking into account that in the Jade tidal inlet,
the flow patterns are similar during ebb and flood phases, with a
slightly weaker tidal current during flood phases (Svenson et al.,
2009), we consider a value of U equal to 0.925 m/s.
The independent parameters which characterize the sediment
composition are determined by considering the information of
mean grain sizes and sortedness measured in the study areas and
described in each paper. Since the theoretical model aims at
determining the most amplified mode of a small amplitude
perturbation, imposed to an initial basic state, its bottom compo-
sition is considered to be that characteristic of the entire sand
wave field under investigation. Hence, a procedure is adopted to
account for the observed grain size diameters along the whole
sand waves. In particular, the bottom composition is assumed to
be normally distributed on the phi-scale such that the initial
probability density function in the active layer is given by
( )
1 ðϕ−ϕm Þ2
p0 ðϕÞ ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffi exp − : ð9Þ
s 2π 2s2
For each site, the standard deviation s and geometric mean grain
size ϕm are sought to fit the described bottom composition,
averaged over the entire sand wave field.
To illustrate this procedure let us consider the data described
by Stolk (2000) along the first location Mdb1, see Fig. 5. Based on
the reported grain size distribution, we can construct a cumulative
probability curve, as shown in Fig. 6, which allows us to evaluate
the mean grain size ðϕm Þ and to estimate the standard deviation s
by computing the logarithmic (graphical) standard deviation sI
given by Folk and Ward (1957) and Blott and Pye (2001)
ϕ84 −ϕ16 ϕ95 −ϕ5
sI ¼ þ : ð10Þ
4 6:6
Here, the sub-fix ‘d’ in ϕd indicates the grain size diameter, on the
phi-scale, of which d% of the sample is coarser. A value of 0.95 is
obtained for ϕm and the standard deviation s is found equal to
0.16. Once s and ϕm are determined, a probability density function
based on relation (9) is computed, see Fig. 7. Then, in order to
represent the bottom composition by a fine and a coarse grain size
fraction, each with an initial probability of 0.5, the values of ϕ33
and ϕ66 are evaluated and used to fix d1 ¼ d33 and d2 ¼ d66 ,
respectively. Following this method, we obtain a value of
0.54 mm for d1 and 0.49 mm for the fine fraction. For the other
sites, a similar procedure is followed. In Table 1, the required input
parameters for each site are summarized.
Fig. 5. Bed elevation and grain size along the location Mdb1 Figure adapted from
Stolk, (2000). The mean grain size at each point is determined by a settling tube
(D50 st) and by laser diffraction (D50 ld).
 T. Van Oyen et al. / Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33 29

5. Site-by-site comparison represent the wavelength of the observed bed features. In addi-
tion, related to the fastest growing mode, the model describes the
As discussed in Section 3, the theoretical model provides the sediment sorting process along the sand wave; i.e., whether the
wavelength of the perturbation component which is the most mean grain size coarsens or fines at the crest of the bed forms. In
amplified (“the fastest growing mode - fgm”) and is assumed to the following, we first discuss in detail a comparison of the model
predictions with field observations for one location to illustrate
the procedure to obtain results. Thereafter, the major findings of
100
the model are summarized more briefly.
90 As example, we consider the field observations of Stolk (2000)
at the location Mdb2. Fig. 8a plots the value of Γ considering the
80 input parameters characteristic of this location (Table 1). It is
found that the perturbation characterized by a wavenumber αx
Cumulative Weight (%)

70
equal to 0.31 is the most amplified disturbance. This value of αx
60 corresponds to a fastest growing wavelength λpred ¼ ð2π=αx ÞH of
approximately 435 m. Comparing the predicted value with the
50 wavelength observed in the field, it appears that the theoretical
40 model provides a reasonable estimate ðλobs ¼ 350 mÞ. Here, it is
worth to note that the evaluation of the capability of the
30 theoretical model is regarded relative to the state-of-the-art
performance of available morphodynamic models, which yield
20
information on bed form characteristics without any a-posteriori
10 tuning of model parameters. Up-to-date, these theoretical mor-
phodynamic models chiefly compare only the qualitative behavior
0 of the model predictions or regard just the order of magnitude of
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 the phenomenon (e.g., Coco et al., 2000; Calvete et al., 2001; Idier
Grain Size (phi − units) et al., 2004; Cherlet et al., 2007). In this context, relative errors of
Fig. 6. Cumulative undersize percentage of the bottom composition observed at ∼O(100%) are considered as fair estimates. In addition, Fig. 8b
location Mdb1 described by Stolk (2000). illustrates that, for the fastest growing wavenumber, the value of Π
is positive, such that a coarsening at the sand wave crest is
predicted by the model; consistently with the observations in
the field.
0.8 At the other sites, the stability (growth or decay) of the bed
forms and the resulting sediment sorting pattern is investigated in
0.7 a similar fashion; i.e., Γ is computed for a range of wavenumbers
αx to find the most amplified mode, after which the value of Π, for
0.6
the fastest growing mode, determines the variation of the mean
0.5 grain size along the bed forms. The profile of the growth rate and
p0 (φ)

Π as function of αx , for all the locations considered, is presented in

0.4 the supplementary material, while Figs. 9 and 10 summarize the
outcome of the comparison between the theoretical predictions
0.3 with the field observations. In Fig. 9, the dimensional wavelengths
of the fastest growing mode predicted by the model for a uniform
0.2 and a heterogeneous sediment are compared with the observed
φ33 φ66
wavelengths. For the uniform sediment case, the grain size
0.1 n
diameter of the bed composition is taken equal to dgm .
0 Overall, the agreement between the theoretical predictions and
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 the field observations appears quite satisfactory. Especially at the
φ sand wave fields off the Danish west coast (Dwc), west-southwest
Fig. 7. Probability density profile, based on the mean grain sizes measured by Stolk
of the Hoek van Holland (Hvh), near the Middelkerke Bank (Mdb1
(2000) at the site Mdb1, assuming a normally distributed bottom composition on and Mdb2), in the Jade tidal inlet (Jil) and near the Thorton bank
the phi-scale. (Tnt), the predicted wavelength compares well to very well with

Table 1
Summary of the bathymetrical, hydrodynamical and sedimentological input values.

H (m) U (m/s) ecc dgm (mm) s d33 (mm) d66 (mm) λobs (m) Coarsening/fining of the crest

1. Blb 8.8 0.61 0.22 0.32 0.56 0.38 0.28 100–200 Coarsening
2. Tnt 22.1 0.73 0.40 0.45 1.52 0.72 0.3 145 Fining
3. Hvh 26.3 0.78 0.16 0.43 0.467 0.499 0.378 350 Coarsening
4. Znv 10.0 0.58 0.068 0.34 0.37 0.38 0.30 760 Coarsening
5. Egm 24.0 0.69 0.0658 0.27 0.395 0.31 0.24 203 Coarsening
6. Bnb 27.25 0.72 0.13 0.32 0.35 0.35 0.29 206 Fining
7. Dwc 15.0 0.35 0.05 0.29 0.615 0.35 0.24 500 Fining
8. Jil 14.4 0.925 0.05 0.48 0.63 0.57 0.39 185 Coarsening
9. Mdb1 21.0 0.698 0.28 0.46 0.296 0.50 0.42 270 Coarsening
10. Mdb2 21.0 0.698 0.28 0.52 0.157 0.54 0.496 350 Coarsening
30 T. Van Oyen et al. / Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33

0.025 0.00025
Γ Π
0.0002
0.02 0.00015
0.0001
0.015 5e-05 fgm
fgm
Γ

Π
0
0.01 -5e-05
-0.0001
0.005 -0.00015
-0.0002
0 -0.00025
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
αx αx

Fig. 8. The value of (a) Γ and (b) Π plotted against the wavenumber αx considering the input values determining the local conditions at the site Mdb2 (Stolk, 2000).
(a) Growth Rate and (b) Sediment Profile.

800
Znv Egm
700

600 Bnb
Wavelength (m)

Dwc
500 Tnt Hvh Jil Mdb1 Mdb2
400 Blb

300

200

100

0
Observations Model:sediment mixture Model:uniform sediment
Fig. 9. The crest to crest distance of the observed bed forms in comparison with the predicted wavelengths considering a heterogeneous sediment and a uniform sediment.

Table 2 qualitative pattern predicted by the model concurs with the field
The relative error Δrel between the observed and the predicted wavelength observations.
considering a heterogeneous bottom composition.

Blb Tnt Hvh Znv Egm Bnb Dwc Jil Mdb1 Mdb2
6. Discussion
Δrel (%) 119 19 25 132 237 170 15 10 56 21
The results presented in Section 5 illustrate that the model can
provide fair estimates of the wavelength of the observed sand
the observed features; i.e., a relative error Δrel waves, and that in many cases the predictions turn out to be
ð ¼ jλpred −λobs j=minðλpred ; λobs ÞÞ smaller than 60%, see Table 2. How- accurate. Moreover, the model provides a qualitative description of
ever, Fig. 9 and Table 2 show that at the other sites, near the the observed sediment sorting process which, for the majority of
Baland Bank (Blb) and especially offshore of Egmond aan Zee the cases, agrees with the field observations. Hence, the compar-
(Egm), close to the Brown bank (Bnb) and near Zandvoort (Znv), ison between model predictions and field data indicates that the
larger discrepancies are found, even though the model still theoretical model is promising. However, for some sites, the
provides a reasonable estimate. results show that the present model does not always compare
In addition, it is found that similar wavelengths are obtained in qualitatively and quantitatively well with the field observations.
the case the heterogeneity of the bottom composition is taken into The discrepancy between the model predictions and the observa-
account and when the sediment is assumed uniform; except at Tnt tions could be due to several reasons.
and Jil, where the wavelength is overestimated considering a Firstly, it should be noted that the quality and quantity of the
uniform bed and the model with a sediment mixture performs data, at some sites (e.g., Znv, Egm, Bnb), do not allow the accurate
better. For a discussion of the influence of sediment heterogeneity determination of the input parameters of the theoretical model.
on the generation of tidal sand waves, the interested reader is Moreover, in some cases, the data, actually, do not allow to draw
referred to Van Oyen and Blondeaux (2009b). definite conclusions on the observed sorting process; i.e., Mdb1,
Fig. 10 provides a qualitative comparison of the observed grain Mdb2 and Bnb. For instance, at the Bnb site, the difference
size distribution with the predicted sediment sorting profile, in between the grain size in the troughs (median grain size equal
which the lower (upper) bars indicate finer (coarser) grains at the to 0.316 mm) and at the crests (median grain size equal to
crests of the bed forms. It is found that at the Brown bank (Bnb), 0.314 mm) is almost negligible such that it can be seriously
the Jade tidal inlet (Jil) and the location Mdb1, described by Stolk questioned if the occurring grain size sorting process should be
(2000), the sediment sorting process predicted by the model classified as a fining of the grain size moving from the troughs
differs from the reported spatial pattern. However, at the other toward the crest. Moreover, since the measured sediment samples
seven locations (Blb, Tnt, Hvh, Znv, Egm, Dwc, Mdb2) the are taken along one sand wave only, it is not clear if the
 T. Van Oyen et al. / Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33
Coarsening of the crest
Blb Hvh Znv
Tnt
Fig. 10. A qualitative comparison of the observed sediment distribution with the predicted sorting. The (upper) lower bars denote a (coarsening) fining of the mean grain size
at the crests of the sand waves.
constructed grain size distribution is representative for the entire
sand wave field.
In addition, Stolk (2000) describes a clear increase of the grain
size moving from the troughs toward the crests of the sand waves
at the Mdb1 and Mdb2 sites. However, Stolk (2000) remarks that
for some sand waves, at these sites, the smallest values of the grain
sizes are found at the top or just below the top of the bed forms
(see also Fig. 5).
With respect to the larger discrepancy between the observed
and predicted wavelengths at the site Znv, Egm and Bnb, it is
interesting to note that the hydrodynamic input of these locations
is based on an analysis of the flow field obtained by a numerical
model with a coarse grid; i.e., 4 km  4 km. As pointed out also by
van Santen et al. (2011), the actual flow velocity at the three sites
could be significantly different from the flow provided by the
numerical model because of the presence of large scale bed forms
which are not resolved by the numerical grid. Hence, possibly a
part of the discrepancy between the predicted and observed
wavelengths, for these sites, could be due to the quality of the
hydrodynamic parameter settings.
Besides the discussion on the quality of the input data, it should
also be taken into account that the model considers the phenom-
enon to occur in idealized conditions. For instance, the impact of
surface gravity waves is neglected which, as shown by Sterlini
(2009), alters both the morphology and dynamics of the bed
forms. Moreover, the model assumes that the flow field is
dominated only by the M2 component of the tidal wave; thus
neglecting the influence of the other components and the possible
presence of steady currents which can change the dynamics of the
bed forms (Németh et al., 2002; Besio et al., 2004) and can affect
the sediment sorting process (Van Oyen et al., 2010, 2011). This
latter point is of particular interest for the site Dwc. At this
location, an important element of the flow field consists of
episodic strong currents related to the Jutland Coastal Current
which flows northward along the Danish West Coast and can
result in currents up to a factor 3 stronger than the tidally induced
current.
Nevertheless, the model outcome concurs with the field
observations. Speculatively, this suggests that the Jutland Current
primarily controls the generation of larger scale bed forms with
spacings of 3–4 km (shoreface connected ridges, Calvete et al.,
2001) concurrently observed at Dwc (Anthony and Leth, 2002),
while the exposed sand waves are governed by the tidal flow; even
though, surely, these bed forms are also episodically affected by
the Jutland Current.
Finally, since the modeling approach is based on a linear
stability analysis, the model is not able to describe non-linear
31
Egm Bnb Jil Mdb1 Mdb2
Dwc
Observed sorting
Predicted sorting
Fining of the crest
effects and is inherently limited to the first stages of bed form
appearance. It follows that the sediment sorting processes which
occur when the bed form has a significant amplitude such as the
winnowing of fine material are not taken into account by the
model. The absence of this effect provides a possible explanation
for the disagreement between the predictions and the observa-
tions of the sorting process in the Jade tidal inlet. In fact, on the
basis of observations of the near-bed flow velocity along a transect
perpendicular to the sand wave crest, Svenson et al. (2009)
suggest that the pronounced coarsening trend toward the crest
occurs due to a ‘lag-deposit’ on the crest.
In addition, it is worth to point out that non-linear effects not
only occur when the sand wave amplitude reaches a finite
amplitude but also arise due to the sediment redistribution in
the active layer of the bed such that the influence of (significant)
changes in the bottom composition in the vertical or non-erodible
layers is not accounted for.
Taken together, the comparison illustrates that, in the majority
of the cases, the model provides a good description of the
phenomenon. Moreover, it appears that a large part of the
disagreements between the observations and the model predic-
tions can be associated with uncertainties in the input parameters
and the field measurements. However, not all the discrepancies
can be related to ambiguity of the data, which suggests that the
model describes accurately the dominant physical processes, but
still needs to be improved to provide an accurate and exhaustive
description of the phenomenon. Improvements of particular
interest consist of the addition of wind-induced currents, waves
and the winnowing of finer sediment fractions at the crest of the
bed forms in high energy tidal environments.
7. Conclusions
The geometry and associated sediment sorting process of tidal
sand waves observed in the field are compared with model
predictions at ten sites. The comparison reveals a fair performance
of the theoretical model, even though at some sites discrepancies
between the model predictions and field observations are found.
Partly, these differences can be assigned to uncertainties in the
input parameters and in the field observations, exposing an acute
lack of comprehensive data which describe the phenomenon with
high accuracy. However, other discrepancies are probably related
to limitations of the model.
Considering the results as a whole, we conclude that the model
describes with sufficiently accuracy the main processes which
control the wavelength of sand waves and the sediment sorting
32 T. Van Oyen et al. / Continental Shelf Research 63 (2013) 23–33
taking place along the bed forms. Nevertheless, a further effort
should be made to investigate whether a significant improvement
of the model predictions can be made by the inclusion of non-
linear effects or the addition of physical processes which are
presently neglected, such as surface gravity waves and residual
currents.
Acknowledgments
The first author wishes to acknowledge the Ghent University
(Special Research Fund) for his post-doctoral grant. C. Svenson is
thanked for providing additional information on the field observa-
tions at the Jade tidal inlet and T. A. G. P. van Dijk is gratefully
acknowledged for accommodating the coordinates of the sites
described by Roos et al. (2007a).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in
the online version at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2013.04.005.
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