Two-Dimensional Depth-Averaged Beach Evolution Modeling: Case Study of the Kızılırmak River Mouth, Turkey

Abstract

This study presents an application of a two-dimensional beach evolution model to a shoreline change problem at the Kızılırmak River mouth, which has been facing severe coastal erosion problems for more than 20 years. The shoreline changes at the Kızılırmak River mouth have been thus far investigated by satellite images, physical model tests, and one-dimensional numerical models. The current study uses a two-dimensional depth-averaged numerical beach evolution model, developed based on existing methodologies. This model is mainly composed of four main submodels: a phase-averaged spectral wave transformation model, a two-dimensional depth-averaged numerical wave-induced circulation model, a sediment transport model, and a bottom evolution model. To validate and verify the numerical model, it is applied to several cases of laboratory experiments. Later, the model is applied to a shoreline change problem at the groin field to the east of the Kızılırmak River mouth at the Bafra alluvial plain. The results of the numerical model agree with the existing laboratory and field measurements.