From LIDAR data, wave time series and a set of aerial photos of the Gulf of Lions since the 40′, we determined fundamental relationships between wave forcings, beach features and wash-over dynamics.
Cuspate spits are typical geomorphic features (see the picture above) that develop along a shoreline affected by shallow water waves. Together with my friend Miguel Manna, we developed a full theory to understand their nucleation and their growth through time. This works combine intimately quantitative geomorphology and physics.
The Pelnard-Considère equation is a diffusion equation extensively used for the modelling of shoreline dynamics. However, it is a linear equation that cannot manage the growth of shoreline instabilities such as sand spits, cuspates,… We derive a new formalism from scratch, which introduces some kind of non-linearity and offer new striking opportunities to model shoreline features.