ABSTRACT
There has been considerable progress in our understanding of coastal processes in recent years but many important questions remain unanswered. So far, much research has been directed towards theoretical studies and laboratory wave tank investigation of sediment sorting and sand movement by oscillatory waves, with only a limited number of field studies to substantiate the results of such work. The hydrodynamic and sediment variables controlling changes in beach profiles have not been evaluated adequately, either in the field or in hydraulic laboratory studies, and there is still no satisfactory theory of breaking waves, either in deep or shallow water. The almost total lack of reliable field data is probably the greatest single factor inhibiting our understanding of the relationship between littoral sediment transport rate and wave activity, despite available information from model wave basin studies and the knowledge that sediment transport in the surf zone is caused by a combination of shear stresses produced by wave and current action.
