Shoreline Sand Waves

Shoreline sand waves are shoreline undulations with a length scale of a few kilometres and a time scale of years to decades. They are important in coastal geomorphology since they are a striking example of large scale self-organized patterns. They are also relevant for coastal engineering because they consist of accretion/erosion waves moving along the coast without an apparent reason and at the troughs of such undulations the beach is eroded thereby threatening human settlement and coastal infrastructures.