Ocean & Shoreline Management 11 (1988) 449-465 Wave Influence on Coastal Sand Transport Paths in a Tidally Dominated Environment Charitha Pattiaratchi* Department of Earth Sciences, University College, Singleton, Park, Swansea, UK & Michael Collins Department of Oceanography, The University, Highfield, Southampton, Hampshire, UK (Received 13 June 1988; accepted 27 August 1988) A BSTRA CT Detailed physical oceanographic and sedimentological data, collected from a coastal embayment and adjoining inner continental shelf, are used to exemplify the changes in sediment transport vectors which take place when wave action is superimposed upon that of tidal currents. The area selected for study is one which is subjected to large tidal ranges (lO.2m on spring tides) and occasional storm-induced swell waves (with a predicted SO-year maximum wave height of 1Sin). Bedload transport vectors" are determined, on the basis of self- recording current meter observations combined with transport formulae and fluorescent or radioactive sand tracer studies, for: (i) an 'open' area of the inner shelf, with regular bathymetry running parallel to the coastline; (ii) a 'near-coastal' location, where current flow is constricted by the coastline itself; and (iii) in the vicinity of a linear sandbank, which rises some lore above the surrounding sea bed. On the basis of analyses carried out for various" tidal and wave conditions, the outer ('open') area is considered to be one through which sedimentary material passes from the offshore deep water areas to *Present address: Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA6009, Australia. 449 Ocean & Shoreline Management 0951-8312/88/$03.50 © 1988 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in Northern Ireland