RCEX: Rip Current Experiment

Abstract : The long-term goals are to understand surf zone processes related to rip current systems through field observations. Rip currents occur commonly on most beaches and dominate many. In the past decade, it is recognized that beaches with straight and parallel contours are not a stable morphologic configuration whereas more complex beaches, which support the existence of rip current morphology, are stable and more common. The research objectives of the proposed work focus on obtaining new observations of the three-dimensional structure of the rip current system utilizing a suite of in situ instruments. In addition, a fleet of 30 inexpensive surf zone drifters were constructed and deployed to evaluate Lagrangian observations of rip current system for evaluating mean flow patterns, vorticity, dispersion, and diffusion. The second related effort applies a numerical model (Delft3D) to evaluate the dynamics of the rip current system and its interaction with the surface wave field and bottom topography. These new observations will be used to validate Delft3D and extend our understanding of rip current processes.