A Literature Review of the Distribution of Longshore Sediment Transport Across the Surf Zone

Existing models and field and laboratory data which describe the distribution of longshore sediment transport across the surf zone are identified and briefly discussed. Most of the models rely on some formulation of the cross-shore distribution of longshore current. Most models are poorly suited to describe transport above the still-water shoreline in the swash zone, and when evaluated for a planar beach, predict local longshore transport maxima in the outer-mid surf zone. The field and laboratory data suggest that significant transport may occur above the still-water shoreline and indicate a variety of longshore transport distribution profiles.