On the anatomy of nearshore sandbars : A systematic exposition of inter-annual sandbar dynamics

Nearshore sandbars have a lifetime of many years, during which they exhibit cyclic, offshore directed behaviour with strong alongshore coherence. A bar is generated near the shoreline and grows in height and width while migrating offshore, before finally decaying at the seaward limit of the surf zone. It may take 10 to 15 years for a bar to exhibit this cycle. Four to five bars may occur simultaneously within a cross-shore bed profile.