Waves, coastal boulder deposits and the importance of the pre-transport setting

Abstract

The pre-transport environment of a coastal boulder along with its shape, size and density determines the height of wave required for it to be transported. Different forces act on sub-aerial boulders as opposed to submerged boulders when struck by a wave. Boulders derived from joint bounded blocks on shore platforms predominantly experience lift force and require a wave of greater height to be transported than boulders in other environments. No one equation is applicable to determine the height of palaeo-waves responsible for depositing a field or ridge of imbricated coastal boulders. A range of equations and their derivation is presented here which can be applied to the respective pre-transport environment of a boulder. Such an approach is necessary when attempting to reconstruct the frequency and magnitude of past coastal wave hazards and for differentiating between tsunami and storm wave deposited boulder fields.