We investigate the mass transport velocity in the Stokes boundary layer due to slowly varying Stokes waves impinging on and reflecting from a plane‐sloping beach. The resulting mass transport velocity distribution is interpreted to indicate the possible locations of submarine longshore sandbar formation. It is found that the number of bars is likely to increase when the bottom gradient is slight and that the spacing between the crests of the bars increases seaward for some distance offshore. These results are in qualitative agreement with field observations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.