The swash zone

Abstract This chapter describes the morphological features and key processes related to the swash zone, situated at the landward edge of the inundated part of the beach system. It is where incoming surf zone waves force oscillatory motion of the shoreline at a variety of frequencies. Morphological features addressed include the beach face slope, beach berms, beach steps and beach scarps. Sediment sorting across the beach face profile and the formation of heavy mineral deposits are also discussed. In the recent literature, swash flow kinematics/dynamics and sediment transport mechanics have received more attention than the morphology. This research is discussed in the context of its relevance to an improved understanding of swash zone morphodynamics. Rather than presenting a detailed review of the available literature, the authors present their perspective on current research directions and outstanding issues still to be resolved.