Assessing Rip Current Occurrences at Featureless Beaches Using Boussinesq Modeling

Abstract

Rip currents at featureless beaches (i.e., beaches lacking sandbars or channels) are often hydrodynamically controlled, exhibiting intermittent and unpredictable behaviors that pose significant risks to recreational beach users. This study assessed occurrences of rip currents under a range of idealized morphology configurations and hydrodynamic wave forcing parameters using a wave-resolving Boussinesq-type model. Numerical experiments revealed that rip currents with durations on the time scale of 10 min are generated in the forms of vortex pairs, intensified eddies, mega-rips, and eddies shedding from longshore currents. In general, the key conditions that promote rip current formation at featureless beaches include shoreline curvature, headlands, moderately mild beach slopes (e.g., 0.02–0.03), normal or near-normal wave incidence, and large wave heights. Most importantly, this study highlights inherent uncertainties in rip current occurrences, particularly under conditions usually perceived as low risk: low wave heights, short wave periods, oblique wave incidence, and straight shorelines. These conditions can lead to transient rip currents and pose an unexpected hazard that coastal communities should be aware of.