Longshore current

Definition of Longshore current: The longshore current is the dominating current in the nearshore zone, it is running parallel to the shore. The longshore current is generated by the shore-parallel component of the stresses associated with the breaking process for obliquely incoming waves, the so-called radiation stresses, and by the surplus water which is carried across the breaker-zone towards the coastline. This is the common definition for Longshore current, other definitions can be discussed in the article