Journal of Sedimentary Research, 2006, v.

76, 2–8
Current Ripples
DOI: 10.2110/jsr.2006.01

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HUMMOCKY CROSS-STRATIFICATION (HCS) WAVELENGTHS: EVIDENCE FROM

AN OPEN-COAST TIDAL FLAT, SOUTH KOREA

BYONGCHEON YANG,1 ROBERT W. DALRYMPLE,1 AND SEUNGSOO CHUN2

1
Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada
2
Faculty of Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, Chonnam National University, Kwangju 500-757, Korea
e-mail: bcyang@geoladm.geol.queensu.ca

ABSTRACT: Although hummocky cross-stratification (HCS) is one of the most common and widely recognized structures in
ancient storm-dominated successions, the stratigraphic variability and environmental significance of HCS wavelength (l) are
still not widely appreciated. New evidence from an open-coast intertidal flat where HCS might not have been expected to occur
shows that the HCS becomes smaller in a landward direction because of a decrease of wave size. This confirms previous
suggestions that the bedform responsible for HCS is a type of orbital ripple. A review of new and previously published data
indicate that HCS wavelength is controlled by the bottom orbital diameter (d0) according to the relationship l < 0.75 d0. These
observations imply that the maximum size of HCS should increase with decreasing water depth from the shelf to the surf zone
(breaking point) but may then decrease landward of this point because wave size is depth limited. This suggests that it may be
possible to use HCS size in paleo-environmental reconstructions to a greater degree than previously.

INTRODUCTION
Since Harms et al. (1975) first described and defined hummocky
cross stratification (HCS), it has become one of the most widely
recognized structures in modern and ancient, shallow-water, storm-
dominated environments. Much has been written about its morphology
and origin (e.g., Dott and Bourgeois 1982; Brenchley 1985; Greenwood
and Sherman 1986; Duke et al. 1991; Cheel and Leckie 1993; Li
and Amos 1999). It is generally believed that HCS is generated by
oscillatory motion under large waves during storms. The extent to which
unidirectional currents are important in its formation has been the
subject of considerable speculation (Southard et al. 1990; Duke et al.
1991; Cheel and Leckie 1993; Li and Amos 1999), but flume studies
suggest that the formative conditions must be oscillation dominated
(Arnott and Southard 1990; Dumas et al. 2005). HCS varies
enormously in size, with wavelengths ranging from several meters to
perhaps as small as 10–20 cm (Harms et al. 1975; Dott and Bourgeois
1982; Brenchley 1985; Greenwood and Sherman 1986; Southard
et al. 1990; Cheel and Leckie 1993; Banerjee 1996; Li and Amos 1999;
Ito et al. 2001). Surprisingly, the environmental factors responsible
for this variability have not been evaluated systematically, although
it has been implied with varying degrees of confidence that HCS
wavelength is related to wave orbital diameter, because the large, 3D
ripples thought to form HCS increase in size as the wave orbital diameter
increases (Harms et al. 1975; Arnott and Southard 1990; Southard et al.
1990; Wiberg and Harris 1994; Dumas et al. 2005). Perhaps as a result of
the lack of appreciation of the controls on HCS wavelength, there have
been very few attempts to use the characteristics of HCS to refine
environmental interpretations. The most detailed studies to date are those
by Banerjee (1996) and Ito et al. (2001), who have utilized the
stratigraphic distribution of HCS size to make inferences about changing
water depth and wave climate. However, these studies made no
attempt to develop a general model for the spatial variability of HCS
wavelength.
Here, we report new observations on the spatial distribution of HCS
wavelength (l) on a sandy, open-coast (unbarred) intertidal flat, west
coast of Korea (Fig. 1A), that is subjected to intense wave action during
the winter. Such a shallow-water environment, where HCS might not be
expected to occur at all, provides a powerful test of previous ideas
concerning the factors governing its size. Using in situ storm-wave data
and theoretical considerations of wave action in very shallow water, we
demonstrate that, as proposed by previous workers, HCS is formed by
a type of orbital wave ripple. Then, using a synthesis of data on HCS
wavelength derived from flumes and other modern environments, we
develop a quantitative relationship between HCS wavelength and wave-
orbital diameter. From this, we propose a general model of the spatial
and stratigraphic variation of HCS size in wave-dominated coastal
environments.
STUDY AREA
The study area (the Baeksu tidal flat) is located on the southwestern
coast of Korea and consists of an open-coast intertidal flat that is up to
5 km wide at low tide (Fig. 1B). It is characterized by a smooth, concave-
up morphology that is featureless except for subtle undulations, 20–70 cm
high with a spacing of 100–300 m, which are interpreted to be intertidal
swash bars (Yang et al. 2005). The tidal-flat slope averages 0.0013 but
increases landward from 0.001 to 0.0017.
The storm and wave climates are strongly seasonal, with generally calm
conditions prevailing in the summer, whereas frequent, intense storms
occur during the winter. Storms, which are defined here as times with
wind speeds . 13.9 m/s, occur only 2–3 days/month in the summer but
more than 8 days/month in the winter (Korea Meteorological Adminis-
tration 1998). Consequently, the conditions in the intertidal zone

Copyright E 2006, SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) 1527-1404/06/076-002/$03.00

JSR RECONSIDERATION OF HCS WAVELENGTH AND ITS SEDIMENTOLOGICAL MEANING
alternate between muddy, tide-dominated deposition in the summer and
sandy, wave-dominated sedimentation in the winter (Chun et al. 2000;
Yang et al. 2005). During the winter, storm waves with a mean significant
height of 2.5–4.5 m approach the coast orthogonally. Because of the
absence of barriers, these waves impinge directly on the tidal flat, where
they dissipate their energy by breaking. Because of the low gradient, the
surf zone can occupy the entire width of the intertidal zone at high tide
during storms. Surface sediments during the winter are well-sorted very
fine sand with a median grain size of 0.1 mm (Fig. 1C). The modal grain
size is almost uniform across the intertidal flat, showing only a slight
seaward-fining trend (Fig. 1C).
The tides are semidiurnal with a spring tidal range of ca. 6.8 m. Tidal-
current speeds vary from 20 to 40 cm/s, but wind action during storms
can reinforce the current speed, creating peak speeds of 60 cm/s (Chun
et al. 2000; Kim 2003).
METHOD AND DATA COLLECTION
Measurement of slope profiles was carried out using a Sokkia B21
theodolite along two permanent survey lines that extended from the
shoreline to near the low-tide level. Surface-sediment samples and small
cancores (30 cm deep 3 18 cm wide) (Fig. 2) were taken at 100 m and
200–300 m intervals, respectively, along these lines (Yang et al. 2005).
Most of the cancores were oriented parallel to the survey line, with a few
3
FIG. 1.— A) Location of study area (Baeksu
tidal flat) on the southwestern coast of Korea.
B) Map of the study area; extent of intertidal
zone at spring low water shown in gray. C)
Typical grain-size distributions for various
locations across the tidal flat (northern survey
line; Fig. 1B) in winter. Note that the modal
grain size is uniform across the tidal flat but that
the size distributions become more positively
skewed in a seaward direction.
oriented perpendicular to the line (i.e., parallel to the coast). In addition,
a series of five large cancores (45 cm deep 3 40 cm wide) were taken side
by side, at four locations, 1.7 km, 2.1 km, 2.7 km, and 3.0 km seaward of
the mainland coast, in order to produce continuous sections up to 2 m
long (Fig. 3).
The grain size of the surface sediments was analyzed using sieves and
a Sedigraph, after the organic matter and calcium carbonate were
removed. The primary sedimentary structures in the cancores were
studied using epoxy relief peels. The wavelength of HCS was estimated
from the cancores only in cases where the geometry of the lamination
indicated that more than half of the full wavelength was present,
assuming that the structure was more or less symmetrical (Fig. 3).
Although undulatory lamination with wavelengths less than 10 cm
occurred in some instances (Fig. 3), we excluded wavelengths smaller
than 30 cm from the data set because most bedforms of this size appeared
to be combined-flow ripples, which are commonly characterized by an
asymmetric rounded formset and sigmoidal foreset laminae (Figs. 2, 3)
(e.g., Harms et al. 1975; Yokokawa et al. 1995; Meene et al. 1996). Even
though many of the cancores were taken immediately after a storm, the
surficial morphology of the hummocks was not preserved, so that the
position of the cancore relative to the crest of the hummock was not
known. For this reason, the measured wavelengths may deviate from the
average wavelength by an unknown amount; however, the seriousness of
the discrepancy is uncertain because we do not know the precise planform
4 B.C. YANG ET AL.
shape and spatial organization of the hummocks and swales. If the
hummocks are assumed to be circular with the closest possible spacing
(i.e., the planform equivalent of rhombohedral packing of spherical sand
grains; Fig. 4A), then the average wavelength would be ca. 1.3 (where
a value of 1.0 is the shortest possible spacing between crests), giving
a possible deviation from the mean value of the order of 6 30%. The
spatial equivalent of cubic packing would give a deviation of ca. 6 20%
(Fig. 4B), whereas random spacing would yield higher values (Fig. 4C).
Highly random spacing of the hummocks is not expected, however, given
the reported geometry of bedding-plane exposures of HCS (e.g.,
Brenchley 1985; Cheel and Leckie 1993; Li and Amos 1999). Therefore,
we suggest that our measurements of HCS wavelength are likely to
deviate from the mean value by substantially less than 6 50%, which is
insufficient to invalidate the spatial variability that we report below.
HUMMOCKY CROSS-STRATIFICATION
The thickness of the storm beds containing HCS ranges approximately
from 10 to 30 cm and decreases in a landward direction across the tidal
flat. Each one begins with an erosional surface, which is planar to gently
undulatory (Figs. 2A, 3). Relief on such surfaces may reach up to 20 cm
and tends to increase as the thickness of the bed increases in a seaward
JSR
FIG. 2.— Selected images of wave-generated
structures from the Baeksu tidal flats. A)
Hummocky cross-stratification passing upward,
apparently gradationally, into wave-ripple cross
lamination that shows chevron upbuilding and
offshoot lamination. B) Combined-flow and
climbing-ripple cross lamination. Note that
combined-flow ripples are characterized by an
asymmetric rounded formset (see well-preserved
ripple formset below mud drape: arrows) and
sigmoidal foreset laminae. Climbing ripples are
probably produced by the successive solitary
wave bores that cross the tidal flats (Yang et al.
2005).
direction. Such surfaces are underlain by a thin mud layer where they are
not erosional and are overlain commonly by mud pebbles and scattered
shell fragments. These lag deposits are, in turn, overlain locally by planar
lamination and then by undulatory lamination (Fig. 3) that we consider
to represent HCS. The inclination of the undulatory lamination is
nowhere more than 15u. Individual laminae, which range in thickness
from 0.5 to 5 mm, thicken toward either the crest or the swale, but
uniform draping over undulating surfaces is common. Low-angle onlap
against erosion surfaces is also present. The angle of the inclined
lamination gradually decreases upward through an individual bed, ending
in planar lamination (Fig. 3). Storm beds are commonly capped by wave
and/or combined-flow ripples, which typically show a landward direction
of migration (Fig. 2B), followed by a thin mud layer.
The three types of HCS shown by Cheel and Leckie (1993; scour-
and-drape, accretionary, and migrating), are all present in the Baeksu
tidal flat, but the scour-and-drape type, which is characterized by quasi-
conformable mantling of undulatory erosion surfaces (Figs. 2A, 3), is the
most abundant. This geometry is sometimes referred to as swaly cross-
stratification (SCS), which was originally described by Leckie and Walker
(1982) as occurring in coarser sand and having more gentle dips than
HCS. However, the fine grain size and relatively steep dips of some
examples suggest that the use of the term HCS is more appropriate.
JSR RECONSIDERATION OF HCS WAVELENGTH AND ITS SEDIMENTOLOGICAL MEANING 5

FIG. 3.—Series of five adjoining cancore peels taken 2.7 km from the mainland coast: the lower two peels join on the right end of the upper set of three peels. Most
structures are concave-up and are interpreted as the swales between hummocks. HCS wavelength was measured from one crest to the adjacent crest. In cases where less
than the complete wavelength was visible, the wavelength was calculated to be twice the distance between the crest and the bottom of the swale, on the assumption that the
feature was symmetrical. Features in which less than half of the form was visible were not measured. The largest swale, which extends across nearly the entire width of the
five panels and contains abundant mud pebbles in its base, has an estimated wavelength of slightly less than two meters (ca. 180 cm). Deformation at the sediment surface
was caused during coring. Irregular markings on the surface of the peel are an artifact of the peel-making process.

The HCS in the study area has wavelengths that range from 30 to
200 cm (cf. Fig. 3). Observations in our peels show that the range of HCS
wavelengths decreases in a landward direction across the tidal flat (Fig. 5).
This restriction in the range occurs because the largest wavelengths, which
were measured in the long, composite peels (Fig. 3), decrease toward the
land. The landward decrease in the number of data points is caused
mainly by increased bioturbation, which obliterates sedimentary struc-
tures. The cancores indicate that the occurrence of HCS ends
approximately 1.0 km from the shoreline (Fig. 5), on the basis of the
arbitrary, lower wavelength limit of 30 cm. In more landward locations,

FIG. 4.—Schematic representation of the spatial distribution of hummocks. A) ‘‘rhombohedral’’ spacing, B) ‘‘cubic’’ spacing, and C) ‘‘random’’ spacing; cf. Allen 1985,
p. 27–30) with estimates of the variability of wavelength (i.e., from one structural high to the next) measurements as obtained from random 2D sections: A, 6 30%; B,
6 20%; C, 6 75%.
6 B.C. YANG ET AL. JSR

FIG. 5.— Lateral variation of measured HCS

wavelengths (l) across the tidal flat, as
determined from large, composite peels.
Maximum wavelength decreases landward
because wave size decreases due to energy
dissipation by breaking and bottom friction.
Wave and combined-flow ripples are the only
bedforms present in the inner 1 km. Dotted lines
show calculated wave-orbital diameter (d0) and
0.7 d0, respectively, for incident waves 4 m high,
as derived from the relevant curve in Figure 6
using Equation 4.

wave and/or combined-flow ripple cross-lamination is abundant (see also depth less than ca. 5 m) depends on the distance from shore (x), and the
Yang et al. 2005). wave friction factor ( fw), and can be determined from the relationship:
d 2 fw 3 {3=2
WAVE-SIZE DISTRIBUTION ON THE TIDAL FLATS (H 2 x1=2 ) ~ H x ð1Þ
dx 3p b2
The landward decrease in storm-bed thickness and HCS wavelength
(Fig. 5), which is accompanied by a landward increase in the abundance where b is the tidal-flat gradient. This equation, which is based on energy
of ripples and the degree of bioturbation, strongly suggests that these conservation, can be conveniently converted into a dimensionless form
trends are caused by a landward decrease in wave energy, which is, in using h0, the water depth at the outer limit of wave breaking:
turn, caused by wave-energy dissipation by bottom friction and breaking
d 2 fw 3 {3=2
in shallow water (e.g., Thornton and Guza 1982; Le Hir et al. 2000). (H 2 X 1=2 ) ~ H X ð2Þ
During storms, the waves break continuously across the shallowly dx 0 3p b 0
submerged tidal flat; consequently, the size and energy of these breaking where H0 5 H/h0 and X 5 x b /h0. Rearranging and solving for H0 gives
waves decrease progressively (e.g., Dally et al. 1985). Because the size of

 
breaking waves is limited by water depth, the wave spectrum in the 4 fw {1 {1 4 fw 1=4 {1
breaker zone is said to be ‘‘saturated’’ (Thornton and Guza 1982; Le Hir H0 ~ X z Hsea { X ð3Þ
15p b 15p b
et al. 2000), and it is possible to predict the spatial distribution of wave
size at any given time in a tidal cycle using wave theory, if the size of the where Hsea is in the ratio of incident wave height (H) to water depth (h) at
waves arriving from the open ocean is known. The following analysis is the outer breaking limit. To calculate the wave-height distribution from
performed only for high tide when water depth and wave size at any given Equation 3, fw/b is set equal to 50, as suggested by Le Hir et al. (2000).
location are greatest. Figure 6 shows that incoming waves experience a rapid, exponential
According to Le Hir et al. (2000), the variation of wave height (H) with decrease in height across the tidal flat in response to the decreasing water
distance across a gently sloping, shallow-submerged tidal flat (i.e., water depth.

FIG. 6.— Predicted wave-height variation

across the Baeksu tidal flat for different incident
wave heights (1 m, 2 m, 3 m, and 4 m), as
determined using Equations 2 and 3. MLWL is
mean low water level. Note that the equations
used to calculate wave height are not valid for
deeper water (i.e., greater than approximately
5 m), so the subtidal extensions of the curves are
inaccurate. All of the curves should flatten
seaward and approach the appropriate value of
the incident wave height.
JSR RECONSIDERATION OF HCS WAVELENGTH AND ITS SEDIMENTOLOGICAL MEANING
FIG. 7.— Plot of published measurements of HCS wavelength, modified from
Wiberg and Harris (1994). A) Relationship between l/D against d0/D, where
D 5 mean grain size. The shaded areas show the locus of data points plotted by
Clifton (1976) and Wiberg and Harris (1994). B) Relationship between l and d0 for
occurrences of HCS. l 5 0.75 d0 is the best-fit regression line; r 5 regression
coefficient; N 5 number of data points.
The bottom orbital diameter (d0) at any point across the tidal flat can be
determined from the predicted storm-wave heights (Figs. 5, 6) by the equation
rffiffiffi
g
d0 ~ HT=2p ð4Þ
h
where T is the wave period and g is the acceleration of gravity. Equation 4
indicates that bottom orbital diameter (d0) is mainly a function of wave
height and water depth if wave period (T) is assumed to be constant.
During storms, significant wave heights in the offshore area are in the
7
range of 2.5–4.5 m (National Fisheries Research and Development
Institute 1998; Kim 2003; Kim et al. 2003). Therefore, in order to
approximate peak-storm conditions when waves are largest, we have
assumed a typical incident-wave height of 4 m. Wave periods measured
during storms vary over the tidal cycle because of changing water depth,
but an average value of T 5 5 s is typical on the tidal flat at high tide
(Kim 2003). The calculated distribution of d0 values across the tidal flat is
shown in Figure 5. From this, it is evident that the largest measured HCS
wavelengths fall approximately along the line l 5 0.7 d0. Clearly,
therefore, there is a direct correlation between the spatial distribution of
the wavelength of the largest HCS and the peak size of the storm waves.
The smaller HCS that co-occurs with the large HCS is believed to form
during the falling and/or rising tide when water depths and wave heights
are less than at high tide (Yang et al. 2004). This is supported by the fact
that the largest HCS occurs at the bases of storm beds and is overlain by
shorter-wavelength hummocks in the same storm bed (Fig. 3).
DISCUSSION
It is generally believed that HCS is formed by what many researchers
term ‘‘large ripples’’ (Harms et al. 1975; Arnott and Southard 1990;
Southard et al. 1990; Myrow and Southard 1991; Li and Amos 1999;
Dumas et al. 2005). If we plot data on the wavelength and orbital
diameter for reported occurrences of large ripples and/or HCS from
flumes (Southard et al. 1990; Dumas et al. 2005) and modern
environments (Sherman and Greenwood 1989; Li and Amos 1999; this
study), we see that they fall along an extension of the trend defined by
small orbital ripples (Fig. 7A). Given that HCS generally occurs in
a narrow range of grain size (fine to very fine sand), these data can also be
plotted in a dimensional plot of l versus d0 (Fig. 7B). There is
considerable scatter, with l 5 d0 as the upper bound, but the best-fit
linear regression yields the relationship l 5 0.75 d0, which has a slightly
higher proportionality constant (0.75) than that suggested by our data
alone (0.7; Fig. 5). This, in turn, supports the suggestions of previous
workers that the bedform responsible for HCS is a type of orbital ripple
(e.g., Harms et al. 1975; Southard et al. 1990).
If this is the case, we should expect the wavelength of HCS to vary
spatially in an offshore–onshore transect (Fig. 8). As the seabed rises
toward the shoreline, wave orbital diameter at the bed will increase in the
predictable manner shown in textbooks, reaching a maximum value in
shallow water, at the seaward edge of the breaking zone. Farther
landward, wave size will decrease because of energy dissipation by
breaking and bottom friction (cf. Fig. 6). According to the l 5 0.75 d0
relationship shown in Figure 7B, the wavelength of the HCS being
formed at any given time should change in a similar manner. Temporal
variability of wave size means that a range of HCS wavelengths will be
formed at any location (cf. Fig. 5); however, the stratigraphic distribution
of maximum size should show the trend illustrated in Figure 8. Therefore,
HCS wavelength may be useful for paleo-environmental reconstructions
in the manner pioneered by Banerjee (1996) and Ito et al. (2001).
CONCLUSIONS
Observations of HCS on the open-coast intertidal flat at Baeksu,
Korea, combined with theoretical considerations of wave behavior in
shallow water, indicate that the bedform responsible for HCS records the
landward decrease in wave orbital diameter that occurs because of
frictional dissipation. This confirms previous suggestions that HCS is
formed by a type of orbital wave ripple. When our observations are
combined with data from previous studies, we find that HCS wavelength
and the wave orbital diameter are related by the equation l 5 0.75 d0.
This finding suggests that the (maximum) wavelength of HCS varies in
a predictable manner from the shelf to the shoreline: HCS wavelength will
8 B.C. YANG ET AL.
increase as the seafloor shallows from the shelf to the outer edge of the
breaker zone, but will decrease landward of this point, if there is a broad,
shallow intertidal zone in which the wave spectrum becomes saturated
(i.e., wave height is depth limited) as it does in the study area. This opens
the possibility that the stratigraphic distribution of HCS can be used for
paleo-environmental reconstruction more than it has until now.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Dr. HeeJun Lee (Korea Ocean Research and Development
Institute), and Mike Johnson and Duncan Mackay (Queen’s University) for
their helpful comments. We also thank JongKwan Kim and KangSuk Jang
(Chonnam National University) for help with field and laboratory work. This
work was supported by grants from the Natural Science and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (#7553-01; RWD) and the Korea Research
Foundation (KRF-2004-015-C00593; SSC). We appreciate the constructive
comments by D. Dominic, P. Hill, C.P. North, and an anonymous reviewer.
We also thank Dr. J.B. Southard and M. Lester for technical review and
editorial assistance.
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Received 22 July 2004; accepted 14 April 2005.