A novel remote sensing methodology to determine the dominant infragravity mechanism in the inner surf and swash zone in the field is presented. Video observations of the breakpoint motion are correlated with the shoreline motion and inner surf zone water levels to determine the relationship between the time‐varying breakpoint oscillations and the shoreline motion. The results of 13 field data sets collected from three different beaches indicate that, inside the surf zone, the dominance of bound wave or breakpoint forcing is strongly dependent on the surf zone width and the type of short wave breaking. Infragravity generation by bound wave release was stronger for conditions with relatively narrow surf zones and plunging waves; breakpoint forcing was dominant for wider surf zones and spilling breaker conditions.

Numerical modeling and analysis of laboratory and field data are combined to show new evidence of breakpoint forced long waves. The laboratory data and numerical modeling show that the breakpoint can oscillate at frequencies not directly linked to the wave group envelope for specific bichromatic wave groups. The breakpoint therefore oscillates at frequencies where incident bound long waves are not present, enabling direct identification of breakpoint forced waves. Spectral analysis and cross‐shore wave propagation patterns indicate that the breakpoint forced waves occur at subharmonic wave groups frequencies, the repeat frequency of the short waves within the group, and at frequencies associated with triad interactions. The results indicate that in this case the long waves are generated by breakpoint forcing rather than by energy transfer during shoaling of the incident waves. The slowly varying shape of the short waves in the groups and wave merging at the breakpoint controls the modulation of the breakpoint in these cases. The spectral analysis is applied to two field data sets where the breakpoint oscillation, incident waves and shoreline oscillation were measured, and infragravity wave generation is again identified at discrete frequencies that are not present in the incident wave group envelope, with merging of waves at the breakpoint again evident. The magnitudes of the generated infragravity waves outside the surf zone are also dependent on the normalized surf zone width. Both sets of observations provide further evidence for the generation of infragravity waves by the breakpoint forcing mechanism in the field.

Different conceptual models for forced infragravity (long) waves exist in the literature, which suggest different models for the behavior of shoaling forced waves and the possible radiation of free long waves in that process. These are discussed in terms of existing literature. A simple numerical model is built to evaluate the wave shape in space and time during shoaling of forced waves with concurrent radiation of free long waves to ensure mass continuity. The same qualitative results were found when performing simulations with the COULWAVE model using the radiation stress term in the momentum equation to force the generation and propagation of bound waves. Both model results indicate a strong frequency dependence in the shoaling rate and on the lag of the total long wave with respect to the forcing, consistent with observations in the literature and more complex evolution models. In this approach, a lag of the long wave is only observed in the time domain, not in the space domain. In addition the COULWAVE is used to investigate dissipation rates of incident free and forced long waves inside the surf zone. The results also show a strong frequency dependence, as previously suggested in the literature, which can contribute to the total rate of decay of the incident forced wave after short wave breaking.

Coastal engineers design harbors, coastal structures, and beach protection measures to guard infrastructure and communities located in coastal zones. The accurate forecasting of coastal erosion and inundation is crucial for planning the protection of existing and new coastal zone infrastructure.