Berm Crest

The berm crest is the seaward edge and high point of a beach berm, the near-horizontal sediment platform built by wave run-up above the normal high-water line. It marks the limit of constructive swash deposition and separates the gently sloping backshore from the steeper foreshore that falls toward the water. The crest elevation is set by the run-up of recent constructive waves, so it rises during swell-dominated accretion and is cut back or overtopped during storms. Beach-profile surveys track berm-crest height and position as a direct indicator of beach state and of the freeboard available against storm-tide overtopping.