Abstract
A systematic approach for predicting the mean erosion and mean deposition rates of mud beneath random waves is derived. This has been accomplished by applying formulas valid for regular waves and by describing the waves as a stationary Gaussian narrow-band random process. The present approach covers flow in the laminar, smooth turbulent and rough turbulent flow regimes. Examples are given, using data typical for field conditions representing laminar and smooth turbulent flow conditions, which are the most common flow regimes over mud beds.