Being beside the seaside: Beach use and preferences among coastal residents of south-eastern Australia

Beaches are the most popular recreational destinations in Australia yet how they are visited and valued by Australians is poorly known. We surveyed 385 people (13.8% of 2800 coastal residents) from south-eastern Australia to examine their use of beaches and the features that are important in their choice and enjoyment of a beach destination. Most respondents (90.3%) nominated beaches as one of their top three most valued natural recreational environments. Thirty-four recreational activities occurred at the beach (8.6 ± 0.3 [mean ± SE] activities per respondent), mostly walking (91.4%) and swimming (78.9%). Factor analyses revealed respondents valued clean, uncrowded beaches with opportunities to view wildlife (n = 338) but also desired facilities (e.g. toilets, shade, life savers, food outlets; n = 331). Difficult access and intrusive recreation activities (e.g. vehicles on beaches) detracted from people′s enjoyment. We describe a distinct dichotomy in use of ‘local’ versus ‘non-local’ beaches, where local beaches are visited more frequently, throughout more of the year, outside working hours and by smaller groups of people, compared with ‘non-local’ beaches. Coastal planners and managers not only face the challenge of increasing visitation to beaches but also the need to manage for somewhat conflicting values among beach-goers.     

Distribution and thickness of sedimentary facies in the coastal dune, beach and nearshore sedimentary system at Maspalomas, Canary Islands

Numerous studies have shown that most beaches and coastal dune systems of the world are currently eroding but very few have investigated the combined sediment budgets of subaerial and nearshore submarine systems. In the case of the dune field of the Maspalomas Natural Special Reserve (in the south of Gran Canaria), the adjacent Maspalomas and El Inglés beaches and the adjacent submarine platform, the sediment budgets have been severely affected by erosion over the past few decades. The objectives of this study were to investigate the availability of sand within the modern sedimentary system, including the coastal dunes, the beaches and the submerged shelf, but also to assess local sediment sinks. An isopach map generated on the basis of topo-bathymetric data and seismic-reflection profiles revealed that sediment thickness varies from 0–22 m in the study area. Expanses of relatively low sediment thickness were identified in the south-western sector of the coastal dune field along Maspalomas beach, and in the nearshore region to the south of this beach. These localized sediment-deficit areas earmark Maspalomas beach as the most vulnerable shore strip threatened by erosion. The shallow seismic data also revealed that the submarine platform south of Maspalomas represents a marine terrace cut into an ancient alluvial fan, thus documenting an influence of the geomorphological heritage on the present-day morphodynamics. A side-scan sonar mosaic of this nearshore platform enabled the delimitation of areas covered by rock, boulders and gravel, vegetated sand patches and a mobile sand facies, the latter including ripple and megaripple fields. The megaripple field in a valley close to the talus of the marine terrace has been identified as a major sediment sink of the Maspalomas sedimentary system. It is fed by south-westerly storm-wave events. The sediment deficit in the coastal dune field and along Maspalomas beach can therefore only be explained by a currently faster loss of sediment to an offshore sink than can be compensated by the supply of sand from outside the system.     

Spatial variation of the intertidal sediments and macrozoo-benthic assemblages along Eighty-mile Beach, North-western Australia

The extensive intertidal flats along Eighty-mile Beach in North-western Australia appear to be monotonous and homogeneous and seem ideally suited to study tidal zonation in macrozoo-benthic communities and their possible correlates with characteristics of the sediment. In October 1999, we sampled benthic invertebrates and sediments at a total of 895 sampling stations distributed over six different locations, each location separated by 15 km of unsampled foreshore along Eighty-mile Beach. To test for the presence or absence of patterns of tidal zonation (distinct height-related zones of specific sediment grain sizes or zoobenthic taxonomic groups) or patchiness (distinct patches of specific sediment grain sizes or zoobenthic taxonomic groups not related to tidal height) each location was divided into three along-shore sections and each section (transect) was examined at two or three tidal heights. Zonation was observed for sediment grain sizes. Sediments were coarser at the highest intertidal level and finer towards the low water line. Benthic assemblages also differed among tidal heights, but in terms of species-composition the differences were not consistent among the locations. Each location supported a unique collection of benthic invertebrates. Therefore the hypothesis of the presence of distinct zones of specific species or zoobenthic taxonomic groups was rejected; the presence of benthic patches was confirmed. The distribution of sediments and the composition of benthic assemblages were surprisingly poorly correlated compared to those reported in 12 previous quantitative studies around the world. One possible explanation might be that super-cyclone Vance, which hit the study-area only six months before this study, contributed to this poor correlation. Alternatively, the poor correlation may indicate that biotic interactions are more important than the assumed abiotic structuring.     

Mangrove expansion and rainfall patterns in Moreton Bay, Southeast Queensland, Australia

Changes in rainfall pattern have been suggested as a mechanism for the landward incursion of mangrove into salt marsh. The aim of the research was to assess the relationship between rainfall patterns and the spatial distribution of mangrove forests at study sites in Moreton Bay, Southeast Queensland, Australia, over a 32-year period from 1972 to 2004. To identify periods of relatively consistent rainfall patterns points at which rainfall patterns changed (change-points) were identified using the non-parametric Pettitt–Mann–Whitney-Statistic and the cumulative sum technique. The change-points were then used to define the temporal periods over which changes to mangrove area were assessed. Both mangrove and salt marsh area were measured by digitizing aerial photographs acquired in 1972, 1990 (the year with the most significant change-point), and 2004. The rates of change in mangrove area pre-1990 (a wetter period) and post-1990 (a drier period) were estimated. A significant positive relationship was demonstrated between rainfall variables and landward mangrove expansion, but not for seaward expansion. We concluded that rainfall variability is one of the principal factors influencing the rate of upslope encroachment of mangrove. However, the rate of expansion may vary from site to site due to site-specific geomorphological and hydrological characteristics and the level of disturbance in the catchment.     

Patterns of tidal flooding within a mangrove forest: Coombabah Lake,Southeast Queensland,Australia

Tidal flooding and surface drainage patterns have often been used to describe mangrove species zonation. However, in mangrove forests exhibiting little topography, ambiguous species distributions and/or few species, such approaches are ineffective. We identified four physiognomic mangrove forest types (Riverine, Fringing, Overwash and Basin) at Coombabah Lake, a tidal lake in southeast Queensland, Australia and investigated tidal flooding patterns using synoptic surveys of tidal observations at the local Standard Port combined with local water depth observation. Subsequently three sub-types of the basin forest type were identified: (1) Deep Basin Forest with mature trees, ∼50 cm standing water and ∼3 tides per year; (2) Medium Depth Basin Forest with intermediate tree development, ∼15–30 cm standing water and 20–40 tides per year; and (3) Shallow Basin Forest with relatively recent mangrove establishment, 5–15 cm standing water and ∼80 tides per year. These three basin sub-types were found to flood at different tide heights with the Shallow Basin flooding for tides above mean high water springs and the Deep Basin flooding only for tide heights approaching the highest astronomical tide. We propose that these basin types represent a succession in mangrove forest development that corresponds with increasing water depth and tree maturation over time. The succession not only represents increasing age but also change in basin substrate composition. This is manifest as increasing pneumatophore density and an increasing area of basin surface occupied by contiguous pneumatophore cover. As a result, it seems that mangrove development is able to modify tidal flooding into the basin by increasingly impeding water movement.     

江苏南通近岸区晚第四纪沉积序列的沉积相特征与定年

近三十多年来长江三角洲地区晚第四纪3期下切河谷的形成与演化得到了学术界的关注,但以往对晚第四纪早期和中期下切河谷充填层序年龄的限制还很欠缺。为了探讨这些下切河谷及其沉积充填的形成时间以及下切河谷形成与全球海平面变化的关系,对江苏南通近岸区孔深79 m的全取芯钻孔（JC-1205）岩芯开展了综合测试（沉积物粒度、底栖有孔虫、光释光（OSL）测年和AMS 14C测年）和沉积相分析。结果表明,该孔所揭示的晚第四纪沉积序列可划分为4个沉积单元（从下至上为DU 4—DU 1）,中—下部3个沉积单元（DU 4—DU 2）为3期直接接触的河流沉积,上部DU 1为近岸海洋沉积（从下至上包括潮道沉积、浅水潮下带—内陆架沉积和潮坪沉积）。晚第四纪海平面变化是控制钻孔位置附近区沉积序列形成的主要因素,晚第四纪早期和中期的下切河谷及其充填沉积（DU 4和DU 3）分别形成于MIS 6和MIS 4,而与晚期下切谷相关的河间地的洪泛平原沉积（DU 2）形成于MIS 2;MIS 4时期下切谷的发育使得其下伏的MIS 5海洋沉积被侵蚀殆尽,而MIS 3时期相对较高的地势导致了沉积间断的出现。DU 1形成于MIS 1晚期,其底部的潮道沉积在其发育过程中对其下伏沉积物（可能形成于MIS 2晚期—MIS 1中期）的侵蚀造成了DU 1和DU 2之间超过10 kyr的沉积缺失。本文的研究成果为长江三角洲地区晚第四纪下切河谷的形成演化提供了重要的时间约束。     

Seasonal-scale nearshore morphological evolution: Field observations and numerical modeling

A coupled waves–currents-bathymetric evolution model (DELFT-3D) is compared with field measurements to test hypotheses regarding the processes responsible for alongshore varying nearshore morphological changes at seasonal time scales. A 2001 field experiment, along the beaches adjacent to Grays Harbor, Washington, USA, captured the transition between the high-energy erosive conditions of winter and the low-energy beach-building conditions typical of summer. The experiment documented shoreline progradation on the order of 10–20 m and on average approximately 70 m of onshore sandbar migration during a four-month period. Significant alongshore variability was observed in the morphological response of the sandbar over a 4 km reach of coast with sandbar movement ranging from 20 m of offshore migration to over 175 m of onshore bar migration, the largest seasonal-scale onshore migration event observed in a natural setting. Both observations and model results suggest that, in the case investigated here, alongshore variations in initial bathymetry are primarily responsible for the observed alongshore variable morphological changes. Alongshore varying incident hydrodynamic forcing, occasionally significant in this region due to a tidal inlet and associated ebb-tidal delta, was relatively minor during the study period and appears to play an insignificant role in the observed alongshore variability in sandbar behavior at kilometer-scale. The role of fully three-dimensional cell circulation patterns in explaining the observed morphological variability also appears to be minor, at least in the case investigated here.     

Beach awards and management

Beach awards are used as promotional tools for UK coastal tourism, but information regarding public knowledge of them is sparse. Studies were carried out at two important UK resorts (Barry and Weston-super-Mare) regarding the three major beach awards — the Blue Flag, Seaside Award and Good Beach Guide. Seventy-two percent of beach users asserted that award status was an important basis for beach selection, but findings suggested poor levels of knowledge of award status at particular beaches and criteria included in awards. Research at 23 beaches in Wales, UK showed that aspects included in the Blue Flag and Seaside Award accounted for just over one-third of user's total beach rating. There is a need for beach awards to take proper account of the desires of beach users. Awards should also be appropriate to undeveloped as well as commercialised beaches, thereby reducing the temptation to add possibly undesired facilities to pristine beaches for the purpose of award qualification.     

旅游海滩质量评价在海滩管理中的应用研究——以南澳岛青澳湾海滩为例

海滩是宝贵的旅游资源,健康的海滩系统在旅游、沿岸防护安全等多方面能提供很多有价值的服务,但当前旅游海滩在生态环境质量、旅游体验等方面尚存在诸多问题。旅游海滩质量评价是对旅游海滩自然属性和开发利用水平的综合评价,能较为客观地反映出旅游海滩环境质量水平,是较为有效的海滩管理工具之一。本研究在现场环境调查和游客问卷调查的基础上,建立旅游海滩质量评价指标体系,开展了广东青澳湾海滩质量评价,并对其影响因素进行分析。结果显示:当前青澳湾海滩开发程度、海滩环境质量尚未达到良好水平。根据评价结果,对青澳湾海滩的可持续发展提出了完善海滩旅游配套设施和配套服务,对海滩进行系统的规划,建立科学的旅游海滩质量评价体系和环境监测、调控体系等建议。     

莱州三山岛黄金海岸沙滩形成过程及沙滩养护建议

利用2010 2012年两年4季莱州三山岛黄金海岸沙滩综合勘测结果,分析上述沙滩形成过程,并进行了沙滩近期变化特征探讨.结果表明,莱州三山岛黄金海岸沙滩年际及年内季节性变化规律均表现出带状冲刷特征,黄金海岸沙滩及其近海海域表现为普遍冲刷特征,冲刷厚度平均＜1.2 m/a.基于莱州三山岛黄金海岸沙滩近期变化特征,建议尽早开展以抛沙养滩为主,并适当辅以硬工程的沙滩养护方案,注重海滩养护工程前期调查,修复和人工再造三阶段的工作,特别应根据设计方案向沙滩开展大量抛沙、保沙和稳沙工作,使受蚀海滩逐步恢复.     

Waves,long waves and nearshore morphology

Recent field measurements on beaches of different slopes have established that wave motion at periods substantially longer than the incident waves dominates the velocity field close to the shore. Analysis of a number of extensive data sets shows that much of this long wave motion is in the form of progessive edge waves, though forced wave motion, standing edge waves and free waves propagating away from the shore may also contribute to the energy.Theoretically, the drift velocities in bottom boundary layers due to edge waves show spatial patterns of convergence and divergence which may move sediment to form either regular crescentic or cuspate features when only one edge wave mode dominates, or a bewildering array of bars, bumps and holes when several phase-locked modes exist together.Convincing field demonstration of the link between nearshore topography and edge waves only exists for the special case of small-scale beach cusps on steep beaches, formed by edge waves at the subharmonic (twice the period) of the incident waves. At longer periods the link is proving more difficult to establish, due to the longer time-scales of topographic changes, the interaction between pre-existing topography and the water motion, and the observation of broad-banded edge wave motion which is not readily linked to topography with a well-defined scale.These ideas are, however, central to the study of nearshore processes, as most of the plausible alternate hypotheses do not seem to lead to quantitative predictions. Clearly, further theoretical and observational work is essential.     

Dissolved nutrient fluxes from the nearshore sediments of Bowling Green Bay,central Great Barrier Reef Lagoon (Australia)

The fluxes of dissolved inorganic N, P, and Si from the nearshore sediments of the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon are significantly lower than those reported from sediments in temperate regions at similar temperatures. The directly measured fluxes range from −23 to +28, −154 to +890, and −990 to +1750 μmol m⁻² day⁻¹ for PO₄³⁻, ΣN(=NH₄⁺ + NO₂⁻ + NO₃⁻) and Si, respectively. Estimates suggest that sediments are the major source of dissolved N to near-shore waters of the Lagoon greatly exceeding the dissolved flux from rivers. Resuspension of up to 1 cm of sediment during storms would have a very small effect on the PO₄³⁻ or Si(OH)₄ concentration of the overlying water, but would significantly raise the ΣN concentration. The productivity of these waters may be controlled at various times by the balance between the steady-state sedimentary flux of nutrients, the fluvial input, and storm resuspension.     

Instruments for investigating shore and nearshore processes

Abstract

On shingle beaches, changes in foreshore elevation and sediment distribution landward of the break point are produced largely by variations in the uprush and backwash of waves. However, very little is known about the forces active in this zone.

A field instrument system which senses and records some of the parameters thought to influence beach erosion and deposition in this zone has been constructed. The equipment is also suitable for the investigation of a number of other shore and nearshore processes including erosion on sandy and rocky shores, and flow processes affecting littoral biological communities.

In the swash zone two sensing heads, a dynamometer and a depth recorder, sense variations in uprush and backwash velocities, energies, discharges, and depths of flow. Both devices are electromechanical and are coupled to a recording unit on land by PVC‐insulated cable. The dynamometer (two force plates mounted back‐to‐back on a compression spring and coupled to variable resistances) has been calibrated, statically and in a flume, to obtain velocity determinations accurate to within 10 cm . sec^?1 of true flow speed. Average swash zone velocities lie between 100 and 300 cm . sec^?1.

A parallel‐wire resistance gauge mounted an a stilling tube records flow depths. As water level rises and falls in the tube it alters resistance in a control circuit. The land unit, amplifiers and a strip‐chart recorder, receives the output from the dynamometer and flow depth gauge. The recorder is equipped with a trip‐pen so that analysis of wave periods or other variables is possible in the field. With poles at known spacings across the shore and the trip‐pen records, velocity distributions across the swash zone can be obtained. Measurements of velocity made near the bed with the dynamometer can then be related to the local surface velocity profile.

Problems with the instrument system include inability to record velocities at several points simultaneously, and unreliable records of backwash parameters with low breakers on shingle beaches because of the small volume of flow and rapid percolation of water into the beach face.     

Local and landscape effects on spatial patterns of mangrove forest during wetter and drier periods: Moreton Bay,Southeast Queensland,Australia

Land use/cover and mangrove spatial changes were assessed for ten sites and their sub-catchments in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Two time periods were involved: 1972–1990, a period of relatively high rainfall, and 1990–2004, which was significantly drier. Aerial photographs and Landsat satellite imagery were used to map the inter-tidal wetlands and classify the land use/cover in the sub-catchments. A Maximum Likelihood Classification was used to map three types of land cover: agriculture, built-up and plantation forest. Mangroves (mainly Avicennia marina) were the focus as they have been recorded over recent decades encroaching into salt marsh. The Mangrove-Salt marsh Interface (MSI) Index was developed to quantify the relative opportunity for mangroves to expand into salt marshes, based on the shared boundary between them. The index showed a consistent relationship with mangrove expansion and change. To address problems of high dimensionality and multi-collinearity of predictor variables, a Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) model was used. A key finding of this research was that the contribution of environmental variables to spatial changes in the mangroves was altered following a reduction in rainfall. For example, agriculture had more influence on mangrove expansion and change during the wet period than during the dry period.     

护岸工程与沙滩流失

沙滩是沿海地区重要的旅游休闲资源,护岸工程是沿海地区重要的防灾设施,护岸在保护陆地资源的同时有可能对沙滩产生破坏。传统护岸设计形式为硬性护岸,硬性护岸建成后将在一定程度上影响沿岸水动力环境,若护岸设计不当,易引起周围沙滩流失,造成旅游经济损失。本文通过威海九龙湾沙滩流失实例说明了硬性护岸对沙滩稳定性的影响,并通过波浪泥沙物理模型试验对沙滩修复方案进行了研究,试验发现因受原护岸影响修复后的沙滩仍将处于持续侵蚀状态,并介绍了其他类似案例。文中重点强调了护岸设计不当极易造成沙滩流失,对护岸设计、岸线规划等具有一定参考价值。     

Iron speciation and biogeochemistry in different nearshore waters

Different environmental conditions in various nearshore waters dynamically determine the speciation of iron, its solubility, removal and hence bioavailability to phytoplankton. The iron speciation, the impact of phytoplankton blooms and the effects of organic matter on iron speciation and transformation were studied in four different coastal systems: the Trondheim Fjord, Norway, which is a coastal system that is open to a vast riverine impact; Hopevågen, Norway, a pristine coastal basin, which has negligible river and anthropogenic impact; zmir Bay, Turkey, a Mediterranean embayment with heavily polluted eutrophic inner–middle section, and the oligotrophic outer section. In this paper, we compare iron speciation in these different coastal systems. While colloidal iron (ColFe) was the predominant species especially in the Trondheim Fjord and to some degree also in Hopavågen, Chelex labile iron (ClxLFe) and hydrophobic organic-iron complex (HpOFe) were predominate species in both the inner–middle and the outer section of zmir Bay. The impact of phytoplankton blooms on the ClxLFe was significant especially in the Trondheim Fjord, in the inner–middle section of zmir Bay and in Hopevågen.     

海滩均衡剖面的概念及相关问题的讨论--以日照实测海滩剖面为例

海滩均衡剖面是海洋动力和海滩泥沙充分作用下的一个具有统计意义上的相对均衡的海滩形态。绝对意义上的、理想的均衡海滩剖面在自然界是难以找到的 ,而统计意义上的海滩均衡特征可以满足海岸变化和海滩过程研究需要。海滩均衡剖面的形态主要受控于国海滩泥沙的粒度特征 ,该剖面的形态指数是海滩泥沙沉降速率的函数 ,海滩粒度越粗 ,海滩坡度越陡。本文研究的日照海滩存在统计意义上的均衡剖面。由于海滩沉积物粒度具有明显的分带特征 ,海滩剖面不是一个理想的均一平面 ,而是由与海滩泥沙粒度相适应的两个均衡剖面组成。这两段海滩的表层粒径分别为 4.8Φ和 7.5Φ ,观测剖面的海滩形态指数分别为 0 .0 75和 0 .0 1 5,理论海滩形态指数分别为 0 .0 77和 0 .0 2 ,理论值和观测值有很好的一致性。     

A note on nearshore wave features: Implications for wave generation

This paper analyses 10 years of wave data from the Mediterranean Spanish (Catalan) coast considering the mean wave climate and storm events from the standpoint of wind-wave momentum transfer and wave prediction. The data, registered by a buoy at about 12 km from the coastline, revealed two main groups of wave storms, with NW and E directions. NW storms correspond to a fetch-limited situation since the intense wind blows from land. Low-pressure centres located over the Mediterranean Sea produce easterly storms. Near the coast the eastern winds from the sea are replaced by NW winds coming from meteorological patterns over northern Spain and south-western France. Wave storms are classified and studied to obtain their main features (including spectral width, wave length, wave age and bimodality) and discussed in terms of wind-wave momentum transfer for operational wave predictions. Observations show a complex coastal wave climate. Fetch-limited storms presented smaller spectral widths while varying wind situations presented larger widths due to the presence of bimodal spectra. These wave features are highly relevant for wind–ocean momentum transfer and, thus, for current and wave predictions. The spectral width proved to be a good indicator of sea complexity and is thus applicable for improved wind drag estimations. A new drag coefficient formulation is proposed, based on existing wind dependent drag expressions, but including also spectral wave properties (a spectral width parameter) that highlights the characteristics of wind-wave generation under pre-existing swell. Such a formulation, once properly validated with field observations, is expected to improve wind-wave predictions.