Water filtration through reflective microtidal beaches and shallow sublittoral sands and its implications for an inshore ecosystem in Western Australia

Volumes of seawater filtered through the intertidal zone were measured on three modally reflective microtidal beaches in Western Australia. The filtered volumes were large, 19 m³ m^?1 day^?1 and 73 m³ m^?1 day^?1 on two ‘clean’ beaches but only 0·4 m³ m^?1 per tidal cycle on a beach covered in kelp and seagrass wrack. The mean residence times of this water in the interstitial system and its percolation paths were both short, 1–7 h and 2–5 m respectively. Water input was greater across a beach cusp horn than across a cusp embayment. Most input occurred in the upper swash zone where the water table was less than 20 cm deep. Tidal variations in input volumes were evident even with tide ranges of only 20 cm. The inshore zone off these beaches filters on average 0·07 m³ m^?2 day^?1 at an average depth of 5·5 m under 0·4 m waves of 6·5 s duration. The importance of these procedures in the mineralization of organic materials and the regeneration of nutrients for an inshore ‘lagoon ecosystem’ is estimated and discused.     

The biomass of macro- and interstitial fauna on clean and wrack-covered beaches in Western Australia

The benthic faunal spectrum including bacteria, protozoans, meiofauna, wrack epifauna and macrofauna, was quantitatively surveyed on two modally reflective, moderate energy, Western Australian beaches. The more exposed beach had coarser sand, no intertidal macrofauna and a poor interstitial fauna. The less exposed beach had a large deposit of wrack totalling 161 kg m^?1 dry mass concentrated on the lower shore. The amphipod Allorchestes compressa was abundant in the fresh wrack comprising most of the macrofauna. There were also fairly abundant small epifauna on the wrack. Dry biomass of macrofauna, epifauna, meiofauna, protozoans and bacteria was 0, 0, 15, 4 and 180 g m^?1 on the more exposed beach and 160, 3, 112, 9 and 901 g m^?1 on the less exposed beach with wrack. On the latter beach there was an inverse correlation between meiofaunal densities and the densities of protozoans and bacteria, suggesting grazing by the former on the latter. On both beaches meiofauna was concentrated in the mid- to upper beach, protozoans near the surface and bacteria in the mid- to lower beach. It is estimated that bacteria are responsible for most of the secondary production on both beaches.     

Morphodynamics of structurally controlled headland-bay beaches in southeastern Brazil: A review

This paper presents a comprehensive review on the interaction between hydrodynamic processes, beach morphology and sedimentology at large scale coastal behaviour along the coastline of Santa Catarina, between Laguna and São Francisco Island, a microtidal east coast swell environment with headland and bay geomorphologies. The parabolic bay shape equation has proven to be a convenient and practical tool for studying the stability of the headland-bay beaches, tombolos, and salients in Santa Catarina. The beaches exhibit different patterns of sediment removal as a function of the degree of beach curvature. In highly curved beaches, there is a well-developed shadow zone and a range of morphodynamic conditions, from a sheltered low-energy beach adjacent to the downdrift headland to a high-energy exposed beach on the straight end of the headland-bay beach. The less curved beaches instead, tend to show more uniform behaviour since they are directly exposed to incident waves. There is no obvious relationship between average wave height and mean grain size, showing the importance of sediment source to characterize the sedimentary distribution patterns in the study area. The analysis of beaches showed that beach morphodynamics and sequence profiles for a bay–headland coast in a microtidal east coast environment is a function of geological inheritance (e.g., distance between headlands and orientation, nearshore and inner shelf morphology, coastal plain morphology, and sediment source), and hydrodynamic factors (wave conditions, oceanic wave exposure and relative tidal range).     

Relationship between oil pollution and psammolittoral meiofauna density of two South African beaches

The effects of stranded oil from a tanker collision off the South African coast on the meiofauna ratio and density have been monitored over a period of 1 year on two sandy beaches. The perturbation of two beaches was judged against reference beach meiofauna density behaviour. In the undisturbed beach, oil deposited in sediment depressed harpacticoid copepod numbers, while numbers of nematodes stayed similar to those of the reference levels. Removal of surface sand in the mechanically disturbed beach had a greater influence on the density of animals than oil. Both beaches showed recovery after six months, but evidence of pollution by oil of unknown origin was found.     

Carbonate Sediment Deposits on the Reef Front Around Oahu,Hawaii

Large sediment deposits on the reef front around Oahu are a possible resource for replenishing eroded beaches. High-resolution subbottom profiles clearly depict the deposits in three study areas: Kailua Bay off the windward coast, Makua to Kahe Point off the leeward coast, and Camp Erdman to Waimea off the north coast. Most of the sediment is in water depths between 20 and 100?m, resting on submerged shelves created during lowstands of sea level. The mapped deposits have a volume of about 4?×?10⁸?m³ in water depths less than 100?m, being thickest off the mouth of channels carved into the modern insular shelf, from which most of the sediment issues. Vibracore samples contain various amounts of sediment of similar size to the sand on Oahu beaches, with the most compatible prospects located off Makaha, Haleiwa, and Camp Erdman, and the least compatible ones located in Kailua Bay. Laboratory tests show a positive correlation of abrasion with Halimeda content: samples from Kailua Bay suffered high amounts of attrition, but others were comparable to tested beach samples. The common gray color of the offshore sediment, aesthetically undesirable for sand on popular tourist beaches, was diminished in the laboratory by soaking in heated hydrogen peroxide.     

An interpretation of wave refraction and its influence on foreshore sediment distribution

To analyze the grain size and depositional environment of the foreshore sediments, a study was undertaken on wave refraction along the wide sandy beaches of central Tamil Nadu coast. The nearshore waves approach the coast at 45° during the northeast(NE) monsoon, at 135° during the southwest(SW) monsoon and at 90° during the non-monsoon or fair-weather period with a predominant wave period of 8 and 10 s. A computer based wave refraction pattern is constructed to evaluate the trajectories of shoreward propagating waves along the coast in different seasons. The convergent wave rays during NE monsoon, leads to high energy wave condition which conveys a continuous erosion at foreshore region while divergent and inept condition of rays during the SW and non-monsoon, leads to moderate and less energy waves that clearly demarcates the rebuilt beach sediments through littoral sediment transport. The role of wave refraction in foreshore deposits was understood by grain size and depositional environment analysis. The presence of fine grains with the mixed population, during the NE monsoon reveals that the high energy wave condition and sediments were derived from beach and river environment. Conversely, the presence of medium grains with uniform population, during SW and non-monsoon attested less turbulence and sediments were derived from prolong propagation of onshore-offshore wave process.These upshots are apparently correlated with the in situ beach condition. On the whole, from this study it is understood that beaches underwent erosion during the NE monsoon and restored its original condition during the SW and non-monsoon seasons that exposed the stability of the beach and nearshore condition.     

Role of geological inheritance in Australian beach morphodynamics

The Australian coast contains 10,685 beaches which occupy 49% of the 30,000 km coast and average 1.37 km in length. Their relatively short length is largely due to the presence of bedrock, calcarenite and laterite, which form boundaries to many of the beaches, as well as occurring as rocks, reefs and islands along and off the beaches. This geological inheritance plays a major role in Australian beach systems — determining their length and through wave refraction and attenuation influencing beach location, shape, type, morphodynamics and circulation, which in turn influence sediment transport and the backing dune and barrier systems. This paper uses a database covering every Australian beach to review the role of headlands, rocks and reefs on Australian beaches. Major effects are the short average beach length; reduction in breaker height resulting in lower energy beach types; wave refraction resulting in increased beach curvature; the presence of topographic rips on moderate and higher energy beaches and megarips during high wave conditions; and the interruption of and/or trapping of longshore sand transport leading to beach rotation.     

海南万宁大花角巨砾石海滩特征与成因

巨砾石是颗粒直径大于256 mm的沉积物。巨砾石海滩(Boulder beach)是一种少见的海岸类型,形成条件特殊,与砾石海滩(2~60 mm)沉积动力特征不同,是具有旅游价值和学术价值的资源。对海南万宁大花角巨砾石海滩的调查研究结果表明,海滩主要是由直径500~1 000 mm、磨圆、光滑的巨砾石排列而成的,剖面平滑,宽40 m,高9 m,海滩坡度13°。与普陀岛的巨砾海滩相比,本海滩更为典型,海滩巨砾石磨圆更好、宽度更大、海滩低潮至高潮之间高度更大,海滩形态也更完好。它的形成与海岸岬湾地形、地质条件、高能波浪等有关。巨砾石磨圆极好、表面光滑,但是粒径比一般鹅卵石大1~2个数量级。巨砾石海滩与砾石滩在沉积特征和动力地貌特征不同,是不同类型的海滩。     

Cost of beach maintenance in the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain)

Beach erosion problems have been solved by adding sand to the beaches along the Gulf of Cadiz. The Gulf is located in SW Spain between the Portuguese border and the Strait of Gibraltar. During the last decade, more than 12×10⁶ m³ of sand have been nourished in 38 restoration operations carried out on 28 beaches. The main characteristics of the nourishment campaigns (year, volume, budget, transport method, sand data, etc.) are presented. Location of sand borrow sites and distance to the beaches are also shown. Monitoring programs have been performed in order to calculate sediment loss rates. These results have been related to the beach length, the berm width and the budget in order to obtain a variety of relationships for maintenance cost as, for example, the total annual cost for each beach. This information is very useful when developing a strategy in coastal zone management. Furthermore, at least in reef-protected beaches, small yearly renourishments similar to the yearly losses, instead of greater nourishments performed with a periodicity of many years, lead to an economical saving, as well as to a better use of the natural resources.     

Beach erosion along the coastline of Alexandria, Egypt

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Structures in deposits from beach recovery, after erosion by swell waves around the southwestern coast of Aruba (Netherlands Antilles)

Hurricane- or storm-generated swell waves may cause erosion and deposition along coasts which are situated thousands of kilometers outside the generating wind field. Marked beach erosion, caused by such swell waves, was observed along the micro-tidal west coast of Aruba. During the process of erosion a swash bar was formed, which moved up-beach during the waxing part of the swell event. The swash bar welded to the beach during the waning part of the event. Rapid sedimentation occurred on the upper beach. Finally, recovery of the beach was observed. The formation of a swash bar was attributed to an erosive, dissipative interval of a normally accretionary reflective beach. The sedimentary structures, although generally in line with observations on other beaches, show several peculiar characteristics: (1) the great thickness of the laminae in these calcareous sands; (2) the succession of low-angle sigmoidal and tangential sets in the swash bar; (3) the relatively steep erosional lower set boundaries and the wedge-shaped lamination in the successive stages of beach recovery; and (4) the several types of deformation structures.     

Effects of morphodynamic state on macrofauna community of exposed sandy beaches on Galician coast (NW Spain)

It is known that the fauna of the exposed sandy beaches are primarily controlled by physical variables; but how these variables operate along and across the beach still remains fairly under discussion. In our study, we sampled a range of exposed sandy beaches along the Northwest coast of Spain to determine the relationship between the principal physical variables of the beaches (including beach morphodynamic state), and the macrofaunal community. The fauna of these beaches comprise truly marine species along the intertidal zone as well as semi-terrestrial species in the upper and supratidal environments. These two groups respond in a different manner to the physical environment. The first group is directly controlled by the morphodynamic state of the beach, and variations in the physical environment; the second group is not clearly affected by these physical conditions. In this case, other variables such as food availability and the human uses of the upper limits of the beach seem to be more relevant in explaining the patterns observed in the macrofaunal community.     

Mapping beach morphodynamics remotely: A novel application tested on South African sandy shores

Sandy beaches have been identified as threatened ecosystems but despite the need to conserve them, they have been generally overlooked. Systematic conservation planning (SCP) has emerged as an efficient method of selecting areas for conservation priority. However, SCP analyses require digital shapefiles of habitat and species diversity. Mapping these attributes for beaches from field data can take years and requires exhaustive resources. This study thus sought to derive a methodology to classify and map beach morphodynamic types from satellite imagery. Since beach morphodynamics is a strong predictor of macrofauna diversity, they could be considered a good surrogate for mapping beach biodiversity. A dataset was generated for 45 microtidal beaches (of known morphodynamic type) by measuring or coding for several physical characteristics from imagery acquired from Google Earth. Conditional inference trees revealed beach width to be the only factor that significantly predicted beach morphodynamic type, giving four categories: dissipative, dissipative-intermediate, intermediate and reflective. The derived model was tested by using it to predict the morphodynamic type of 28 other beaches of known classification. Model performance was good (75% prediction accuracy) but misclassifications occurred at the three breaks between the four categories. For beaches around these breaks, consideration of surf zone characteristics in addition to beach width ameliorated the misclassifications. The final methodology yielded a 93% prediction accuracy of beach morphodynamic type. Overlaying other considerations on this classification scheme could provide additional value to the layer, such that it also describes species’ spatial patterns. These could include: biogeographic regions, estuarine versus sandy beaches and short versus long beaches. The classification scheme was applied to the South African shoreline as a case study. The distribution of the beach morphodynamic types was partly influenced by geography. Most of the long, dissipative beaches are found along the west coast of the country, the south coast beaches are mostly dissipative-intermediate, and the east coast beaches range from short, estuarine pocket and embayed beaches in the former Transkei (south east), to longer intermediate and reflective beaches in KwaZulu-Natal (in the north east). Once combined with the three biogeographic regions, and distinguishing between estuarine and sandy shores, the South African coast comprised 24 different beach types. Representing shorelines in this form opens up potential for numerous spatial analyses that can not only further our understanding of sandy beach ecology at large spatial scales but also aid in deriving conservation strategies for this threatened ecosystem.     

The effect of human use of sandy beaches on developmental stability of Talitrus saltator (Montagu, 1808) (Crustacea, Amphipoda). A study on fluctuating asymmetry

In recent years, there has been an increasing intensity of human use of coastal areas in Galicia (NW Spain). Actually, there is great concern about rapid and unplanned urban and industrial development on certain locations, as this can generate adverse impacts on those areas. In this study, we selected three sandy beaches along the Galician coast (Chanteiro, Insuela and Valieros) facing different levels of anthropic pressure, and we analysed Talitrus saltator individuals with the aim of elucidating whether anthropogenic pressures on beaches such as tourism or pollution have an influence on the incidence of morphological developmental alterations in sandhoppers in the field. Specifically, levels of fluctuating asymmetry were selected as indicators of environmental stress. Results of two sampling dates (May and September) show that individuals collected at the most touristy and polluted beach were those showing the highest asymmetry values, although results were only statistically significant for samples collected during spring. Results are in accordance with the hypothesis that beach management and pollution reduce symmetry in sandhoppers living in altered beaches.     

华南砂质海滩的动力地貌分析

为探讨华南砂质海滩的动力地貌学特征,对不同地理岸段不同地貌形态的8 个沙滩剖面于冬、夏季进行现场重复调查和室内分析工作.据此,通过对华南海岸带地质构造、地貌和现代海岸动力环境地域变化的分析,将华南沿海砂质海岸划分为岬湾岸、沙坝-潟湖岸和夷直岸三种基本海岸地貌类型,并且从滩面倾向、海岸动力环境影响、季节冲淤变化趋势和滩面沉积物粒径、坡度的动力响应等方面探讨砂质海滩的动力地貌,得出其受制于多种环境因素的影响,其中地质构造背景和海平面变化为大尺度的砂质海岸地貌的发育奠定了基础,而全新世海侵海平面相对稳定后,海岸动力条件的塑造起着决定性的影响,浪潮作用指数是其中重要的影响指标.     

宁波海岛期间带生态学研究──Ⅱ．数量组成与分布

本文研究了宁波海岛潮间带的生物数量组成与分布规律。岩礁潮间带平均生物量（２５１２．９４ｇ／ｍ２）高于沙质潮间带（４７．６４ｇ／ｍ２）高于泥沙质潮间带（２２．３６ｇ／ｍ２），而密度为岩礁潮间带（９８７．２个／ｍ２）高于泥沙质潮间带（２８１．２个／ｍ２）高于沙质潮间带（２０．０个／ｍ２）。主要生物类群有甲壳动物、藻类及软体动物。岩礁潮间带生物量从近岸向外海增加。泥沙质潮间带的生物量和密度从北至南增加。     

Identifying storm impacts on an embayed, high-energy coastline: examples from western Ireland

Large sections of the western Irish coast are characterised by a highly compartmentalised series of headland-embayment cells in which sand and gravel beaches are backed by large vegetated dune systems. Exposure to modally high-energy swell renders most of these beaches dissipative in character. A mesotidal range (c. 3.5–4.5 m) exists along much of the coast. Analysis of instrumental wind records from three locations permitted the identification of a variety of storm types and the construction of storm catalogues. Few individual storms were recorded at all three stations indicating a lack of regional consistency in storm record. Of the total storms recorded, only a small percentage are potentially damaging (onshore directed) and even fewer span a high tide and thus potentially induce a measurable morphological response at the coast.

Through a combination of historical records, meteorological records, field observations and wave modelling we attempt to assess the impact of storms. Quantifiable records of coastal morphology (maps, air photos and beach profiles) are few in number and do not generally record responses that may be definitely attributed to specific storms. Numerical wave simulations and observations at a variety of sites on the west Irish coast, however, provide insights into instantaneous and medium term (decadal) storm responses in such systems.

We argue that beaches and dunes that are attuned to modally high-energy regimes require extreme storms to cause significant morphological impact. The varying orientation of beaches, a spatially nonuniform storm catalogue and the need for a storm to occur at high water to produce measurable change, impart site-specific storm susceptibility to these embayments. Furthermore, we argue that long-period wave energy attenuation across dissipative shorefaces and beaches reduces coastal response to distant storms whereas short-period, locally generated wind waves are more likely to cause major dune and beach erosion as they arrive at the shoreline unrefracted.

This apparently variable response of beach and dune systems to storm forcing at a decadal scale over a coastline length of 200 km urges caution in generalising regarding regional-scale coastal responses to climatic change.     

Experimental analysis of infragravity waves in two eroded microtidal beaches

This work aims to contribute to the characterization and understanding of infragravity waves on two beaches with erosion problems. For this reason, we have used an array of ADCP and a pressure sensor to measure wave parameters and pressure inside and outside of the surf zone during the dry and rainy period in the beaches of Galerazamba and Manzanillo del Mar (both dissipative and eroded beaches) located in the Colombian Caribbean coast. Based on these measurements, we have carried out a spectral analysis in order to identify the frequency components that characterize the wave and its energy; thus, we identified the characteristic frequencies of infragravity waves to finally filter the infragravity signal on each beach in different seasonal periods. Among the results of the Welch spectrum applied to surface elevation time series, we found that, the frequencies'' energy of the sea-swell band decreases due to bottom friction and wave breaking as the wave approaches the shore, while the frequencies'' energy of the infragravity band increases significantly. In addition, for the wavelet analysis, we could observe how the energy of the infragravity band, especially the lowest frequencies gain energy as the waves approaches the coast. Furthermore, based on the infragravity wave obtained from the extreme wave event registered during the field campaign we can conclude that the contribution of this signal is important in the erosion problems presented in the beaches of Galerazamba and Manzanillo del Mar. Finally, these results show the need to realize other studies that allow us to understand deeply, the role of infragravity waves on the morphological changes that occurs in these beaches.     

Bayside beach dynamics: Implications for simulation modeling on eroding sheltered tidal beaches

The purpose of this paper is to compare the differences between oceanside and bayside beaches. Field data on twelve beach process and response variables were gathered from February 1972 to April 1973 on four sample beaches at Sandy Hook Spit, New Jersey. Linear correlation is used to identify the most influential process variables and determine how the interrelationships among variables differ on each beach. The analysis confirms the importance of breaker height, wave steepness and wind direction on beach response. The correlation of beach processes with their associated responses are higher on the oceanside than on the bayside beaches, indicating that local, non-storm waves may be relatively insignificant in effecting substantial beach modification.Despite the greater magnitude of processes and beach change on the oceanside sites, erosion was more persistent on the bayside during the period of study. The frequent occurrence of short, steep erosional waves on the bayside prevented onshore movement of sediment between storms, resulting in a permanent loss of material from the beach face and dune. On the oceanside, long, low, depositional waves occurring between storms replenished most of the material carried away during the storm. This fresh beach material acted as a buffer against the erosion of the dunes during the following storm.The dominant bay waves are locally generated and may therefore be simulated using meteorological variables. However, the low wave energies on the bayside sites result in an increase in the relative importance of tidal currents, wind-induced currents, and refracted ocean swell. These factors complicate the application of simplified wave process—beach response models to the study of beaches exposed to these effects.     

华南水东湾波控、中等潮差岬湾海滩地形动力分类

海滩地形动力分类在国外的海岸地貌研究中已经被广泛接受。本文使用了华南粤西水东湾切线带、过渡带和遮蔽带海滩连续16个月32次大潮期间同步获取的波浪、潮汐、泥沙和海滩地形数据,分别按照无量纲沉降参数、相对潮差参数和无量纲海湾尺度参数对这一岬湾海滩不同岸段的海滩类型进行了研究,研究发现：（1）水东湾切线带海滩的主要状态为有裂流的低潮台地状态和沙坝型海滩状态,过渡带海滩主要状态是低潮沙坝/裂流海滩和沙坝消散型状态,遮蔽带海滩主要状态是有或无沙坝的消散型状态;（2）海湾不同岸段海滩状态的顺序变化与差异体现了岬湾海滩状态的时空变化性,与现场观测的海滩地形的变化基本一致,说明了对波控中到强潮海滩进行研究时,需要考虑潮汐的影响。同时,本文主要给出了海滩状态研究的一个框架体系,由于海滩不同的状态伴随不同的侵蚀模式,要求我国今后需加强在这一方面研究,以进一步丰富我国海滩地形演变、海滩地形动力过程和海滩防侵蚀的理论基础。