Storms can increase beach resilience on a low-energy coast in the proximity of a harbor

IF 2.1 3区地球科学 Q2 OCEANOGRAPHY

Continental Shelf Research Pub Date : 2024-11-01 DOI:10.1016/j.csr.2024.105343

Gabriela Medellín , Gemma L. Franklin , Alec Torres-Freyermuth

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Storms drive energetic waves and induce high water levels on the nearshore. Hence, they are commonly associated with negative effects on the coast (i.e., beach erosion and coastal flooding). Beach resilience, the capability to resist and recover from storms, relies on the beach width and elevation. This study investigates the subaerial beach morphological response to storms on a micro-tidal, low-energy tropical beach located in the proximity of a harbor. The study area, situated on a barrier island on the northwestern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, is prone to winter, tropical, and local storms. Beach surveys were carried out over the 2015–2023 period, with a high spatial and temporal resolution, along a 4-km stretch of coast, comprising beach transects located downstream (erosive beach) and upstream (accretive and stable beach) of the harbor jetties. Moreover, offshore wave conditions and water levels were measured to identify storm events. Pre- and post-storm beach surveys are employed to estimate beach geoindicators to assess the impact of 66 storms. Consistent with prior studies, field observations suggest that the beach response (accretive or erosive) is dependent on the water level and pre-storm beach morphology. Furthermore, a net subaerial sediment volume gain, correlated with seasonal changes on the dimensionless fall velocity parameter and water level, occurs during the winter storm season on the prograding/stable beach section. On the other hand, storms induced subaerial sand volume losses on the receding beach section exposed to the same forcing conditions. Thus, our observations suggest that moderate winter and tropical storms can contribute to increasing beach resilience in this region.

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风暴可增强港口附近低能量海岸的海滩复原力

暴风雨会掀起高能波浪，导致近岸水位升高。因此，风暴通常会对海岸造成负面影响（如海滩侵蚀和海岸洪水）。海滩的恢复能力，即抵御风暴和从风暴中恢复的能力，取决于海滩的宽度和海拔。本研究调查了位于港口附近的微潮汐、低能量热带海滩上的海滩形态对风暴的响应。研究区域位于尤卡坦半岛西北海岸的一个屏障岛上，冬季易受热带风暴和局部风暴的影响。在 2015-2023 年期间，以较高的空间和时间分辨率，沿着 4 公里长的海岸线进行了海滩调查，包括位于港口码头下游（侵蚀海滩）和上游（增生和稳定海滩）的海滩横断面。此外，还测量了近海波浪状况和水位，以确定风暴事件。风暴前和风暴后的海滩调查用于估算海滩地质指标，以评估 66 次风暴的影响。与之前的研究一致，实地观察表明，海滩反应（增生或侵蚀）取决于水位和风暴前的海滩形态。此外，在冬季风暴季节，前进/稳定的海滩地段会出现海下沉积物量净增加，这与无量纲下降速度参数和水位的季节性变化相关。另一方面，在相同的受力条件下，风暴会导致沙滩后退区段的海沙量减少。因此，我们的观测结果表明，适度的冬季风暴和热带风暴有助于提高该地区海滩的恢复能力。

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来源期刊

Continental Shelf Research 地学-海洋学

CiteScore

4.30

自引率

4.30%

发文量

136

审稿时长

6.1 months

期刊介绍： Continental Shelf Research publishes articles dealing with the biological, chemical, geological and physical oceanography of the shallow marine environment, from coastal and estuarine waters out to the shelf break. The continental shelf is a critical environment within the land-ocean continuum, and many processes, functions and problems in the continental shelf are driven by terrestrial inputs transported through the rivers and estuaries to the coastal and continental shelf areas. Manuscripts that deal with these topics must make a clear link to the continental shelf. Examples of research areas include: Physical sedimentology and geomorphology Geochemistry of the coastal ocean (inorganic and organic) Marine environment and anthropogenic effects Interaction of physical dynamics with natural and manmade shoreline features Benthic, phytoplankton and zooplankton ecology Coastal water and sediment quality, and ecosystem health Benthic-pelagic coupling (physical and biogeochemical) Interactions between physical dynamics (waves, currents, mixing, etc.) and biogeochemical cycles Estuarine, coastal and shelf sea modelling and process studies.