Spatial Variability of Coastal Foredune Evolution, Part A: Timescales of Months to Years
Coastal foredunes are topographically high features that can reduce vulnerability to storm-related flooding hazards. While the dominant aeolian, hydrodynamic, and ecological processes leading to dune growth and erosion are fairly well-understood, predictive capabilities of spatial variations in dune...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/7/5/124 |
| _version_ | 1818620728810930176 |
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| author | Katherine Brodie Ian Conery Nicholas Cohn Nicholas Spore Margaret Palmsten |
| author_facet | Katherine Brodie Ian Conery Nicholas Cohn Nicholas Spore Margaret Palmsten |
| author_sort | Katherine Brodie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coastal foredunes are topographically high features that can reduce vulnerability to storm-related flooding hazards. While the dominant aeolian, hydrodynamic, and ecological processes leading to dune growth and erosion are fairly well-understood, predictive capabilities of spatial variations in dune evolution on management and engineering timescales (days to years) remain relatively poor. In this work, monthly high-resolution terrestrial lidar scans were used to quantify topographic and vegetation changes over a 2.5 year period along a micro-tidal intermediate beach and dune. Three-dimensional topographic changes to the coastal landscape were used to investigate the relative importance of environmental, ecological, and morphological factors in controlling spatial and temporal variability in foredune growth patterns at two 50 m alongshore stretches of coast. Despite being separated by only 700 m in the alongshore, the two sites evolved differently over the study period. The northern dune retreated landward and lost volume, whereas the southern dune prograded and vertically accreted. At the start of and throughout the study, the erosive site had steeper foredune faces with less overall vegetation coverage, and dune growth varied spatially and temporally within the site. Deposition occurred mainly at or behind the vegetated dune crest and primarily during periods with strong, oblique winds (>∼45<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <msup> <mrow></mrow> <mo>∘</mo> </msup> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> from shore normal). Minimal deposition was observed on the mostly bare-sand dune face, except where patchy vegetation was present. In contrast, the response of the accretive site was more spatially uniform, with growth focused on the heavily vegetated foredune face. The largest differences in dune response between the two sections of dunes occurred during the fall storm season, when each of the systems’ geomorphic and ecological properties modulated dune growth patterns. These findings highlight the complex eco-morphodynamic feedback controlling dune dynamics across a range of spatial scales. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T17:58:00Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T17:58:00Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-451574c9295b4b16874e0cf174eab4192022-12-21T22:22:07ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122019-04-017512410.3390/jmse7050124jmse7050124Spatial Variability of Coastal Foredune Evolution, Part A: Timescales of Months to YearsKatherine Brodie0Ian Conery1Nicholas Cohn2Nicholas Spore3Margaret Palmsten4Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 1261 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949, USACoastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 1261 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949, USACoastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 1261 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949, USACoastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 1261 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949, USAU.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Hancock, MS 39529, USACoastal foredunes are topographically high features that can reduce vulnerability to storm-related flooding hazards. While the dominant aeolian, hydrodynamic, and ecological processes leading to dune growth and erosion are fairly well-understood, predictive capabilities of spatial variations in dune evolution on management and engineering timescales (days to years) remain relatively poor. In this work, monthly high-resolution terrestrial lidar scans were used to quantify topographic and vegetation changes over a 2.5 year period along a micro-tidal intermediate beach and dune. Three-dimensional topographic changes to the coastal landscape were used to investigate the relative importance of environmental, ecological, and morphological factors in controlling spatial and temporal variability in foredune growth patterns at two 50 m alongshore stretches of coast. Despite being separated by only 700 m in the alongshore, the two sites evolved differently over the study period. The northern dune retreated landward and lost volume, whereas the southern dune prograded and vertically accreted. At the start of and throughout the study, the erosive site had steeper foredune faces with less overall vegetation coverage, and dune growth varied spatially and temporally within the site. Deposition occurred mainly at or behind the vegetated dune crest and primarily during periods with strong, oblique winds (>∼45<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <msup> <mrow></mrow> <mo>∘</mo> </msup> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> from shore normal). Minimal deposition was observed on the mostly bare-sand dune face, except where patchy vegetation was present. In contrast, the response of the accretive site was more spatially uniform, with growth focused on the heavily vegetated foredune face. The largest differences in dune response between the two sections of dunes occurred during the fall storm season, when each of the systems’ geomorphic and ecological properties modulated dune growth patterns. These findings highlight the complex eco-morphodynamic feedback controlling dune dynamics across a range of spatial scales.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/7/5/124terrestrial lidarcoastal foredunesstorm impactserosiondune recoverymorphodynamics |
| spellingShingle | Katherine Brodie Ian Conery Nicholas Cohn Nicholas Spore Margaret Palmsten Spatial Variability of Coastal Foredune Evolution, Part A: Timescales of Months to Years Journal of Marine Science and Engineering terrestrial lidar coastal foredunes storm impacts erosion dune recovery morphodynamics |
| title | Spatial Variability of Coastal Foredune Evolution, Part A: Timescales of Months to Years |
| title_full | Spatial Variability of Coastal Foredune Evolution, Part A: Timescales of Months to Years |
| title_fullStr | Spatial Variability of Coastal Foredune Evolution, Part A: Timescales of Months to Years |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial Variability of Coastal Foredune Evolution, Part A: Timescales of Months to Years |
| title_short | Spatial Variability of Coastal Foredune Evolution, Part A: Timescales of Months to Years |
| title_sort | spatial variability of coastal foredune evolution part a timescales of months to years |
| topic | terrestrial lidar coastal foredunes storm impacts erosion dune recovery morphodynamics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/7/5/124 |
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