Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Beach barrier'

Thesis (M.S. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2009.
Thesis Advisor(s): MacMahan, Jamie. "September 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on 5 November 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Overtopping, run-up, barrier, natural beach, Carmel River Beach Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-44). Also available in print.

A quantification of the role that barrier island overwash plays in the evolution of Onslow Beach, a barrier island located on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, is presented. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and sediment vibracores provide an estimate of the relevant-sand prism above a silty/peat contact underlying the island. The average thickness from the surface, as determined from lidar, to this geologically-defined base, is less than 1 m and equates a total volume of approximately 1.8 ± 1.1 × 106 m3 over the 4.8 km stretch of Onslow Beach from 1 km north of the New River Inlet to Riseley Pier (~ 2 km2). Approximately 39% of the relevant-sand prism (680 ± 215 x 103 m3) is contained within the area of the island currently exhibiting signs of overwash events (i.e., the active overwash complex). Based upon the average cumulative thickness of distinct washover facies within 12 sediment cores (52 cm) and the surface area of the active overwash region, it is estimated that the volume sedimentologically distinct washover deposits equals 199 ± 88 × 103 m3 (approximately 29% of the active overwash complex or 11% of the entire relevant-sand prism). A time series of aerial imagery from 1938 to 2008 details the spatial and temporal trends in migration of both the wet/dry line (a shoreline proxy) and the vegetation line (indicating the landward extent of overwash). Long-term shoreline erosion rates in excess of 3 m/yr occurred over the southern portion of Onslow Beach while the northern portion experienced up to 1.7 m/yr of accretion within the same 80-year time span. Between 1938 and 2008, the vegetation line moved an average of 85 m landward over the length of the entire island and over 450 m in overwash sites at the southern end of the island where shoreline erosion rates are highest. A comparison with long-term shoreline change rates suggests that a simple linear relationship between spatial and temporal variability in shoreline behavior and volume of the relevant-sand prism does not exist. Trends based upon the past 80 years suggest that a positive correlation exists between storm frequency and overwash extent. Furthermore, the region experiencing the highest rates of shoreline erosion and the highest occurrence of overwash does not coincide with the area regularly subject to military training activities. These data suggest that natural forcings (sea level, wind and wave energy, geology, etc.) exert first-order control on the evolution of this barrier island. The ability to quantify and evaluate the relative importance of such forces is paramount to understanding how, and over what timescales, the nearshore environment responds to changes in external forcings (e.g., sea-level rise, storms, etc.) and, in turn, is fundamental to the development of reliable forecasts of shoreline trends and storm susceptibility models.

Urban development and human encroachment on the natural habitats along the coastline of Florida combined with invasive exotic pressures have resulted in the fragmentation and degradation of habitat quality within Broward County. Native habitats have been significantly altered and fragmented to a fraction their previous size. With loss of habitat area and quality, isolation of breeding populations and anthropogenic pressures, it is important to determine species composition and habitat utilization in order to conserve the remaining biological diversity. It was the intent of this study to determine the small mammal species’ population structure and habitat utilization by season in the four sampled habitats. Previously undocumented species and/or extralimital populations were predicted prior to sampling. John U. Lloyd Beach State Park in Dania Beach, Florida is an understudied location for small mammals. This study surveyed four terrestrial habitats for small mammal species using live trapping and mark/recapture techniques. Data were collected monthly over the span of thirteen months to determine habitat use from maritime hammock, mangrove swamp, coastal dune and ruderal habitat types to determine species composition and mass of individual captures and recaptures. Trapping (3749 trap nights) produced twenty-four captures (including recaptures) in two of the four habitat types: maritime hammock and coastal strand. No animals were captured in the mangrove swamp or ruderal habitats, both of which were dominated by invasive Australian pine (Casuarina equisetifolia) monocultures. Post study, a large habitat restoration project restored the habitats impacted by invasive exotic flora. This survey serves as a baseline for small mammals in the park, documenting the pre-restoration habitat use and species composition. Future study to determine changes in species composition post-restoration is recommended.

A Ilha Comprida, localizada no litoral sul do Estado de São Paulo, é uma ilha-barreira arenosa holocênica de 63 km de comprimento por até 5 km de largura, limitada a SW pela desembocadura de Cananéia, e a NE, pela desembocadura de Icapara. Seu sistema praia - duna frontal teve grande variação no tempo, como evidenciado por sucessivos truncamentos de cordões litorâneos. Em escala de tempo mais restrita, dentro dos últimos 200 anos, coberta pelo registro histórico e cartográfico e por fotografias aéreas, as mudanças morfológicas mais significativas concentram-se no extremo nordeste da ilha. Incluem a variação de largura na área hoje caracterizada pelo máximo estrangulamento da ilha, a formação de um pequeno campo de dunas transgressivo nesta mesma área, o surgimento em 1943 de uma projeção da linha de costa, atualmente em estágio avançado de erosão, e o aparecimento intermitente e sucessivo de embaiamentos lagunares no setor adjacente da ilha de Iguape. A abertura do canal artificial do Valo Grande, em 1852, atuou de modo direto ou indireto em pelo menos parte destas mudanças. O aumento de vazão, de retrabalhamento de sedimentos arenosos e portanto de aporte de carga de fundo, devido ao Valo Grande, induziu o surgimento de ilhas arenosas e a formação de ?manchas de areia? no fundo do canal lagunar, bem como a intensificação da dinâmica de meandramento da desembocadura de Icapara, implicando possível aceleração na migração desta desembocadura rumo NE e no próprio crescimento longitudinal da barreira. O sistema praia - duna frontal da Ilha Comprida apresenta também grande variação no espaço, evidenciada pela alternância ao longo de sua extensão de morfologias diferentes, o que pode ser atribuído à intercalação entre setores de caráter deposicional e erosivo. As extremidades da barreira caracterizam-se pela ocorrência marcante de pequenos campos de nebkhas sobre terraços baixos de dunas frontais (<0,5 m). A presença dessas feições pode ser relacionada à contínua progradação próximo às desembocaduras lagunares de Icapara e de Cananéia. A zona erosiva mais evidente encontra-se na extensão centro-sul da praia, como evidenciado pela ocorrência de cordões antigos truncados pela linha de costa atual, e pela redução em tamanho de dunas frontais ativas incipientes e estabelecidas, as quais aparecem por vezes com falésias vivas associadas. Na mesma região, a morfodinâmica muda de regime dissipativo para intermediário, com presença de cúspides de espraiamento e berma. Esta região, ademais, concentra a mais alta variabilidade e complexidade de morfologia de dunas (i.e. cordões de dunas incipientes e estabelecidas obliquamente amalgamadas), além de uma concentração maior de dunas do tipo rampa. No restante do sistema, predomina ampla face de praia de baixa declividade (média de 0,66o), com tendência para formas mais estáveis de dunas frontais (terraços e cordões). Medidas estatísticas de distribuição granulométrica (diâmetro médio, desvio-padrão e assimetria) obtidas através do método dos momentos de Pearson, permitiram inferir, pela regra de McLaren, duas células de deriva litorânea longitudinal principais. A célula nordeste, dirigida para NE, abrange aproximadamente 53 km, e a célula sudoeste toma em sentido oposto (SW) os restantes 10 km. As duas zonas de pólo deposicional de deriva são caracterizadas por amplos e baixos terraços de dunas frontais incipientes progradacionais. A zona de divergência entre as células de deriva coincide com a região de erosão costeira mais intensa. A distribuição em massa de minerais pesados é concordante com o transporte longitudinal verificado. Responde a isso a tendência de aumento de minerais de menor equivalente hidráulico (em geral, quimicamente mais instáveis) a despeito da redução de minerais de equivalente hidráulico mais alto (em geral, quimicamente mais estáveis) no rumo de transporte. A integração dos resultados obtidos por análise morfológica (fotointerpretação e estudo de feições de campo) e sedimentológica (granulometria e minerais pesados) permitiu estabelecer um modelo morfodinâmico para o sistema praia - duna frontal recente da Ilha Comprida. Neste modelo, a fase final de evolução da ilha é atribuída tanto à superação do obstáculo ao crescimento longitudinal exercido pelo morro de Icapara, quanto ao incremento de carga sedimentar na desembocadura de Icapara, induzido pela abertura do Valo Grande.
Ilha Comprida is a Holocene sandy barrier-island located on the south coast of São Paulo State, 63 km long and 2 to 5 km wide. Its transverse boundaries are Cananéia and Icapara inlets, at the SW and NE, respectively. The beach-foredune system of Ilha Comprida have experienced intense morphological variation in time, as showed by the successive truncations of littoral ridges. In a more restricted time-scale (at least 200 years) as covered by historical and cartographic records and aerial photographs, the most relevant changes have occurred on the northeast extremity of the island. These changes include: i) variation in width at the present most narrow region; ii) formation of a little transgressive dunefield (2 km2) in the same region; iii) initiation (in 1943) of a projection in the coastline, actually in advanced erosional state; iv) intermittent and successive appearing of lagoonal embayments at the neighboring sector of the Iguape island. The opening of the Valo Grande artificial channel, in 1852, acted either directly and indirectly on these changes. The increase of sedimentary bed-load supply induced the appearance of sand islands and submerged sand patches along the lagoonal channel. Beside this, the increasing meandering of Icapara inlet forced its rapid migration to the NE, and the longitudinal growing of the barrier. The beach-foredune system also shows great variability alongshore, observed on the morphologic alternance of depositional and erosional sectors. The tips of the barrier are characterized by the marked occurrence of small nebkha fields on foredune terraces (up to 0.5 m high). These aeolian morphological features can be related with a continuous progradation nearly Icapara and Cananéia inlets. The most-evidenced erosional zone stays at the mid-southwestern portion of the beach, as observed on the truncation of former beach and foredune ridges by the present coastline, and on the reduction in size of active incipient and established foredunes (that often appears with active cliffs). In the same region, the coastal morphodynamics changes from dissipative to intermediary beach, with presence of swash cusps and berm. Moreover, this site concentrates the highest variability and complexity of dune morphology (e.g. obliquely amalgamated incipient and established foredune ridges), beyond a increasing occurrence of ramp foredunes. In the remains of the beach-dune system, large shorefaces of low declivity (0.66o in mean), with tendency to more stable shapes of foredunes (terraces and ridges), are dominant. Statistical measures on the distribuition of granulometric frequencies (mean diameter, standard deviation, skewness), calculated through the Pearson?s moments method, indicate according to the McLaren rule two main longshore drift cells. The northeastern cell, oriented towards the NE, comprises about 53 km. The southwestern cell, comprising the remaining 10 km, is oriented towards the SW. The two depositional poles of longshore drift cells are characterized by wide and flat progradational, incipient foredune terraces. The divergence zone among these longshore cells drift coincides with the zone of the most intense coastal erosion. The mass distribution of heavy minerals is in agree with the deduced directions of longshore transport. This fact is confirmed by the tendency of increasing concentration of minerals with minor hydraulic equivalence (usually, more unstable minerals) in despite of reduction of minerals with high hydraulic equivalence (usually, more stable minerals) along the net longshore drift direction. The integration of data obtained by morphologic analysis (interpretation of aerial photographs and field features) and sedimentology (grain size, heavy minerals), allowed to postulate a morphodynamic model for the recent beach-foredune system of Ilha Comprida. According to this model, the late phase of barrier evolution is related both to the surpassing an obstacle to longitudinal growth (Icapara hill), and to the increasing sedimentary input at the Icapara inlet, favored by the opening of the Valo Grande channel.

The mechanism of Holocene barrier formation aids in determining island geomorphologic responses to modifying climatic processes of the surrounding environment. The geometry and composition of local antecedent topography plays a role in barrier formation by providing an elevated base, nucleus for sedimentation and local sediment supply. Investigation of barriers' subsurface geology provides insight into island formation and evolution. High-resolution shallow seismic data acquired in the island's nearshore zone and interior canals, correlated with existing drillcore data, reveal that Cat Island, MS is situated over an Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 Phase 3 paleochannel located between two topographic high-grounds of the Pleistocene surface. Beach ridge strandplain sets on Cat Island provide additional evidence supporting the island's formation over a relict depocenter. A new, 4-stage model for Cat Island development and evolution incorporating the influence of pre-existing topographic high-grounds and abundant local sediment supply provided by a backfilling fluvial channel is presented here.

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating beach ridge sediments is one method for resolving barrier island growth at intermediate scales (decades-centuries), information that is lacking for Louisiana. This research combines OSL, GPR, aerial imagery, and cores to document temporal and spatial evolution of a Louisiana barrier island. Grand Isle is composed of beach ridges organized in distinct, unconformable sets that began forming 0.75 ka until 0.575 ka when deposition ceased, the ridges were partially eroded, and deposition resumed in a more eastward direction. The central ridges formed between 370±30 and 170±10 years ago at a rate of one ridge every 11.6 years with sand from the eroding Caminada headland that, with flanking barriers, forms the Bayou Lafourche transgressive depositional system. Grand Isle’s lithosome (92,600,000 cubic meters) requires an annual longshore transport of 128,625 cubic meters. The lithosome thickness (10 meters) and steady sediment supply stabilize the island relative to other Louisiana barriers.

Beaches and coastal environments are dynamic, constantly shaped and reshaped by natural processes and anthropogenic modifications. The morphodynamics and influence of natural and anthropogenic factors of two different coasts at various temporal and spatial scales are discussed. To quantify the performance of several beach nourishment projects at annual temporal and kilometer spatial scales on three adjacent microtidal low-wave energy barrier islands in west-central Florida, a total of 5,200 beach and nearshore-profiles spaced at 300 m were surveyed monthly to bi-monthly from 2006-2010. Beach nourishment performance is most significantly influenced by the interruption of longshore sediment transport by complex tidal-inlet processes. More specifically, the tidal-inlet processes influencing adjacent beach nourishment performance includes longshore transport interruption resulting from divergence induced by wave refraction over an ebb-tidal shoal, flood-tidal currents along the beach, and total littoral blockage by structured inlets. A morphologic indicator of a large longshore transport gradient within the study area is the absence of a nearshore sandbar. These non-barred beaches are characterized by persistent shoreline erosion and were almost exclusively located in areas with a large longshore transport gradient. The more typical beach state along the three barrier islands was one exhibiting a migratory bar and relatively stable shoreline. The presence of a sandbar indicates the dominance of cross-shore processes, with onshore migration during calm wave conditions and offshore migration during energetic wave conditions. The onshore and offshore migration of the sandbar is closely related to non-stormy summer and stormy winter seasonal beach changes, respectively. The morphodynamics of a mixed sand and gravel beach in Delaware were investigated based on 740 beach profiles surveyed almost monthly from 2009 to 2011, 60 sediment cores, and 550 surface sediment samples collected at various alongshore and cross-shore transects. Inter-seasonal temporal scales of storm-induced beach changes and post-storm recovery were examined based on a hurricane, a typical energetic winter storm, and an extremely energetic storm resulting from the rare collision of a hurricane and winter storm ("Nor'Ida") occurring within a 3-month period in 2009. The mixed sand and gravel beaches in Delaware are characterized by monotonically increasing water depths lacking a sandbar under all wave conditions. A distinctive beach cycle was identified consisting of a built-up berm profile and depleted nearly-planar storm profile, with a time-scale related to the frequency and intensity of storm impact and duration of intra-storm recovery instead of simple seasonality. The sedimentological characteristics of the storm deposit associated with Nor'Ida demonstrated substantial cross-shore variation ranging from sandy-gravel and gravelly-sand within the storm swash zone (near the pre-storm dune edge) to well-sorted medium to coarse sand seaward of the storm swash zone, suggesting that storm deposits along mixed beaches demonstrate a variety of sedimentological characteristics. A new dynamic beach cycle model is proposed for the non-barred mixed sand and gravel beach with temporal variability controlled by storm occurrence and inter-storm duration.

A análise dos parâmetros morfométricos publicados buscou relacionar o comportamento morfodinâmico praial com o da barreira costeira holocênica no estado do Rio Grande do Sul (RS), para estabelecer de que maneira estes ambientes estão relacionados. Foram analisados os dados de 31 praias, de Torres ao Chuí, possibilitando uma revisão e reavaliação dos estágios morfodinâmicos, com a compartimentação destes locais em cinco grupos, baseados em sua morfodinâmica e mobilidade praial. O grupo 1 é composto pelas praias intermediárias de mobilidade moderada à alta, que estão em sua maioria localizadas no litoral médio do RS correspondente a barreira agradacional, com alto desenvolvimento de campos de dunas transgressivas e dunas frontais, e estão também associadas às praias com característica retrogradante da barreira, porção sul da barreira agradacional. O grupo 2 compõe as praias dissipativas, com estágio intermediário ocorrendo de maneira secundária, de moderada à alta mobilidade, associadas a barreira progradante do litoral norte. Este setor apesar de apresentar alto potencial de transporte sedimentar por ventos e por ondas não apresenta campos de dunas bem desenvolvidos, onde o aporte sedimentar favorece a progradação costeira. O grupo 3 é formado por praias intermediárias de baixa mobilidade, associadas à porção norte da barreira agradacional e às praias do litoral sul que representam a transição entre a barreira progradante e retrogradante. No litoral médio a associação da baixa mobilidade praial com a alta capacidade de transporte e disponibilidade sedimentar, resultante do transporte sedimentar pelo vento no sentido continental, permitiu o desenvolvimento de grandes campos de dunas transgressivos e de dunas frontais. O grupo 4 é constituído por praias dissipativas e secundariamente intermediárias, de baixa mobilidade, da barreira progradante do litoral sul, que não desenvolveu vastos campos de dunas, semelhante ao que ocorre na barreira progradante ao norte. O grupo 5 é formado por duas praias diferenciadas, onde o estágio intermediário predomina e o refletivo ocorre eventualmente no verão, e estão localizadas em barreiras retrogradantes. As praias dissipativas são responsáveis por remobilizar o maior volume sedimentar da antepraia ao ambiente praial, onde integra o processo de progradação costeira. A porção da barreira agradacional, responsável pelas maiores dunas frontais, apresenta a menor mobilidade, sendo que conforme sua mobilidade é aumentada em direção ao sul, os maiores campos de dunas transgressivas ocorrem. Os estágios intermediários possuem energia suficiente para transportar sedimentos da antepraia para a praia, enquanto que a formação ou não das dunas é influenciada pelo potencial de transporte do vento NE e pela orientação da linha de costa com relação a este vento. As barreiras retrogradantes estão associadas a estágios intermediários de mobilidade variável, sendo que os dois focos erosivos do estado estão associados à alta mobilidade, o qual deixa estes ambientes susceptíveis aos episódios de erosão durante a passagem de eventos de tempestades. Assim, o caráter erosivo da barreira pode estar associado tanto com a energia de ondas, quanto com uma antepraia irregular e um déficit sedimentar, que acarreta em variações na morfodinâmica praial.
The analysis of the morphometric parameters of the published works about beach morphodynamics in the State of Rio Grande do Sul had the objective to relate the morphodynamic behavior of the beach with the holocene coastal barrier, in order to establish how these environments are related. The data of 31 beaches were analyzed, allowing a review and reevaluation of the morphodynamic stages, with the compartmentalization of these sites in five groups, based on their morphodynamics and beach mobility. Group 1 is composed of intermediate beaches with moderate to high mobility, which are located in the middle coast corresponding to the aggradational barrier, with high development of transgressive dunes and foredunes, and, associated too with the beaches with retrogradational characteristics of the barrier. Group 2 consists of dissipative beaches, with intermediate stage occurring in a secondary way, being these from moderate to high mobility, associated with the progradational barrier of the north coast. This sector, despite to present a high potential for sediment transport by winds and waves, does not have well development dunefields, where the sediment budget supports coastal progradation. Group 3 is formed by intermediate beaches of low mobility, associated with the northern portion of the aggradational barrier and the beaches of the south coast that represent the transition between the prograded and retrograded barrier. In the middle coast, the association of low beach mobility with high transport capacity and sedimentary availability, and the resulting of the sedimentary transport by wind onshore, allowed the development of large transgressive dunefields and foredunes. Group 4 consists of dissipative and secondarily intermediate beaches, with low mobility, of the progradational barrier of the south coast, which, similar to what occurs in the progradational barrier of the north, did not develop largest dune fields. Group 5 is formed by two beaches with peculiar characteristics, where the intermediate stage predominates and the reflective occurs eventually in the summer, associated with the retrograded barrier. The dissipative beaches are responsible for remobilizing highs sediments volumes of the shoreface and provide to the beach environment, where, in this case, it is converted into coastal progradation. The portion of the aggradational barrier responsible for the largest frontal dunes presents the smaller mobility, and as its mobility is increased towards the south, the largest transgressive dunefields in the state occurs. The intermediate stages have enough energy to carry sediments from the shoreface to the beach, while the formation of the dunes is influenced by the transport potential of the NE wind and by the orientation of the coastline in relation to this wind. Retrograded barriers are associated to intermediary stages of variable mobility, and the two erosive hotspots of the state are associated with high mobility, which turns these environments susceptible to erosion episodes during the passing of storm events. Thus, the erosive character of the barrier may be associated with both wave energy and an irregular shoreface and a negative sediment budget, which leads to variations in beach morphodynamics.

Cordões litorâneos regressivos arenosos do tipo praia (beach ridge) e do tipo duna frontal (foredune ridge) são feições morfológicas comuns em costas deposicionais com abundância de sedimento. No presente estudo, a morfologia superficial, estratigrafia e a origem de uma planície de cordões ocorrentes na Lagoa dos Quadros, litoral norte do Rio Grande do Sul, são investigadas. Abordagens em superfície através de análises de fotografia aéreas, análises de imagens de satélite e altimetria de detalhe, em junção com dados em subsuperfície oriundos de perfilagens geofísica com uso de GPR e dados sedimentológicos provenientes de testemunhos de sondagens rasos proporcionaram elucidar as fáceis que compõem a arquitetura deposicional, bem como especificar as características geométricas superficiais dos cordões. Datações por 14C permitiram estimar o estágio do início do desenvolvimento da planície de cordões, e a modelagem de ondas e análise de ventos propiciaram inferir as condições fluidodinâmicas envolvidas em sua gênese. A planície de cordões é composta por cordões de praia e cordões de duna frontal, ou seja, uma barreira complexa. Esses cordões são o resultado do desenvolvimento de uma sequência regressiva sobre uma fácies basal de fundo (lagunar). Essa sequência regressiva é composta por depósitos de antepraia, de pós-praia/face de praia, dunas frontais e depósitos de leque de sobrelavagem. A fácies basal de fundo lagunar registra a fase de agradação e progradação da fácies de fundo lagunar do sistema lacustre, ocorrida entre 7047 ± 197 ka e 6230 ± 122 ka. A planície é composta por 20 cordões contínuos e semi-contínuos, de baixa amplitude e espaçados de 5 a 50 m. A migração de campos de dunas transgressivos da barreira de Curumim para dentro da lagoa (entre 7,1 e 5,5 ka) podem ter sido uma importante fonte de areia para a formação da planície de cordões litorâneos regressivos da margem NE da Lagoa dos Quadros.
Beach ridges and foredune ridges are morphological elements largely present in depositional coasts with abundant sediment supply. In this study, the morphology, the stratigraphy and genesis of a strandplain (sand ridge plain) developed at the Quadros lagoon, northern littoral of Rio Grande do Sul, are studied. Photographic surveys, analysis of satellite imagery and topographic surveying plus geophysical data collected with GPR and sedimentological data from drill holes allowed elucidate the facies that make up the depositional architecture and specify the surface geometric characteristics of the ridges. Was possible to estimate the stage of development of the strandplain by 14C dating, and the modeling of waves and analysis of winds pattern have led to infer the fluid dynamic conditions involved in its genesis. The strandplain comprises beach ridges and foredune ridges, which makes a complex barrier. These ridges are results of a regressive sequence developed on a lagoon bottom basal facies. The regressive sequence comprises deposits of shoreface, deposits of beachface/ backshore, foredunes and washover fan. The lagoon bottom basal facies records the aggradation and progradation phases of the lagoon bottom facies of the lagoon system occurred between 7047 ± 197 ka and 6230 ± 122 ka. The strandplain comprises 20 continuous and semi-continuous ridges, low amplitude and spaced 5-50 m. The migration of transgressive dune fields of Curumim barrier to inside the lagoon (between 7.1 and 5.5 ka) may have been an important source of sand to form the strandplain of NE margin of Quadros Lagoon.

Les barres sédimentaires d'avant-côte contrôlent la dynamique des plages. Comprendre le couplage plageémergée /immergée est primordial à l'heure où des secteurs urbains entiers de la région Occitanie sont soumis au phénomène d'érosion. Laquestion de la topographie des plages apparaît donc comme une connaissance cruciale à l'heure d'anticiper les changements à venir induits par lahausse globale du niveau moyen de la mer.L'objectif de ce travail de thèse est d'alimenter les connaissances sur la compréhension des systèmesde plage aérienne/plage sous-marine et leurs interconnexions, en se penchant sur le cas particulier des littoraux méditerranéens. Ce travail dethèse s'appuie sur l'étude d'une plage présentant un système de doubles barres d'avant-côte festonnées : la plage de Leucate. Des systèmessimilaires de barres festonnées sont présents dans toute la partie sud du Golfe du Lion (Entre Leucate et Argelès-sur-Mer), soit environ 40 km delittoral. Une première partie du travail a été dédiée à la morphodynamique de la plage aérienne notamment à sa dynamique événementielle etsaisonnière en relation avec les forçages atypiques de la région sur les sites de Leucate et La Franqui (vent de terre dominant, longues périodesde beau temps, tempêtes brèves et intenses). Une partie spécifique sur le site de Leucate a ensuite été consacrée à quantifier le transport éolieninduit par le vent de terre (Tramontane), si caractéristique de la zone. La seconde partie du travail a concerné la plage sous-marine de Leucate etson système de doubles barres en festons à différentes échelles de temps (20 ans, saisons, événementielles). Ce travail a permis d'identifier lesparamètres de contrôle et la réponse morphologique de ce système méditerranéen. Ce qui a par ailleurs conduit à l'étude de la mise en place et ladynamique d'un troisième système de barres proximales intercalées localement entre la barre interne et proche du trait de côte, les Low BeachBars, jusqu'alors peu étudiées. Une troisième partie est consacrée aux interactions entre la plage aérienne et la plage sous-marine au travers dedeux exemples. Les couplages trait de côte / barres sur le site de Leucate, et l'exemple plus complexe du grau de La Franqui dans lequel cescouplages contrôlent la position de l'estuaire et sa dynamique.Ce travail a abouti à la description d'un modèle d'évolution de plage aérienne àl'échelle événementielle et saisonnière, qui peut être appliqué aux plages du sud du Golfe du Lion. Le travail concernant la plage sous-marine àpermis de mettre en évidence une diversité de typologie assez importante pour la barre interne, et une dynamique du système de double barrecaractérisé par une stabilité des barres plus importantes que dans d'autres environnements. En ce qui concerne les couplages entre ces deuxcompartiments, nous avons mis en avant l'impact des couplages entre les barres d'avant-côte et le trait de côte dont la morphologie évolue enfonction des couplages
The sedimentary bars of the nearshore control the dynamics of the beaches. Understanding the couplingbetween aerial and submerged beaches is essential at a time when entire urban sectors of the Occitanie region are subject to erosion. Thequestion of beach topography thus appears to be a crucial knowledge to anticipate future changes induced by the global rise in mean sea level.The objective of this thesis is to contribute to the comprehension of the aerial beach/submerged beach systems and their interconnections, bylooking at the particular case of the Mediterranean coasts. This thesis is based on the study of a beach with a double crescentic nearshore barsystem: the beach of Leucate. Similar crescentic bar systems are present in the southern part of the Gulf of Lion (between Leucate and Argelès-sur-Mer), i.e. about 40 km of coastline. A first part of the work was dedicated to the morphodynamics of the aerial beach, in particular to itsevent and seasonal dynamics in relation to the atypical forcing of the region on the sites of Leucate and La Franqui (prevailing onshore wind,long periods of fair weather, short and intense storms). A specific part on the Leucate site was then devoted to quantify the wind transportinduced by the onshore wind (Tramontane), so characteristic of the area. The second part of the work concerned the underwater beach ofLeucate and its system of double festoon bars at different time scales (20 years, seasons, events). This work allowed us to identify the controlparameters and the morphological response of this Mediterranean system. This has also led to the study of the establishment and dynamics of athird system of proximal bars intercalated locally between the internal bar and near the coastline, the Low Beach Bars, which have been littlestudied until now. A third part is devoted to the interactions between the aerial beach and the underwater beach through two examples. Thecouplings between the coastline and the bars on the site of Leucate, and the more complex example of the grau of La Franqui in which thesecouplings control the position of the estuary and its dynamics.This work has led to the description of a model of aerial beach evolution on anevent-driven and seasonal scale, which can be applied to the beaches of the southern Gulf of Lion. The work on the underwater beach hasallowed to highlight a diversity of bar typologies (especially for the internal bar), and a dynamic of the double bar system characterized by astability of bars more important than in other environments. Regarding the couplings between these two compartments, we have highlighted theimpact of the couplings between the nearshore bars and the coastline whose morphology evolves according to the couplings

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This doctorate thesis concerning on the Characterization of the Environmental Dynamics of the Coastal Area of the Municipal district of Galinhos, Septentrional Coast of Rio Grande do Norte State, is located in the influence area of the Guamar? Petroliferous Pole, having as general objective the understanding of the active coastal dynamics in the region of Galinhos, whose specific objectives were: To study the variation of the coast line in the decades of 1954, 1967,1988, 1996, 2000, from remote sensing products; To elucidate the hypothesis of the region of Galinhos to have been an old system of islands barriers, using as basic tool the penetration radar in the soil - GPR; To monitor and to characterize the coastal dynamics of the study area starting from monthly data of beach profiles, sedimentological analysis, hydrodynamic data and environmental characterization data; which were used to feed the database of the N-NE network of Environmental Monitoring of Areas under Influence of the Petroliferous Industry;(REDE05/FINEP/CNPq/CTPETRO/ PETROBRAS). This research is justified, of the environmental point of view, by involving the mangrove ecosystem considered one of the most delicated environments of the State. From the viewpoint of the petroleum exploration, the systems of islands barriers are favorable for hydrocarbons reservoirs and, consequently important targets to the oil and gas industry, becoming this region attractive in comparison with similar lithified environments. With the results of the variability study in the position of the coast line in the Municipal district of Galinhos/RN from the analysis of remote sensing images, it was possible to investigate the changes in the coast line in temporal scale; the use of directional filters allowed to emphasize linings in the direction NE and to identify submerged features such as sandwaves. The use of GPR enabled the confirmation of paleochannels existence and thus confirmed the hypothesis that the Galinhos spit was formed from an old system of islands barriers. The results of the granulometric analyses indicated that in the summer period the sediments in the profiles A and B in the foreshore portion were classified with the granulometry of sand with scattered gravel and in the shoreface were constituted by sand, but in the winter period these same morphologic compartments were constituted by sand with sparse gravel and siltic sand respectively. In the profile C, in the summer and in the winter, the shoreface and foreshore compartments presented predominantly constituted by sand with sparse gravel. The hydrodynamic results showed that the largest wave heights were registered in the month of February (62 cm) and the highest period of 1,00 m/s in the month of May, the sense of the coastal currents was kept among the quadrants SW and NW, and the winds coming from NE were predominant. The analysis of the beach profiles demonstrated that in the profile A, although it had occurred erosion and deposition during the monitored months, the morphology of the referred profile was kept constant. In the profiles B and C, there were abrupt changes in the morphology, during the monitored months, having been identified a cyclic pattern in the features of the foreshore zone sometimes forming longitudinal sandy bars and in other times forming berm. These results evidenced, therefore, that studies of this nature are of fundamental importance for the coastal zoning, aiming subsidies to the organs managers in the closing of decisions as for the implantation of enterprises in the area, and for the industry of the petroleum through generation of information that subsidize the implementation and location of petroliferous structures adequate to this environment
Esta tese de doutorado sobre a caracteriza??o da din?mica ambiental da regi?o costeira do munic?pio de Galinhos, Litoral Setentrional do Rio Grande do Norte, acha-se inserida na ?rea de influ?ncia do P?lo Petrol?fero de Guamar?, tendo como objetivo geral o entendimento da din?mica costeira atuante na regi?o de Galinhos, cujos objetivos espec?ficos foram : estudar a varia??o da linha de costa nas d?cadas de 1954, 1967, 1988, 1996 e 2000, a partir de produtos de sensoriamneto remoto; elucidar a hipotese da regi?o de Galinhos ter sido um antigo sisitema de ilhas barreiras, utilizando como ferramneta b?sica o radar de penetra??o no solo - GPR; monitorar e caracterizar a dinamica costeira da ?rea em estudo a partir de dados mensais da perfis praiais, analise sedimentologica, dados hidrodin?micos e dados de caracteriza??o ambiental; este conjunto de dados foram utilizados para alimetar o banco de dados da Rede NNE de monitoramneto ambiental das ?reas sob influ?ncia da industria petrol?fera (REDE05/FINEP/CNPq/CTPERO/PETROBRAS). Esta pesquisa se justifica, do ponto de vista ambiental, por envolver ecossistemas de alta fragilidade como dunas, praias e manguezais. Do ponto de vista da explora??o do petr?leo, os sistemas de ilhas barreiras s?o prop?cios para reservat?rios de hidrocarbonetos e, por conseguinte, alvos importantes para a ind?stria do petr?leo e g?s tornando esta regi?o atrativa na compara??o com dep?sitos similares litificados. O estudo da variabilidade na posi??o da linha de costa no Munic?pio de Galinhos/RN a partir da an?lise de imagens de sensores remotos, foi poss?vel investigar as mudan?as na linha de costa em escala temporal; a utiliza??o de filtros direcionais permitiu enfatizar lineamentos de dire??o NE e identificar fei??es submersas tais como sandwaves. A utiliza??o do GPR possibilitou a comprova??o da exist?ncia de paleocanais confirmando a hip?tese de que o spit de Galinhos foi formado a partir de um antigo sistema de ilhas barreiras. Os resultados das an?lises granulom?tricas indicaram que no per?odo de ver?o os sedimentos nos perfis A e B na por??o de estir?ncio foram classificados como de granulometria areia com cascalho esparso e na antepraia foram constitu?dos por areia, j? no per?odo de inverno estes mesmos compartimentos morfol?gicos apresentaram-se com areia com cascalho esparso e areia siltosa respectivamente No perfil C, tanto no ver?o como no inverno, os compartimentos de estir?ncio e antepraia apresentaram-se predominantemente por areia com cascalho esparso. Os resultados hidrodin?micos mostraram que as maiores alturas de onda foram registradas no m?s de fevereiro (62 cm) e o maior per?odo de 1,00 m/s no m?s de maio, o sentido das correntes litor?neas se manteve entre os quadrantes SW e NW, e os ventos provenientes de NE foram predominantes. A an?lise dos perfis praiais demonstrou que no perfil A, embora tenha ocorrido tanto eros?o como deposi??o durante os meses monitorados, a morfologia do referido perfil permaneceu constante. Nos perfis B e C, ocorreram mudan?as bruscas na morfologia, durante os meses monitorados, tendo sido identificada uma ciclicidade nas fei??es da zona de estir?ncio ora formando barras arenosas longitudinais ora formando berma. Estes resultados evidenciaram, portanto, que estudos desta natureza s?o de fundamental import?ncia para o zoneamento costeiro, dando subs?dios aos ?rg?os gestores na tomada de decis?es quanto ? implanta??o de empreendimentos na regi?o, e para a ind?stria do petr?leo atrav?s de gera??o de informa??es que subsidiam a implementa??o de estruturas petrol?feras adequadas ao ambiente estudado

Cette thèse a pour objectif d’établir une vision globale et continue mer-terre-mer d’une barrière littorale paraglaciaire, en combinant une approche morphologique et architecturale. L’originalité de l’isthme de Miquelon-Langlade (NO Atlantique) entre les deux îles éponymes réside en sa diversité et complexité de systèmes (flèches, cordons littoraux, lagune) qui s’emboitent formant une barrière composite évoluant le long de deux façades ouvertes sur l’océan. Ce travail a été rendu possible grâce à l’association de données topographiques (GPS-RTK), de géophysique marine (sismique HR) et terrestre (géo-radar), sédimentaires (carottes, échantillons de surface) ainsi que des datations par OSL. L’étude de cette barrière a permis 1) d’identifier l’ensemble des dépôts d’une séquence paraglaciaire (dépôts de chute, bas niveau, augmentation et haut niveau marin); 2) de pointer l’importance de la géométrie des îles, du substratum rocheux ainsi que de la topographie héritée dans la formation de la barrière; 3) de définir l’architecture interne de beach ridges mixte sable-galet; et 4) de pointer le potentiel de ces systèmes en tant marqueur du paléo-niveau marin tout en proposant la première courbe de tendance de l’évolution du RSL pour l’Archipel de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon sur les derniers 3000 ans (+1mm/an). L’association de l’ensemble de ces informations a permis de proposer un schéma de mise en place de la barrière, depuis le retrait de la calotte (13 700 ans) jusqu’à sa forme actuelle, évoluant dans un contexte d’augmentation du RSL et de fort apport sédimentaire, tout en proposant une vision de détail de la formation de la plaine de beach ridges au cours des derniers 3000 ans
The purpose of this PhD thesis was to define a complete and continuous sea-land-sea view of a paraglacial coastal barrier system, combining morphological and architectural approaches. Particularity of the Miquelon-Langlade isthmus (NO Atlantic) lies in its diversity and complexity of systems (spits, beach ridges, and lagoon) that fit together to form a composite barrier prograding along two open coasts. Investigations of this barrier included topographic (RTK-GPS), ground-penetrating radar (GPR) seismic, sedimentary (cores, augers, samples) and chronologic (OSL) data collections. This study of this paraglacial composite barrier make possible 1) to characterize all deposits of the paraglacial sequence (FSST, LST, TST, HST); 2) to emphasize the primary influence of islands geometry, bedrock and inherited topography on the coastal progradational pattern; 3) to provide a better understanding of the internal architecture of depositional processes and driving mechanisms of mixed sand-and-gravel beach ridges; 4) to examine the potential of these mixed beach-ridge systems to record and preserve paleo-sea-level information, to produce the first sea level trends for the Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon archipelago over the last 3000 years. The combination of all these data provide a model of development of the barrier since the ice sheet retreat (13 700 yrs) to its present form, in a context of RSL rise and high local glaciogenic sediment supply, and a detailed view of the formation of the beach ridge plain over the last 3000 yrs

Studies of episodic shoreline accretion of the Columbia River Littoral Cell (CRLC) have been ongoing since 1964. In this study, the sediment volumes in the late Holocene barriers and beach plains are compiled and formatted in GIS compatible databases for the four sub-cells of the CRLC. Initial evaluation involved the creation of a geodatabase of 160 dated retreat scarp positions, that were identified on across-shore GPR and borehole profiles. Ten primary timelines were identified throughout the CRLC (0-4700 ybp) and those were used to develop polygon cells. Elevation, distance measurements, and position information were all linked to the polygon through a centroid location within the geodatabase. Once the geodatabase was completed, data was imported into MSAccessTM to create a relational database that would allow for examination of the littoral cell in its entirety or of the individual sub-cells. Within the database, sediment volumes, ages, accretion rates, sediment thicknesses, and timeline relationships were calculated and recorded. Using the database, the accretion history of the Columbia River Littoral Cell was evaluated and this examination illustrated the complexity of the system. Northern littoral transport was shown to be an important factor in the development of the littoral cell as a whole. Total sediment volume in the littoral cell was calculated to be 1.74 x 109 m3, with a mean accretion rate of 1.90 x 104 m3/yr, which is significantly less than some previous studies. This is due to a more detailed analysis of the beach and foredune facies themselves. This is likely the result of the higher precision of beach and foredune surface information using LiDAR. The database shows that the developmental history of the CRLC is dependent on temporal and spatial constraints that can be coupled with reverse modeling to predict shoreline erosion trends from impounded river sediments and potential global sea level rise. The North Beaches and Grayland Plains sub-cells have the greatest potential for future erosion; followed by the Clatsop Plains sub-cell.

Le but de cette étude était de développer une méthodologie pour évaluer la résilience des littoraux aux évènements de tempêtes, à des échelles de temps différentes pour une plage située à une latitude moyenne (Biscarrosse, France). Un site pilote des tropiques, la plage de Jamestown (Ghana), non soumis aux tempêtes, a également été analysé. 6 ans (2007-2012) de données sur la position du trait de côte,obtenues quotidiennement par imagerie vidéo, ainsi que les prévisions hydrodynamiques (ECMWF EraInterim) ont été analysées. Le climat de vagues est dominé par les tempêtes (Hs> 5% de seuil de dépassement) et leurs fluctuations saisonnières; 75% des tempêtes se produisent en hiver, et plus de 60tempêtes ont été identifiées au cours de la période d'étude. Une régression multiple, montre qu’alors que les intensités des tempêtes actuelle et précédente ont un rôle majeur sur l'impact de la tempête, la marée et les barres sableuses jouent un rôle majeur sur la récupération de plage. La position moyenne du trait de côte calculée sur la période de récupération post-tempête montre que la plage de Biscarrosse se reconstruit rapidement (9 jours) après un évènement isolé et que les séries de tempêtes (clusters) ont un effet cumulatif diminué. Les résultats indiquent que le récurrence individuelle des tempêtes est clé. Si l'intervalle entre deux tempêtes est faible par rapport à la période de récupération, la plage devient plus résistante aux tempêtes suivantes; par conséquent, la première tempête d’une série a un impact plus important que les suivantes. Le trait de côte répond, par ordre décroissant, aux évènements saisonniers,à la fréquence des tempête et aux d’échelle annuelle. La méthode EOF montre de bonnes capacité à séparer la dynamique « uniforme » et « non-uniforme » du littoral et décrit différentes variabilités temporelles: les échelles saisonnières et à court terme dominent, respectivement, la première EOF (2D)et le second mode (3D). Le littoral de Jamestown a été étudié comme base d’un projet pilote entre 2013-2014. Les fluctuations du niveau de l'eau jouent un rôle prédominant sur l’évolution de la position du trait de côte. Les vagues et les estimations des marées obtenues par l’exploitation d’images vidéo sont corrélées avec les données de prévisions. Cette étude pionnière montre que cette technique peut être généralisée à toute l’Afrique de l'Ouest en tenant compte des multiples diversités et de la variabilité du climat régional, à travers un réseau d'observations
The aim of this study was to develop a methodology to statistically assess the shorelineresilience to storms at different time scales for a storm-dominated mid-latitude beach(Biscarrosse, France). On a pilot base, storm-free tropical Jamestown beach (Ghana) was alsoanalysed. 6-years (2007-2012) of continuous video-derived shoreline data and hindcastedhydrodynamics were analysed. Wave climate is dominated by storms (Hs>5% exceedancelimit) and their seasonal fluctuations; 75% of storms occur in winter with more than 60identified storms during the study period. A multiple regression on 36 storms shows thatwhereas current and previous storm intensity have predominant role on current storm impact,tide and sandbar play a major role on the post-storm recovery. An ensemble average on poststormrecovery period shows that Biscarrosse beach recovers rapidly (9 days) to individualstorms, and sequences of storms (clusters) have a weak cumulative effect. The results point outthat individual storm recurrence frequency is key. If the interval between two storms is lowcompared to the recovery period, the beach becomes more resilient to the next storms; and thefirst storm in clusters has larger impact than following ones. Shoreline responds in decreasingorder at seasonal, storm frequency and annual timescales at Biscarrosse. The EOF methodshows good skills in separating uniform and non-uniform shoreline dynamics, showing theirdifferent temporal variability: seasonal and short-term scales dominate first EOF (2D) andsecond (3D) modes, respectively.The shoreline at Jamestown was studied on pilot base from 2013-2014. Water level channgesplay a major role on shoreline changes. Waves estimates from video are in good agreement withhindcasts. This study shows the potential of the technique, to be replicated elsewhere in WestAfrica with all its diversity and regional climate variability through a coastal observationnetwork

Cette thèse présente une étude de la dynamique des plages à l'échelle événementielle (ou "échelle des tempêtes"). Même si cette dynamique est essentielle, elle est restée principalement méconnue jusqu'à ce jour du fait du manque d'outils d'observation adaptés à son étude. Les nouvelles possibilités offertes par l'imagerie vidéo, notamment l'observation à haute fréquence, sont très novatrices. Dans cette thèse, un outil vidéo est présenté qui, à partir de la mesure des caractéristiques hydrodynamiques de surface, permet d'estimer avec précision la topographie littorale sur une large zone (km) et à haute fréquence (jour). Ce travail montre que les différentes structures sableuses littorales interagissent et qu'elles ne peuvent pas être étudiées de manière isolée. La dynamique des structures sableuses peut être fortement non-uniforme dans la direction parallèle à la plage, même en conditions de fortes vagues. De plus, la dynamique est cruciale car elle contribue aux transferts de sédiment entre le large et la plage. Dans un système à deux barres, plus que la hauteur des vagues, c'est le marnage qui influence majoritairement la dynamique de la barre intertidale en conditions de tempête. Nos résultats suggèrent qu'une grande part de la variabilité temporelle de la plage se situe à cette échelle court terme
This thesis presents a study on short term (day to month) beach dynamic. Until the emergence of video systems, and despite its major role, this dynamic remained mainly unknown due to the lack of a suited observation technology. The new possibilities allowed by video imagery, comprising high-frequency observation, are revolutionary. In this thesis, a tool is introduced that, from the measure of nearshore hydrodynamics, estimates accurately nearshore topography for a large area (km) and at high frequency (day). This thesis shows that nearshore sand features interact and cannot be studied in isolation. We show that sand features dynamic can be dominantly non-uniform in the longshore direction, even for large waves. This dynamic is crucial because it contributes to cross-shore sand exchanges. For a double-barred beach, more than wave height, tidal range variations drive inner bar dynamic during stormy conditions. Our results suggest that a large part of the beach temporal variability is short term

Les barres sableuses pré-littorales ont un rôle fondamental en morphodynamique des plages soumises à l’action des vagues. Le déséquilibre permanent entre les flux sédimentaires induits vers laplage par les non linéarités des vagues et ceux induits vers le large par le courant de retour gouverne lamigration transversale des barres. Dans cette thèse, un nouveau modèle morphodynamique de profilde plage intégrant l’état de l’art des processus hydro-sédimentaires a été développé. Le faible coûten temps de calcul de ce modèle permet de réaliser des simulations à long terme, O(mois/années),de la morphologie de plages réelles ayant des caractéristiques variées (pente, type de déferlement,granularité). La simulation sur plusieurs jeux de données, de plages réelles et expérimentales, a permisd’identifier la contribution respective des principaux processus hydro-sedimentaires dans la dynamiquede la plage suivant les conditions de houle (e.g. Tempête, temps calme). Ces avancées scientifiques ontété intégrées à un modèle 2DH, ce qui a notamment permis de simuler pour la première fois sur des casacadémiques la formation d’une barre sableuse rectiligne à partir d’une plage parfaitement plane, suiviedu développement de corps sableux tridimensionnels. Ces résultats ouvrent la voie vers l’applicationde ce type de modèle aux plages naturelles soumises à une large variabilité de régimes de houle
Sandbars are ubiquitous patterns along wave-dominated sandy coastlines and are key elementsin the global evolution of beaches. Cross-shore sandbar migrations are the result of the permanentimbalance between sediment flux driven by wave non-linearity and mean return current. In this thesis,we developed a new process-based beach profile model integrating the recent scientific advancesin term of hydrodynamics and sediment transport developed for beach morphodynamics. The lowcomputing time allows for long-term morphodynamic simulations (O months/years) of natural beachprofiles of diverse characteristics (beach slope, sediment grain size or type of wave breaking). Modelvalidations on several data sets, encompassing natural and experimental beach profile evolutions,highlight the respective contribution of the main hydrodynamic and sediment transport processesinvolved in specific cross-shore sandbar evolution relative to various wave conditions. Finally, all thecross-shore physical processes were integrated in a 2DH morphodynamic model, resulting for the firsttime in the simulation of a quasi-complete down state sequence showing alongshore bar generationwith subsequent spontaneous formation of transverse bar and rip morphology. These very encouragingresults pave the way for using this model to simulate 3-Dimensional evolutions of natural beachesforced by irregular wave conditions

The alongshore variability of beach-dune systems and the response and recovery from extreme storms remains poorly understood. The height and extent of foredunes along barrier islands varies over a range of spatial scales, implying that during extreme storms, the beach-dune system should respond in different ways depending on the elevation and volume of the dunes relative to the storm surge. The purpose of this study is to use Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) and vibra-cores to investigate the internal structure of small, intermediate and large dunes along a 2.5 km transect of beach in Padre Island National Seashore, TX with particular attention to storm impacts. A series of dune normal and parallel GPR profiles were collected to capture the variation in beach-dune morphology at the three sites. Site locations were chosen along a transition from dissipative to intermediate beach states. Following the Sallenger (2000) storm impact model, the small dune is defined by low-lying topography that is susceptible to overwash and inundation depending on the size of the storm surge. The large dune is characteristic of the “collision regime”, while the intermediate dune represents a transition between “overwash” and “collision regimes”, with the underlying assumption that all three dunes would be impacted by the same level of surge during a single storm event. Results from the GPR survey suggest that each site contains a bright, laterally continuous radar reflector that is interpreted with the aid of the sedimentary data as an erosional layer. Different characteristic radar facies and sequence boundaries provide evidence as to how each dune evolved through and after the storm. Results from XRF scans and grain size analysis show a direct comparison between the GPR reflectors at the storm surface and spikes in calcium counts from XRF scans to distinct changes in grain size parameters at the same depth. It is argued that the location of each shell layer corresponds to a storm surface generated during a single storm, which means it is possible to interpret different recovery mechanisms. The presence of the storm layer across the backbeach and dunes provides evidence for the height and extent of the surge during the storm event. The data suggests that the small dune was overtopped by the surge, experiencing minimal erosion and recovery. The intermediate dune was completely eroded by the surge, but showed the greatest recovery of all the dune sites. The large dune was scoured at the base with marginal impact along its crest and shows minimal recovery after the storm. These results suggest that the evolution (i.e., transgression) of a barrier island varies considerably over short distances.

The main aim of this research was to estimate values for recreation in the Great Barrier Reef, and to identify how these values changed with changes in site quality. This was achieved in two stages in a case study analysis of recreation in the Capricorn Coast region. First, travel cost and contingent valuation methods were used to estimate the value of two recreational activities, fishing and beach use. Second, changes in recreation values due to changes in water quality and other relevant issues were estimated using contingent behaviour models. The approach undertaken in the study involved the parallel applications of the travel cost, contingent valuation and contingent behaviour models to two distinct recreational activities – recreational fishing and recreational beach use. Results indicate that there are high values associated with both the recreational fishing and recreational beach use activities along the Capricorn Coast, and that the demand for recreational fishing and recreational beach use were inelastic. Results also indicated that values for recreational fishing were insensitive to changes in catch rates while the values recreational beach use for all three user groups were insensitive to changes in water quality. The major contribution of this study is that it provides a comprehensive economic analysis of recreational activities in the GBRMP. The study is unique because it is one of the first to estimate recreational use values for recreational fishing the GBRMP and the first identified to value recreational beach use in the GBRMP. It is also one of the first studies in Australia to apply the contingent behaviour method to recreation and to estimate marginal values for potential changes in water quality and population pressures. The study also examines several important methodological issues such as testing the use of subjective and researcher estimated costs with the TCM; testing for convergent validity between the TCM and the CVM, testing for symmetry in responses to improvements and declines in resources; and if responses vary across and within stakeholder groups. Policy contributions include the generation of recreation values in the GBRMP, the estimation of marginal values associated with different future scenarios, and the estimation of values associated with beach use.