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Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems

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A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Coastal Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2021) | Viewed by 28071
Please contact the guest editors or the journal editor (esme.wang@mdpi.com) for any queries.

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Pushpa Dissanayake

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Guest Editor

Coastal Geology and Sedimentology, Institute of Geosciences, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
Interests: sediment transport; morphological changes; numerical modelling; coastal systems; climate change

Dr. Jennifer Brown

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Guest Editor

Marine Physics and Ocean Climate, National Oceanographic Centre, Liverpool, UK
Interests: modelling coastal hydrodynamics and morphodynamics; storm hazards; flood and erosion risk; climate change; coastal resilience

Dr. Marissa Yates

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Guest Editor

Saint-Venant Hydraulics Laboratory, University of Paris-Est and Cerema, Chatou, France
Interests: coastal erosion; empirical equilibrium modelling; shoreline evolution; morphological changes; nonlinear wave modelling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coastal systems are unique environments that provide socioeconomic benefits. These functions are influenced by changing morphology, which results from erosion and sedimentation at different spatiotemporal scales, including both natural forcing and human interventions. Additionally, feedback between coastal processes and coastal engineering works leads to both positive and negative impacts. These dynamics are expected to continually change with flood and erosion hazards increasing in the future due to sea level rise, more frequent and severe storms, and acceleration of anthropogenic effects. Understanding the forcing factors, the natural morphodynamic evolution, and the response to potential scenarios will help coastal policy makers to set suitable adaptation strategies and to assure the sustainable use of coastal systems, which allows us to further enjoy numerous socioeconomic and environmental benefits. To capture the breadth of research, this Special Issue will cover a range of topics from process understanding to knowledge sharing and applications of new understanding. The common theme throughout the contributed papers will be the focus on coastal morphodynamics, including: sediment transport, morphological evolution, coastal erosion, storm impacts, influence of biota on morphology, impacts of coastal developments, natural and human-made future scenarios, and adaptation strategies. We invite papers related to these or similar topics.

Dr. Pushpa Dissanayake
Dr. Jenifer Brown
Dr. Marissa Yates
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sediment transport
coastal erosion
morphological changes
morphological processes
extreme coastal impacts
sea level rise
anthropogenic effects
adaptation strategies
effects of biotic factors
modelling

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 185 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems

by Pushpa Dissanayake, Jennifer Brown and Marissa Yates

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(5), 647; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10050647 - 10 May 2022

Viewed by 1248

Abstract

Coastal systems are highly dynamic morphological environments due to erosion and sedimentation at different spatio-temporal scales as a result of natural forcing [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

29 pages, 6825 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Modelling the Effect of ‘Roller Dynamics’ on Storm Erosion: Sylt, North Sea

by Pushpa Dissanayake and Jennifer Brown

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(3), 305; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10030305 - 22 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1871

Abstract

Coastal storm erosion can lead to episodic morphological changes and hinterland flooding that requires sustainable management. An accurate estimation of storm erosion can determine the success of hazard mitigation strategies. Two morphological models, Delft3D and XBeach, were applied separately to a stormy period with “Roller” and “No Roller” wave dynamics activated, to estimate erosion of the beach and dune system on the Sylt island. This is the first numerical impact assessment of roller dynamics on coastal erosion using the two models. The choice of model had more impact on the hydrodynamic and morphological predictions than the option to include or omit roller dynamics. Agreement between measured and simulated waves was higher in Delft3D (R² > 0.90 and RMSE < 0.15 m) than XBeach. Storm erosion in both models had the highest sensitivity to the roller parameter Beta. Both models predicted a similar storm erosion pattern along the coast, albeit different magnitudes. It is found that Delft3D cannot produce comparable storm erosion to XBeach, when the roller dynamics and avalanching are considered. Delft3D is less sensitive to the roller dynamics than XBeach. Including roller dynamics in Delft3D increased storm erosion up to 31% and in XBeach decreased the erosion down to 58% in the nearshore area, while the erosion in the dune area increased up to 13% in Deflt3D and up to 97% in XBeach. Both models are skilled in simulating storm impact. For the simulation of a storm period with intermittent calm periods, it is suggested that applying a time-varying parameter setting for wave dynamics and sediment transport to capture storm erosion and post-storm beach recovery processes could improve results. Such a modelling approach may ultimately increase the accuracy of estimating storm erosion to support coastal management activities (e.g., sand nourishment volume). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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14 pages, 7884 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sand Net Device to Control the Meanders of a Coastal River: The Case of the Authie Estuary (France)

by Anh T. K. Do, Nicolas Huybrechts and Philippe Sergent

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(12), 1325; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9121325 - 23 Nov 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1560

Abstract

The Authie estuary is characterized by an important southern sand spit and a northern shoreline subject to strong erosion due to the meandering of the coastal river. In order to reduce this erosion, a new soft coastal defence, namely the sand net device (SND), has been implemented inside the Authie estuary. It consists of several nets assembled in an inverted V creating a porous structure and thus trapping sand as shoreline protection. However up to now, little proof has been provided on the explicit influence of this SND on the hydrodynamic pattern and associated morphodynamics. In this paper, field surveys of morphological developments combined with numerical modelling (Telemac-2D/3D) analyze the influence of the SND into flow pattern and morphodynamics. In situ monitoring clearly points out sedimentation around the SND and a deepening of the main channel. Modelling results show that, without SND, erosion is observed around its location. With a SND implemented, the velocity has been reduced and created a deviation in its direction by a circulation around the SND location. The impact area of the structure is around 500 m in both directions, upstream and downstream part. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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25 pages, 11045 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Climate Change Impacts on Coastal Wave Dynamics at Vougot Beach, France

by Pushpa Dissanayake, Marissa L. Yates, Serge Suanez, France Floc’h and Knut Krämer

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(9), 1009; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9091009 - 15 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2421

Abstract

Wave dynamics contribute significantly to coastal hazards and were thus investigated at Vougot Beach by simulating both historical and projected future waves considering climate change impacts. The historical period included a major storm event. This period was projected to the future using three globally averaged sea level rise (SLR) scenarios for 2100, and combined SLR and wave climate scenarios for A1B, A2, and B1 emissions paths of the IPCC. The B1 wave climate predicts an increase in the occurrence of storm events. The simulated waves in all scenarios showed larger relative changes at the beach than in the nearshore area. The maximum increase of wave energy for the combined SLR and wave scenarios was 95%, while only 50% for the SLR-only scenarios. The effective bed shear stress from waves and currents showed different spatial variability than that of the wave height, emphasizing the importance of interactions between nearshore waves and currents. Increases in the effective bed shear stress (combined scenarios: up to 190%, and SLR-only scenarios: 35%) indicate that the changes in waves and currents will likely have significant impacts on the nearshore sediment transport. This work emphasizes that combined SLR and future wave climate scenarios need to be used to evaluate future changes in local hydrodynamics and their impacts. These results provide preliminary insights into potential future wave dynamics at Vougot Beach under different climate change scenarios. Further studies are necessary to generalize the results by investigating the wave dynamics during storm events with different hydrodynamical conditions and to evaluate potential changes in sediment transport and morphological evolution due to climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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22 pages, 3621 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cliff Retreat Contribution to the Littoral Sediment Budget along the Baltic Sea Coastline of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

by Tanita Averes, Jacobus L. A. Hofstede, Arfst Hinrichsen, Hans-Christian Reimers and Christian Winter

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(8), 870; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9080870 - 12 Aug 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4118

Abstract

Mobile coastal sediments, such as sand and gravel, build up and protect wave-dominated coastlines. In sediment-starved coastal environments, knowledge about the natural sources and transport pathways of those sediments is of utmost importance for the understanding and management of coastlines. Along the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein (Germany), the retreat of active cliffs—made of cohesive Pleistocene deposits—supplies a wide size range of sediments to the coastal system. The material is reworked and sorted by hydrodynamic forcing: the less mobile stones and boulders remain close to the source area; the finest sediments, mostly clay and silt, are transported offshore into areas of low energy; and the fractions of sand and fine gravels mostly remain in the nearshore zone, where they make up the littoral sediment budget. They contribute to the morphodynamic development of sandy coastlines and nearshore bar systems. Exemplarily for this coastal stretch and based on an extensive review of local studies we quantify the volume of the potential littoral sediment budget from cliff retreat. At an average retreat rate of 0.24 m yr⁻¹ (<0.1–0.73 m yr⁻¹), the assessment indicates a weighted average sediment volume of 1.5 m³ yr⁻¹ m⁻¹ (<0.1–9.5 m³ yr⁻¹ m⁻¹) per meter active cliff. For the whole area, this results in an absolute sediment budget V_s,total of 39,000–161,000 m³ yr⁻¹. The accuracy of the results is limited by system understanding and data quality and coverage. The study discusses uncertainties in the calculation of littoral sediment budgets from cliff retreat and provides the first area-wide budget assessment along the sediment-starved Baltic Sea coastline of Schleswig-Holstein. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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30 pages, 25196 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Sand Trapping Fences on Dune Toe Growth and Its Relation with Potential Aeolian Sediment Transport

by Christiane Eichmanns and Holger Schüttrumpf

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(8), 850; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9080850 - 06 Aug 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2763

Abstract

This study provides insights into dune toe growth around and between individual brushwood lines of sand trapping fences at the dune toe of coastal dunes using digital elevation models obtained from repeated unmanned aerial vehicle surveys. Prevailing boundary conditions, especially sediment supply, as well as the porosity and arrangement of the installed sand trapping fences significantly influence the effectiveness of different configurations of sand trapping fences. The dune toe growth is significant immediately after constructing a new sand trapping fence and decreases over time. According to the results presented in this study, for sand trapping fences that have been in place longer, the protruding branch height and the porosity of the remaining branches play a minor role in trapping sand. Sand trapping fences with lower permeability favour localized coastal dune toe growth directly at their brushwood lines, whereas fences with higher porosity allow for more sediment deposition further downwind. The trend in dune toe changes can be roughly predicted by integrating potential sediment transport rates calculated with hourly meteorological data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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21 pages, 5201 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Considering the Effect of Land-Based Biomass on Dune Erosion Volumes in Large-Scale Numerical Modeling

by Constantin Schweiger and Holger Schuettrumpf

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(8), 843; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9080843 - 04 Aug 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1906

Abstract

This paper presents and validates a novel root model which accounts for the effect of belowground biomass on dune erosion volumes in XBeach, based on a small-scale wave flume experiment that was translated to a larger scale. A 1D-XBeach model was calibrated by using control runs considering a dune without vegetation. Despite calibration, a general model–data mismatch was observed in terms of overestimated erosion volumes around the waterline. Furthermore, the prediction of overwash had to be induced by increasing the maximum nearshore wave height within the XBeach simulation. Subsequently, applying the root model resulted in a good agreement with the belowground biomass cases, and the consideration of spatially varying rooting depths further improved the results. Predictions of the root model while using locally increased friction coefficients were in line with the aboveground and belowground biomass cases. However, the effect of the root model on the erosion predictions varied among the hydrodynamic conditions, so further improvements are required. Therefore, future research should focus on quantifying the effects of land-based biomass and individual plant characteristics, such as root density, on dune erodibility at large scales, along with their influences on the temporal evolution of dune scarping and avalanching. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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21 pages, 26677 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Two-Channel System Dynamics of the Outer Weser Estuary—A Modeling Study

by Jannek Gundlach, Anna Zorndt, Bram C. van Prooijen and Zheng Bing Wang

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(4), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9040448 - 20 Apr 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2076

Abstract

In this paper, we unravel the mechanisms responsible for the development of the two-channel system in the Outer Weser Estuary. A process-based morphodynamic model is built based on a flat-bed approach using simplified boundary conditions and accelerated morphological development. The results are analyzed in two steps: first, by checking for morphodynamic equilibrium in the simulations and second, by applying a newly developed method that interprets simulations based on categorization of the two-channel system and cross-sectional correlation analysis. All simulations reach a morphodynamic equilibrium and develop two channels that vary considerably over time and between the simulations. Variations can be found in the location and depth of the two channels, the development of the dominant channel over time and the alteration in the dominance pattern. The conclusions are that the development of the two-channel system is mainly caused by the tides and the basin geometry. Furthermore, it is shown that the alternation pattern and period are dependent on the dominance of the tides compared to the influence of river discharge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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30 pages, 15825 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Destabilisation and Accelerated Roll-Back of a Mixed Sediment Barrier in Response to a Managed Breach

by Uwe Dornbusch

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(4), 374; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9040374 - 01 Apr 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3166

Abstract

Sea level rise increases the pressure on many coastlines to retreat landwards which will lead to coastlines previously held in position through management, being allowed to retreat where this is no longer affordable or sustainable. Barrier beaches have historically rolled back in response to different hydrodynamic events and sea level rise, but very little is known as to how quickly and how far roll-back is going to occur once management has ceased. Data from more than 40 topographical surveys collected over 7 years along the 1.5 km long, almost swash-aligned shingle barrier at Medmerry (southern England) are used together with hydrodynamic data in a wide-ranging assessment of barrier roll-back. This study shows that roll-back is progressing through time along the barrier in downdrift direction in response to a gradual reduction in cross-sectional area through longshore transport. The Barrier Inertia concept provides a practical means to assess stability/instability for events experienced, but also a tool to assess the short- to medium term risk to the coast downdrift of the immediate study area where flood risk still needs to be managed. Roll-back is influenced particularly by the creation of an artificial tidal breach and removal of its sediment, the elevation of the underlying marsh and clay sediments, the number and severity of storms experienced and the presence of legacy groynes; roll-back has exceeded modelled predictions and expert judgement by an order of magnitude. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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22 pages, 17178 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Topological and Morphological Controls on Morphodynamics of Salt Marsh Interiors

by Ben R. Evans, Iris Möller and Tom Spencer

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(3), 311; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9030311 - 11 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2266

Abstract

Salt marshes are important coastal environments and provide multiple benefits to society. They are considered to be declining in extent globally, including on the UK east coast. The dynamics and characteristics of interior parts of salt marsh systems are spatially variable and can fundamentally affect biotic distributions and the way in which the landscape delivers ecosystem services. It is therefore important to understand, and be able to predict, how these landscape configurations may evolve over time and where the greatest dynamism will occur. This study estimates morphodynamic changes in salt marsh areas for a regional domain over a multi-decadal timescale. We demonstrate at a landscape scale that relationships exist between the topology and morphology of a salt marsh and changes in its condition over time. We present an inherently scalable satellite-derived measure of change in marsh platform integrity that allows the monitoring of changes in marsh condition. We then demonstrate that easily derived geospatial and morphometric parameters can be used to determine the probability of marsh degradation. We draw comparisons with previous work conducted on the east coast of the USA, finding differences in marsh responses according to their position within the wider coastal system between the two regions, but relatively consistent in relation to the within-marsh situation. We describe the sub-pixel-scale marsh morphometry using a morphological segmentation algorithm applied to 25 cm-resolution maps of vegetated marsh surface. We also find strong relationships between morphometric indices and change in marsh platform integrity which allow for the inference of past dynamism but also suggest that current morphology may be predictive of future change. We thus provide insight into the factors governing marsh degradation that will assist the anticipation of adverse changes to the attributes and functions of these critical coastal environments and inform ongoing ecogeomorphic modelling developments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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20 pages, 10159 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Influence of Reef Topography on Storm-Driven Sand Flux

by Cyprien Bosserelle, Shari L. Gallop, Ivan D. Haigh and Charitha B. Pattiaratchi

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(3), 272; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9030272 - 03 Mar 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2144

Abstract

Natural formations of rock and coral can support geologically controlled beaches, where the beach dynamics are significantly influenced by these structures. However, little is known about how alongshore variations in geological controls influence beach morphodynamics. Therefore, in this study we focus on the storm response of a beach (Yanchep in south Western Australia) that has strong alongshore variation in the level of geological control because of the heterogeneous calcarenite limestone reef. We used a modified version of XBeach to simulate the beach morphodynamics during a significant winter storm event. We find that the longshore variation in topography of the reef resulted in: (1) strong spatial difference in current distribution, including areas with strong currents jets; and (2) significant alongshore differences in sand flux, with larger fluxes in areas strongly geologically controlled by reefs. In particular, this resulted in enhanced beach erosion at the boundary of the reef where strong currents jet-exited the nearshore. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphodynamic Evolution and Sustainable Development of Coastal Systems)

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