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Special Issue "Learning from Geomorphological Adaptation of Coasts at Different Time Scales"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 April 2023 | Viewed by 4963

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Susana Costas
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Guest Editor

Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIMA), Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Interests: coastal evolution; temporal scales; dune-beach morphodynamics

Prof. Dr. Duncan M. FitzGerald
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Interests: the sedimentology of coastal landforms including the hydrodynamics and sediment transport processes responsible for their formation and evolution, including those from the inner continental shelf to t

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that I announce the publication of a Special Issue with the objective of bringing in examples that show how coastal systems react and adapt at different temporal scales and to different stressors. Natural systems respond and adapt to changing environmental conditions or other disturbances through time. A major constraint in understanding coastal adaptation at long-term temporal scales lies in the elevated degree of complexity of the responses, a consequence of their non-linearity and the many feedbacks that exist among the different components of a coastal system. This prevents extrapolating observations capturing short- to medium-term coastal adaptations. The stratigraphic record may significantly contribute to understanding the response of natural systems at longer time scales. However, the testimony left by the continuum of change in the coast may be partially incomplete or may not capture all possible response pathways. As coastal resilience is inextricably linked to these adaptation strategies, taking place over the full spectrum of coastal change, it is extremely relevant to explore and compile examples assessing the different scales of change, in order to identify not only possible tipping points but also the consequences of crossing such boundaries.

As Guest Editor, I cordially invite you to contribute with original papers for consideration and possible publication in a Special Issue on “Learning from Geomorphological Adaptation of Coasts at Different Time Scales” to be published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering.

Dr. Susana Costas
Prof. Dr. Duncan M. FitzGerald
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 2200 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

Coastal barrier evolution, vulnerability and resilience
Evidence of non-linear barrier dynamics over distinct temporal scales
Beach and dune morphodynamics
Shoreline evolution from years to decades
Perturbations and (eco)geomorphic adaptation of beach–dune systems across timescales
Formation, evolution, and sealing of transgressive coastal dunes
Observations of coastal adaptation through different time scales
Impacts of climate and meteocean conditions variability on the beach-dune system
Cross-scale integration of coastal barrier change

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Evolutionary Trajectories of Coastal Sand Barriers along the West Portuguese Coast during the Holocene

Susana Costas

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(12), 1894; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10121894 - 05 Dec 2022

Viewed by 428

Abstract

Coastal sand barriers are dynamic features with complex depositional sequences holding critical information regarding system response to disturbances at secular to millennial time scales. Here, the evolutionary trajectories of three barriers located along the Portuguese coast are reconstructed over the Middle to Late Holocene using geophysical subsurface images, modern morphology and dating of dune and beach deposits. The integration of new and available information from the documents of the selected site contrasts histories with modern barriers displaying ages ranging from hundreds to thousands of years and non-linear trajectories defined by shifts between morphological states. Younger barriers appear to represent the latest progradational state within a history of landward barrier migration, where progradational states alternated with transgressive states. Conversely, the oldest barrier shows a single phase of barrier growth, despite some minor hiatus in progradation. Barrier state shifts appear to have simultaneously occurred across systems, suggesting external drivers of regional scale linked to Holocene climate variability, namely, periods of storminess activity, while the different trajectories displayed by the three sites appear related to site-specific variables controlling exposure to waves and winds. Exposed sites showed a lower ability to absorb disturbances and a greater range of system responses, varying between transgressive and progradational states. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning from Geomorphological Adaptation of Coasts at Different Time Scales)

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Open AccessArticle

Geologic Framework, Anthropogenic Impacts, and Hydrodynamics Contribute to Variable Sediment Availability and Shoreface Morphology at the Rockaway Peninsula, NY

Emily Wei

and

Jennifer Miselis

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(7), 989; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10070989 - 20 Jul 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 665

Abstract

Recent field and modeling studies have shown that barrier island resiliency is sensitive to sediment fluxes from the shoreface, making it important to evaluate how shoreface sediment availability varies in coastal systems. To do this, we assessed shoreface geology and morphology along the Rockaway Peninsula, NY, USA. We find that spatial variability in shoreface volume is influenced by sediment accommodation above the Holocene-Pleistocene (H-P) contact, historical barrier island evolution, and natural and engineered morphologic features, suggesting that simply identifying the H-P boundary may not be adequate for defining the shoreface reservoir. Further, sediment flux from the lower shoreface to the beach may be reduced by geologically limited cross-shore sediment distribution and shoreface steepening mediated by human modifications to the shoreline. Finally, the geologic limit of the shoreface is often shallower than a wave-based estimate of shoreface extent, implying that the geologic shoreface extent at our study site can be mobilized over short time scales (years-decades) and that the wave-based shoreface extent may be inaccurate when estimating shoreline response to sea-level rise. Our results demonstrate that the combination of hydrodynamics, humans, and geology on shoreface sediment fluxes impact how barrier islands respond to future changes in sediment supply and climate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning from Geomorphological Adaptation of Coasts at Different Time Scales)

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Open AccessArticle

Late Quaternary Evolution of a Submerged Karst Basin Influenced by Active Tectonics (Koločep Bay, Croatia)

Dimitris Christodoulou

and

Ivan Razum

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(7), 881; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10070881 - 27 Jun 2022

Viewed by 834

Abstract

Koločep bay is a 30 km elongated karst basin located between the Elafiti Islands and the mainland with a NW–SE general direction. The bay lies within the seismically active southern Dalmatia zone. Irregular grid sub-bottom profiles and two legacy reflection seismic profiles have been used to determine the overall morphology of the bay and to establish the seismic stratigraphy of its sedimentary infill. Three major seismic–stratigraphic units have been identified in the upper ~50 m of the ~120-meter-thick sedimentary sequence that lies above the karstified limestone bedrock. The karst polje basin was flooded due to sea-level rise before 12.1 kyr BP. The morphology of the bay implies complex influences of Late Glacial meltwater discharges, aeolian sand deposition, the existence of paleo–ponor/karst spring zones and buried Pleistocene river channels. The Pleistocene seismotectonic units are deformed in the NW and SE parts of the basin. The central part of the basin has no signatures of intensive tectonic activity during the Holocene. A major erosion event was identified that led to the formation of a basin within the older sedimentary infill. In the southern part of the basin, we have evidence of Holocene tectonic activity with the formation of erosional scarps on the seafloor of the bay. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning from Geomorphological Adaptation of Coasts at Different Time Scales)

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Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Following the Sand Grains

and

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(5), 631; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10050631 - 05 May 2022

Viewed by 1174

Abstract

When longshore transport systems encounter tidal inlets, complex mechanisms are involved in bypassing sand to downdrift barriers. Here, this process is examined at Plum Island Sound and Essex Inlets, Massachusetts, USA. One major finding from this study is that sand is transferred along the coast—especially at tidal inlets—by parcels, in discrete steps, and over decadal-scale periods. The southerly orientation of the main-ebb channel at Plum Island Sound, coupled with the landward migration of bars from the ebb delta to the central portion of the downdrift Castle Neck barrier island, have formed a beach protuberance. During the constructional phase, sand is sequestered at the protuberance and the spit-end of the barrier becomes sediment starved, leading to shoreline retreat and a broadening of the spit platform at the mouth to Essex Bay (downdrift side of Castle Neck). Storm-induced sand transport from erosion of the spit and across the spit platform is washed into Essex Bay, filling channels and enlarging flood deltas. This study illustrates the pathways and processes of sand transfer along the shoreline of a barrier-island/tidal-inlet system and provides an important example of the processes that future hydrodynamic and sediment-transport modeling should strive to replicate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning from Geomorphological Adaptation of Coasts at Different Time Scales)

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Open AccessArticle

Measuring Organization of Large Surficial Clasts in Heterogeneous Gravel Beach Sediments

Dennis C. Lees

Christopher J. Hein

and

Duncan M. FitzGerald

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(4), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10040525 - 11 Apr 2022

Viewed by 936

Abstract

The natural stratification and interlocking “organization” of armored sediments in heterogeneous, coarse-grained, beaches provides protection and enhances habitat for borrowing sedentary megafauna and macrofauna such as hard-shelled clams. Here, we develop a novel metric for quantifying sediment organization of large surficial beach clasts through sedimentologic and photogrammetric analyses of 37 lower intertidal heterogeneous gravel beaches in western Prince William Sound, Alaska (USA). Grain size, photogrammetric, and Wolman Pebble Count clast-size data from 64, ~1-m² study plots are combined into a clast-size-independent “Organization Metric” to quantify the degree of organization in the meshed arrangement of larger surficial sediments. This metric was validated through field manipulation experiments and comparisons of adjacent plots characterized by different clast sizes. Application of this metric to subsets of Prince William Sound beaches that underwent differential treatment following the Exxon Valdez oil spill reveals persistent physical effects of artificial beach disturbance even 21 years after the cleanup. This has important implications for beach management (e.g., cleaning or dredging) and for the diverse and productive sedentary megafaunal assemblages that live within these sediments. Overall, this study provides a new approach for quantifying organization of heterogenous coarse sediments in diverse natural settings; in particular, heterogenous gravel beaches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning from Geomorphological Adaptation of Coasts at Different Time Scales)

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