The erosion of low cliffs of glacial material has been investigated around the shoreline of an enclosed sea basin (lough) with a very low wave energy environment. Erosion pins used at 16 sites monitored cliff retreat rates at monthly or 6-monthly intervals over a 3-year period. The total erosion during the 3-year study period ranged from 164.4 mm a⁻¹ to 8.2 mm a⁻¹. Cliff height, cliff angle, and the length and bearing of maximum fetch were found to be the most important parameters controlling erosion. Variations in cliff materials did not emerge as a significant factor controlling erosion rates. The shoreline on the eastern side of the lough suffers more rapid erosion than that on the western side because of its greater exposure to storms from the southwest quadrant. Current rates of erosion are sufficient on the eastern shore for some drumlins to have been completely eradicated or reduced to boulder shoals by erosion in the time that sea levels have been at present elevations.

Waves were measured over tidal cycles on a sloping, basaltic shore platform at Scots Bay in the macrotidal Bay of Fundy (large tidal range 13.5 m), and on a horizontal, argillite platform at Mont Louis in Gaspé, Québec (large tidal range 3 m). Video cameras were used to record the height and period of the waves against a series of graduated metal poles anchored along surveyed, shore-normal profiles. Field measurement and theoretical considerations suggest that wave height increases with elevation at Scots Bay, reflecting the occurrence of a gently sloping tidal flat below the midtidal level and higher gradients on the upper than on the lower parts of the platform. Calculated pressures generated within the rock along joints and other discontinuities suggest that wave conditions are suitable for mechanical-wave erosion at Scots Bay. Waves generally break on the low tide cliff at the seaward edge of the platform at Mont Louis, preventing any wave action on the shallow, flooded platform surface behind. During high spring tides, greater water depths allow fairly large waves to cross the platform, but a beach generally protects the cliff foot and, apart from a few upstanding ridges, there is no rock exposed to wave action at the water surface at this elevation. Downwearing by weathering dominates on the horizontal Mont Louis platform, but waves would still attack the cliff during high tides if there were no protective beach, which suggests that the platform may have been cut by waves near the high tidal level and subsequently lowered by weathering to its present elevation.

Hydrographic data and water samples for suspended matter were taken in the distal mud area in the East China Sea in winter 1997 before a winter storm, right after the storm, and 14 days later. Based on the field hydrographic data and the concentrations of total suspended matter, the effect of the winter storm on the sediment dynamic processes in the mud area was studied. The results show that the tidal currents dominate the hydrodynamic regime in the study area under calm winter weather with certain stratification of the water column. The winter storm caused strong mixing of the water column and destroyed its stratified structure; however, the high concentration of total suspended sediment (TSM) did not appear simultaneously with the well-mixed water column after the storm, as we expected, but 12 hours later. The storm-induced high TSM in the mud area seems to lag in time the occurrence of the storm in the study area. Analysis indicates that the storm cannot resuspend the surface sediment at station 111, but it could resuspend the surface sediment at shallower water depth outside of the mud area and increase the TSM in waters, which can be carried out by the Yellow Sea Coastal Current and transported to the mud area at station 111. The high TSM observed during the winter stormy period on the shelf might not be caused by the local resuspension.

Much of the coastal southeast Florida Peninsula is heavily urbanized, and many native environments have been destroyed or severely affected by urbanization. In an attempt to reconstruct potential natural environments, soil properties were used as a basis for recognizing prior landscapes. Pedological associations were adopted because they provided landscape features that were least modified by urbanization and they could be used as a unifying basis for categorization of native coastal environments. A geographic information system analysis ring was used for querying coverages for soil distribution patterns, vegetation, hydrology (drainage), topography, and geology. By simultaneously generalizing and recombining soil survey data, land use cover types, topography, and hydrology, it was possible to identify recurring patterns of soils, landforms, and vegetation. Results of this analysis produced 13 land systems with 25 subunits that included various types of lakebeds, tree islands, marshes, prairies, sloughs, sandplains, glades, marshlands, lagoons, estuaries, and beaches. The resulting map for potential natural environments in Palm Beach and Broward Counties complements conceptual ecological models for the Greater Florida Everglades Ecosystem, developed for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. The Australian land systems approach, as applied in this study, provides insight into coastal environments that lie outside of ecological models for mostly protected areas inland.

Surface sediments from Cadiz and Algeciras Bays (southern Spain) were analysed by a sequential procedure for Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Fe, Ni, Cr, and Mn to determine their distribution among four geochemical phases (acid-soluble, reducible, oxidisable, and residual). The total metal content was also determined. The results showed that large amounts of metal accumulate in the interior of Cadiz Bay, whereas in Algeciras Bay, the highest levels of metal are found near the city of Algeciras and an area of major industrial activity. A comparison of metal levels with the sediment quality guidelines suggested by Long et al. (1995) showed areas in both bays in which pollution is sufficient to have noxious effects on marine organisms. Chemical partitioning of the metals revealed that Zn and Pb present the highest percentages in the reducible fraction and that Ni, Cr, and Cd are highest in the residual and reducible fractions. Cu shows the greatest proportion in the oxidisable fraction and Mn in the acid-soluble fraction. Fe is found mainly in the residual fraction, probably because it is an element basically of natural origin.

This study investigates the application of the wave model (WAM) to simulate the generation and propagation of typhoon waves in Korean seas. The model solves the energy balance equation for wave growth based on wind energy input, and simulates spatial and time evolution of wave spectra. Although WAM has been extensively validated and used in various global and regional wave forecasts, its application to the simulation of typhoon waves has not been investigated thoroughly.

Crucial to the application of WAM in typhoon wave modeling is the specification of accurate wind input data and adequate resolution of the wind structure. This study compares and analyzes two different wind fields for the same event, viz., simulated wind field from a storm model and blended global QSCAT/NCEP winds. The simulation experiment was run for 4 days as Typhoon Olga (1999) approached the west coast of Korea. The results are compared with shallow water buoy observations as the typhoon was approaching landfall. The simulated significant wave heights in the open ocean were approximately 8.6 m, which gradually decreased as the typhoon approached shore. Olga was an intense typhoon, and its compact wind structure provides a unique test case to examine the required directional, frequency, and spatial resolution in WAM for modeling typhoon generated waves.

This study evaluated the spatial and temporal changes in beach morphology by analyzing the grain size distribution and the effect of the hydrodynamic conditions on the beach showing shoreline instability. Ten transects, from which morphological and hydrodynamic parameters were measured, were selected along the Nyali-Bamburi shoreline perpendicular to the shore. Morphological parameters such as beach orientation, beach width, and beach slopes were determined and sediment samples obtained during low tide. Wave energy was calculated from wave heights measured at the breaker point using a graduated staff, whereas swash and backwash velocities were determined at midbeach during high tide. Sediment samples were dried and sieved using an automatic shaker for grain size analysis using the graphical method. The study showed that beach morphology was rapidly changing with time along the shoreline. The changes were mostly attributed to wave and sediment characteristics. It was also established that steep-sloping beaches were associated with strong wave energy and coarse sediments, whereas gently-sloping beaches were of fine, well-sorted, and positively-skewed sediments, with relatively less strong waves. Steep beaches seem to be relatively short in width. There was a remarkable retreat of the shoreline.

This paper focuses on the stability of the shoreline on the east side of the Rosetta promontory on the Nile Delta coast because this area was extremely eroded after construction of the eastern revetment on the east side of the promontory in 1991. Numerical models developed by the Danish Hydraulic Institute are used to calculate wave transformation from deep water to the nearshore region, compute littoral drift, and predict shoreline evolution along the east side of the Rosetta promontory. The results generated by the shoreline evolution model show that, in the case of applying no structures, the maximum retreat of the shoreline along the east part of the promontory is estimated to be 1405 m after 20 years. The minimum shoreline retreat along the east side of the Rosetta promontory was achieved with a system of five groins spaced at 800 m.

The marine environment of the Istanbul Strait and Marmara Sea is confronted by severe environmental degradation as a result of ship-originated pollution generated mainly by tankers and cargo vessels. Difficult natural conditions such as the intricate geometry of the Istanbul Strait, sharp turns on the navigation route, harsh meteorological conditions, and transient changes in the flow regime coupled with increasingly dense maritime traffic create a serious risk of accident. Significant amounts of crude oil spill have been the major cause of ecological damage experienced so far as a consequence of maritime accidents. The ecological hazard generated by oil spill has resulted in the decrease and/or extinction of surface and subsurface fish species and crustaceans. Furthermore, bilge, ballast, and wastewater release by vessels contributes to a great extent to marine pollution aggravated by the introduction of exotic species in different accidental ways as a result of heavy maritime traffic through the Istanbul Strait connecting two adjacent basins, namely the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

This review presents the ecological hazard experienced so far based on the results of the monitoring study carried out in the Istanbul Strait and Marmara Sea and highlights the need for the improvement of international regulations for specific waterways such as the Istanbul Strait.

In this paper the DREAMS_CR_S model for propagation and deformation of random waves (characterized by a directional spectrum) over regions of variable depth is described. It is based on the linear superposition of the wave fields obtained from a monochromatic wave model for several frequency–direction components in which the incident directional spectrum is discretized. The model predicts the effects of refraction, diffraction, shoaling, reflection, and wave breaking. The model was applied to a real case—the Ancão Inlet at Ria Formosa, in Algarve (Portugal). Incident wave model conditions were chosen from measurements by a directional buoy, deployed over the seabed at −25 m depth below chart datum. The results illustrate that the model without breaking is working well and can be applied to areas with complex bathymetry. When breaking is taken into account, the results are not very accurate. The wave-breaking iterative process and the estimation of the breaking point used in the model have to be improved.

A mistral event is considered to be the most dangerous of all Mediterranean winds. Its effects can generate high waves, which consequently can affect shipping.

In this study the continuous wavelet is used to detect the dispersion and groupings characteristics of waves during a mistral event. During the process of wind–wave interaction, waves are dispersed into groups with respect to their periods and wave growth is taking place within the wave group. The wavelet power spectrum of the time series of a wind wave shows that the energy at different scales varies considerably with time. Furthermore, the narrowing of the frequencies in the phase of wavelet transforms suggests the dispersion of waves.

Anthropogenic debris constitutes a significant threat to the marine environment, representing a hazard not only for marine and terrestrial animals but also for human activities, health, and tourism. This study provided the first assessment of the type and quantity of marine litter at Armação dos Búzios, Brazil. Búzios is a popular tourist resort, which attracts visitors because of its proximity to Rio de Janeiro City. Sampling was conducted in belt transects of 4-m width, parallel to the coastline. To evaluate the composition and abundance of beach litter, all visible pieces of man-made debris (the number of items) found on each belt transect were identified in situ and recorded. Nearly 16,000 items of litter, belonging to seven categories were counted. An overall mean litter density of 13.76 items /100 m² was quantified on the Armação dos Búzios beaches. Paper was the most abundant litter item, in particular, represented by cigarette butts. Much of the litter items are discarded by visitors to the beach. Nearshore, hard-bottom litter was also investigated at all beaches. Plastic was the most abundant submerged marine debris observed. Our results indicated that marine debris, particularly fishery-related debris (46% of marine litter) was most commonly found in the subtidal benthic environment. The abundance and distribution of litter through the Armação dos Búzios region seems to be especially influenced by recreational visitors, reflecting inadequate disposal practices.

Low-energy beaches are omnipresent coastal features. In total, their overall length greatly exceeds that of ocean shorelines throughout the world. However, a comprehensive understanding of low-energy beaches is lacking, with their dynamics generally considered under existing principles governing open ocean beaches. This study investigates the morphodynamic characteristics of very low energy beaches on which wave heights can be less than 0.15 m under nonstorm conditions, as distinguished from the characteristic of high-energy environments in which low energy states commonly have modal wave heights of 0.5–1 m. This investigation is achieved through an analysis of a 30-year profile data set for Cockburn Sound, a fetch-limited, low-energy basin in southwestern Australia. The Sound experiences the full ranging of microtides and surges of the region, together with locally generated wind waves. Recurring patterns in cross-shore geometries and their distribution were identified through regression analysis of mean profile shapes. The spatial variability in the wind-wave regime was established by hindcasting conditions for key fetch directions. Cluster analysis of profile and environmental variables identified four morphotypes. Each morphotype can be explained in terms of a simple exposure factor, Ef = log(Fl/Ms), which is the proportion of fetch length (Fl) to marginal shoal width (Ms), such that Ef < 1 was characteristic of exponential profiles, Ef = 1–1.5 of segmented profiles, Ef = 1.5–2 of concave-curvilinear profiles, and Ef > 2 of convex-curvilinear profiles. Thus, the exposure factor is identified as a useful nondimensional parameter for the delineation of low-energy profile morphotypes within the study area. The utility of this approach in widespread classifications of low-energy beach morphology requires further research. This should take place in a variety of environments with varying degrees of protection and shelter from swell and subject to different tidal ranges and fluctuations in sea level.

The sediment budget of the Kizilirmak River has been disturbed during the last decade because of the flow regulation structures constructed on the river. This disruption has led to coastal erosion at the river mouth and its environs. With the effect of erosion within this period, the Black Sea shoreline has eroded approximately 1.0 km toward the Bafra Plain. In this study, the coastal erosion in the area was examined using physical and mathematical models. A shore protection structure system based on the results of the physical model tests was developed and implemented at the site. A one-line model was also applied for this part of the shoreline to study the problem mathematically. Analysis of the numerical simulation showed similar trends to the results of the physical model and field observation. The one-line model successfully represented the behavior of protection structures on the evaluation of the Kizilirmak River Mouth. One year after the completion of the protection structures, observations in the field showed that the erosion was completely controlled, and certain parts of the shoreline at this reach had advanced approximately 50 m toward the Black Sea. These protection structures have altered the longshore sediment transport along the shoreline of the Bafra Palin nearby the Kizilirmak River mouth. Therefore, the erosion at the adjacent shoreline of this reach has been accelerated at the expected level.

To address the impact of rising sea level in a rapidly submerging Maryland estuarine forest, 15 loblolly pines (Pinus taeda) were cored for dendroecological analysis. The study area is a pure stand of loblolly pine that extends down an elevation gradient into surrounding marsh where dead stumps and snags indicate a retreating forest margin. Although relative sea level has risen considerably and there are dead trees at the forest-marsh interface, there is no associated decline in ring width, making sea level–induced mortality unlikely. Instead, ring width is correlated positively with annual precipitation and winter temperature and negatively with summer temperatures. Although recruitment of new pines was continuous between 1910 and 1930, there has been no more active recruitment except for a small age class established immediately after regional drought. Because recruitment is failing in the present forest despite abundant seedlings and an open canopy, recruitment ability appears to be limited by saturated soils associated with periods of high sea level. We predict that the forest margin will retreat stepwise, following storm-induced mortality, or continuously, following age-related adult mortality. The position of the forest margin is then a function of sea level position, but it represents the failure to recruit new individuals, not the ability of adults to survive a long term rise in sea level.

Wavelet bicoherence is considered a state-of-the art technique in detecting the phase coupling and nonlinear interactions that occur in a signal or signals. It is used in this study to analyze the nonlinear wind-wave interactions for the simultaneously measured wind speed and wave height during 6 hours of wave generation in a mistral event. The results show that wavelet coherence can detect the linear coherence between wind and wave. On the other hand, the wavelet bicoherence has the ability to detect the phase coupling and nonlinear development between wind and wave during wave growth. This study shows that the phase coupling and nonlinear wind-wave interaction can occur over a certain range of frequencies and that this range is different from one record to another because of the nonstationary feature of the data set.

Offers to dedicate (OTDs) were required by the California Coastal Commission as a condition for receiving a coastal development permit. These were only offers, and the interest remained with the landowner until the OTDs were accepted by a government or a nonprofit agency. The purpose of the OTD was to mitigate the effect of the proposed project on the public's ability to access the coast. Most of these easements were generated between 1980 and 1986. Court cases in 1987–89 challenged the relationship between “exaction” and development and made it almost impossible for the Commission to acquire any more of these. Thus, the OTDs that the California Coastal Commission have now are very crucial. However, not all the OTDs need be given the same priority in making them open to the public. The need for this study was identified in the Coastal Commission's Public Access Action Plan. As a part of this study, a comprehensive geographic information systems database of all existing OTDs was created. A method of ranking the OTDs with a scoring method was formulated that considered three main criteria: date of expiration, proximity to an existing access point, and topography of the location. These were then used for a feasibility score and subsequently a priority index that ranked the OTDs as highest, high, medium, or low priority for public access. Eleven were found to be of highest priority, 13 of high priority, 25 of medium priority, and seven of low priority. With this prioritization scheme, the state's limited resources could be used in a more effective manner.

In 1997, the effects of severe erosion along the Penarth, Wales, UK, foreshore became apparent when the beach surface fell to critical levels. A 240 m length of beach, bounded by a slipway, sea wall, and pier, was surveyed each September and April between 1997 and 2002 to assess summer and winter changes. Results in September 1997 showed that sediment transport was southerly in direction, whilst by September 2002, there had been a consistent return to the traditionally accepted south-to-north longshore drift, verified by significant differences in longshore gradients (t = 2.664; degrees of freedom [DF] = 6; p < 0.05). Analysis of changes in beach morphology has shown that erosion induced a southerly movement of beach contours, and a northerly movement was produced by accretion. Foreshore analysis has resulted in important regression models representing the variation of the shoreline indicator mean high water (MHW) with both shoreline position (mean beach level) and gain/loss of beach material. The cross-shore position of the depth of closure (DoC) was 50 m seaward of the survey line, at a water depth of 5.5 m. Results from analyses of cross-shore profiles verified temporal variations in back beach level with little variation beyond the DoC. Furthermore, there was significant correlation between the two shoreline indicators, MHW and DoC (84%). This correlation, combined with a derived equation for a management response parameter (MRP = 17.035 tan⁻¹ (x₁₄ − x₆)/240[°]), produced simple tools to rapidly assess beach health. Results were compared with past data for interpretation of significance, and management strategies based on tabulated MRP values are suggested. A general form of this equation has been developed for testing at other beach locations, which should have significance for worldwide beach management.

Umm Al-Namil Island is one of the small northern islands of the State of Kuwait located within Kuwait Bay. A series of six beach profiles were surveyed and seven N-S transects were constructed during the period between 1998 and 2005 to study the grain-size distribution and biogenic activities around the island. Sediment samples were monitored and analyzed for short-term changes. Beach sediment consists of fine-medium oolitic to biogenic sand with a high percentage of coarse grain clastics and shell fragments, which occur mainly in the northern part of the island. The estuarine depositional environments include tidal channels, hardground reefal flats, tidal mud flats, spits and sand bars that are seen to interfinger with shoreline and inner coastal deposits of the island. Changes in the profiles were observed in the southern part of the island where some recurved spits have formed and accumulation of sediment persists. Beach changes were also observed in the northern side of the island. Six principal communities of organisms dwell around the island, and these contribute to the major part of the recent biogenic sedimentation. Cluster analysis of the quantitative data on sediment faunal interrelation of 30 samples enabled us to recognize three biolithofacies units. Study of common foraminiferal and ostracod species in the area indicates that the distribution and dominance of different benthic species have relatively simple patterns that are governed by water depth, salinity, hydrodynamic conditions, and sediment size.

The chemical fingerprinting approach to environmental assessment is illustrated in the evaluation of marine oil pollution on the coasts of the suburb of Florya (Marmara Sea). The samples of unknown origin collected during three leg expeditions on April 2003, December 2003, and February 2004 were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Hydrocarbon distribution patterns of samples indicated different known and unknown origins. The group hydrocarbon compositions of the samples from leg one are the same as those from the cargo oil spill of tanker Volgoneft-248, which ran aground after structural failure. When it broke apart at the end of the year 1999, tons of oil were spilled into the Marmara Sea. The results show that the remainder of the buried oil in the seabed may come ashore during strong onshore winds even after comprehensive clean-up operations and after 4 years. On the other hand, the samples collected during legs 2 and 3 appear to be from unknown sources.

A ground-penetrating radar survey of a newly formed series of beach ridges along the southern Azerbaijan coast, Caspian Sea, illustrates rapid coastal response to the most recent sea level fall of 0.8 m in the Caspian Sea between 1995 and 1999. Effects of seasonal sea level fluctuations as well as individual storm occurrences can be linked to depositional beds on the ground-penetrating radar profiles. The beach ridge system is swash built and formed primarily under fair weather conditions. Ridge and swale topography can be related to seasonal sea level change. The rapid sea level change in the Caspian Sea combined with surface and subsurface data on coastal beach ridges provides a unique opportunity to observe and reconstruct coastal evolution at a resolution not possible along other oceanic coasts.

The periods of the three-body system of Sun-Earth-Moon play an important part in tidal dynamics. In this paper, I deal with extreme proxigean spring tides. To produce these rare and unusually high tides, several tide-raising effects must work together. Hipparcos' lunar evection anomaly is influential. An interesting phenomenon can be observed in that the first extreme proxigean spring tide in the new millennium happened on January 10, 2005, in new moon phase, and half a synodic month earlier, when the Moon was full on December 26, 2004, the Christmas Tsunami was triggered in the Indian Ocean.