RT journal article
T1 UAS Identify and Monitor Unusual Small-Scale Rhythmic Features in the Bay of Cadiz (Spain)
A1 Talavera, Lara
A1 Benavente González, Javier
A1 Río Rodríguez, Laura del
A2 Ciencias de la Tierra
K1 unmanned aerial systems
K1 high-resolution DEMs
K1 rhythmic features
K1 pattern formation
K1 shore-parallel bars
K1 mesoforms
K1 edge-wave
K1 self-organization
K1 finger bars
K1 cusps
AB Unusual shore-normal and barred-like rhythmic features were found in Camposoto Beach (Bay of Cadiz, SW Spain) during a monitoring program using unmanned aerial systems (UAS). They appeared in the backshore and persisted for 6 months (October 2017-March 2018). Their characteristics and possible formation mechanism were investigated analyzing: (1) UAS-derived high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs), (2) hydrodynamic conditions, and (3) sediment samples. The results revealed that the features did not migrate spatially, that their wavelength was well predicted by the edge wave theory, and that they shared characteristics with both small-scale low-energy finger bars (e.g., geometry/appearance and amplitude) and swash cusps (e.g., wavelength, seaward circulation pattern, and finer and better sorted material in the runnels with respect to the crests). Our findings pinpoint to highly organized swash able to reach the backshore during spring tides under low-energy and accretionary conditions as well as backwash enhanced by conditions of water-saturated sediment. This study demonstrates that rhythmic features can appear under different modalities and beach locations than the ones observed up to date, and that their unusual nature may be attributed to the low spatiotemporal resolution of the traditional coastal surveying methods in comparison with novel technologies such as UAS.
PB MDPI
SN 2072-4292
YR 2021
FD 2021-03
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/25009
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/25009
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 10-nov-2026