RT journal article
T1 Evolution of the Beach–Dune Systems in Mediterranean Andalusia (Spain) Using Two Different Proxies
A1 Molina Gil, Rosa
A1 Anfuso Melfi, Giorgio
A1 González-Aguilar, B.
A1 Manno, Giorgio
A1 Cooper, J.A.G.
A2 Ciencias de la Tierra
K1 coastal erosion
K1 change rates
K1 dune toe line
K1 high-water line
K1 coastal management
AB Coastal environments are complex systems that are influenced by a combination of naturalprocesses and human activities. Scientific interest in the effects of coastal erosion/accretion andclimatic change-related processes has greatly increased in recent decades due to the growing humandevelopment along coastal areas. This paper investigates the state and evolution of beach–dunesystems for the 1977–2001 and 2001–2019 periods of the Mediterranean coast of Andalusia (Spain)using two different proxies: the dune toe line, which was used to track foredunes evolution, and thehigh-water line, which was used to assess shoreline evolution. Results showed a general erosionalbehavior of the studied beach–dune systems and identified cases where the main trend was alteredthrough human interventions. During the 1977–2001 period, foredunes essentially showed erosion(54%), accretion (24%), and stability (22%) and shorelines showed accretion (40%) and erosion andstability (34% each). During the 2001–2019 period, foredunes essentially showed erosion (42%),stability (30%), and accretion (28%), and shorelines showed erosion (40%), accretion (34%), andstability (26%). Combining the evolution classes of each proxy (dune toe/shoreline) allows thebehavior of both shoreline proxies to be assessed together and provides insights additional to thosederived from the use of a single proxy. In this regard, Erosion/erosion (EE) and Accretion/accretion(AA) were the most frequent behaviors in the first and second periods. The results obtained provideadditional insights on the nature and drivers of coastal change that aid local coastal managers andadministrations in understanding erosion processes. The method can be applied to other areas aroundthe world where a similar database is available.
PB Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
SN 2073-445X
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/35515
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/35515
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 10-may-2026