Contrasting geomorphological storm response from two adjacent shorefaces: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

Citation

Backstrom J, Jackson D, Cooper A & Loureiro C (2015) Contrasting geomorphological storm response from two adjacent shorefaces: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 40 (15), pp. 2112-2120. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3788

Abstract
Shorefaces play a critical role in cross-shore sediment transport between the beach and inner shelf, particularly during storm conditions. A comparison and examination of storm-driven sedimentary changes on two adjacent shorefaces in Northern Ireland, located only 5 km apart, revealed significantly different geomorphological responses. The steeper shoreface at West Strand responded with extensive sediment deposition across almost the entire shoreface, in contrast with the more dissipative and quasi- linear shoreface at Portstewart, which mostly showed nearshore bar changes. Results from the two sites, which have similar wave/wind characteristics and seabed sediments, suggest that: (i) cross-shore morphology, (ii) immediately previous (antecedent) shoreface morphodynamic behaviour and (iii) the presence, or lack of, offshore sand appear to be the primary controls on storm- driven sedimentary changes attributed to the high-energy event.

Keywords
shoreface; storms; sediment transport; numerical modelling; North Atlantic;

Journal
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms: Volume 40, Issue 15