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Advances in Geological and Geomorphological Studies in Coastal Areas

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Oceans and Coastal Zones".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 18854

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Dr. Federica Rizzetto

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Guest Editor

Istituto di Scienze Marine, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISMAR-CNR), Venice, Italy
Interests: geology and geomorphology of coastal areas and alluvial plains; stratigraphic and sedimentological investigations; impacts of natural and human-induced processes; vulnerability assessment
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide an overview of recent advances in coastal geological and geomorphological studies, aimed not only at presenting the current state of knowledge but also at offering new significant insights into these disciplines.

The Guest Editor will consider contributions dealing with the origin and evolution of coasts (including processes responsible for their shape and modifications) and with coastal landforms’ structure, morphology, composition, and function.

In recent decades, many coastal areas have experienced high human pressures that have led to a progressive increase of coastal artificialization and seriously modified the original characteristics of landscapes and their dynamics. However, studies focused on natural systems, not significantly remodelled by anthropogenic activities, are preferred for publication.

A wide range of coastal geodiversity will be represented, because results from investigations carried out at different latitudes (i.e., from the tropics to the polar regions), at local to global spatial scales, and related to long- and short-term dynamics are expected.

As coastal areas house more than half of the world's population and have high economic, social, and environmental value, the contents will also serve as a possible source of information that is useful for attaining better knowledge of coastal systems, thus helping to develop actions to reduce future risk related to coastal hazards and improve coastal management and planning.

Dr. Federica Rizzetto
Guest Editor

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. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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

Types of coasts
Coastal landforms
Geological setting
Sedimentary and stratigraphic features
Lithological and sedimentological characteristics
Coastal morphodynamics
Natural and anthropogenic impacts on coasts

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3092 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Textural Characteristics of the Holocene Sandy Ridges in the Eastern Venetian Coastal Plain (North Adriatic Sea, Italy)

by Federica Rizzetto

Water 2022, 14(11), 1710; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14111710 - 26 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1733

Abstract

In the lower Piave river coastal plain (northeast of the Venice Lagoon, Italy), evidences of ancient sandy ridges testify to both the local coastline progradation and retrogradation that occurred during the Holocene. Their arrangement is recognizable in aerial photographs as they appear as groups of parallel sandy strips. The orientation of each group of ridges differs from the orientation of the others. Even if the ridges have not preserved their original relief and morphology, weak undulations are still locally present. Through the joint interpretation of textural parameters and geomorphological observations and measurements, an attempt has been made to define the depositional processes responsible for the formation of these sandy ridges. The results from grain-size analyses have given evidence of the foreshore and the backshore environments. They have confirmed the presence of both aeolian deposits in most of the sampled sandy ridges and fine-grained filling sediments containing organic matter in the old inter-ridge depressions. The investigations have also confirmed the existence of a well-preserved abandoned Piave river delta and four subsequent main stages of coastal progradation interrupted by episodes of coastal retreat. Therefore, this research has provided new insights into the evolution of the Holocene Venetian coastal plain by adding new information on the different coastal depositional environments and transporting agents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Geological and Geomorphological Studies in Coastal Areas)

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14 pages, 3680 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Method for Evaluating Cross-Shore Migration of Sand Bar under the Influence of Nonlinear Waves Transformation

by Margarita Shtremel, Yana Saprykina and Berna Ayat

Water 2022, 14(2), 214; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020214 - 12 Jan 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1946

Abstract

Sand bar migration on the gently sloping sandy bottom in the coastal zone as a result of nonlinear wave transformation and corresponding sediment transport is discussed. Wave transformation on the intermediate depth causes periodic exchange of energy in space between the first and the second wave harmonics, accompanied by changes in the wave profile asymmetry. This leads to the occurrence of periodical fluctuations in the wave-induced sediment transport. It is shown that the position of the second nonlinear wave harmonic maximum determines location of the divergence point of sediment transport on the inclined bottom profile, where it changes direction from the onshore to the offshore. Such sediment transport pattern leads to formation of an underwater sand bar. A method is proposed to predict the position of the bar on an underwater slope after a storm based on calculation of the position of the maximum amplitude of the second nonlinear harmonic. The method is validated on the base of field measurements and ERA 5 reanalysis wave data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Geological and Geomorphological Studies in Coastal Areas)

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20 pages, 71502 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Geomorphological Changes of a Migrating Sandbank: Multidecadal Analysis as a Tool for Managing Conflicts in Coastal Use

by Annelore Bezzi, Giulia Casagrande, Saverio Fracaros, Davide Martinucci, Simone Pillon, Stefano Sponza, Antonio Bratus, Fabrizio Fattor and Giorgio Fontolan

Water 2021, 13(23), 3416; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233416 - 3 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2972

Abstract

While beach erosion and sand loss are typically of great concern to the tourism industry, managing rapid morphological changes linked to large amounts of moving sediments is the challenge facing Grado, an important seaside resort in the northern Adriatic, Italy. The cause of the unusual management conflict is the presence of the Mula di Muggia Bank, a nearshore depositional system made up of relict and active migrating sandbanks extending up to 2 km seawards from the touristic beachfront. A reconstruction of the morpho-sedimentary evolution of the coastal system over a 200-year period was done using a large dataset which includes historical cartography, topographic maps, aerial photos and topo-bathymetric surveys. The results show the growth of a significant urban development aimed at creating a tourist destination by occupying the waterfront along fetch-limited coastal tracts with very shallow water and scarce hydrodynamics. Furthermore, a number of sandy dynamic landforms (longshore migrating bars, a bypass corridor, an ebb-tidal delta) and accumulation zones attest to a sediment excess which can be mostly attributed to the eastern river supplies. The progressive constant migration rate of 12.6 my⁻¹ allowed the bank to induce the expansion of the low-energy silty backbarrier environment, characterised by abundant seagrass meadows a short distance directly in front of the tourist beaches of Grado. As a result of historical analysis and more current observations, areas with diverse morphosedimentary features and with varying tourist/recreational, ecological, and conservation values have been identified. These can be considered as basic units for future accurate planning and re-evaluation of coastal management choices to balance environmental protection and tourist use. A soft coastal defence approach is proposed which includes either the preservation of specific environments or the proper use of excess sand for beach nourishment via periodic dredging or sediment bypassing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Geological and Geomorphological Studies in Coastal Areas)

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27 pages, 8909 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coastal Evolution in a Wetland Affected by Large Tsunamigenic Earthquakes in South-Central Chile: Criteria for Integrated Coastal Management

by Carolina Martínez, Einer Sepúlveda-Zúñiga, Mauricio Villagrán, Octavio Rojas, Matías Gómez, Pablo López and Carolina Rojas

Water 2021, 13(11), 1467; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13111467 - 24 May 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3492

Abstract

The coastal evolution of the microtidal Tubul-Raqui wetland in south-central Chile (36° S), which historically has been affected by large earthquakes and tsunamis, particularly the 1960 (Mw = 9.5) and 2010 (Mw = 8.8) subduction earthquakes and their associated tsunamis, is analyzed. Historical aerial photographs and topographic and bathymetric surveys from the 1961–2017 period, as well as salinity, sediment, and flora data obtained following the 2010 earthquake were used for comparison with data from prior to the event. A steady state of the shoreline was established, with an average erosion rate of −0.016 m/year in the 1961–2017 period. However, erosion predominated in the period between these two large earthquakes (1961–2009), with an average rate of −0.386 m/year. The wetland dried up, partially recovered saline intrusion a year later, and recovered the salinity conditions it had before the earthquake two years later. The postearthquake effects on the floristic composition were not significant, with the species Spartina densiflora, which presented a high tolerance to these types of changes, predominating. Moreover, 75 percent of the taxa in pre- and postearthquake conditions coincided, with the halophyte species Spartina densiflora, Sarcocornia fructicosa, and Cotula coronopifolia predominating, while the best-conserved community was Spartina-Sarcocornia association located in the saltmarsh. Seven years after the earthquake, the shoreline presented an accretion rate of 2.935 m/year; if the current tectonic conditions prevail, an erosive trend can be expected in the coming decades. The morphological variability and the changes associated with the shoreline in this wetland are strongly controlled by tectonic factors. Criteria aimed at integrated coastal management to promote its occupancy and use in accordance with its evolutionary dynamics are proposed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Geological and Geomorphological Studies in Coastal Areas)

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13 pages, 6189 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integrated Geological, Hydrogeological, and Geophysical Investigations of a Barchan Sand Dune in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia

by Mohammed Benaafi, Sherif M. Hanafy, Abdullatif Al-Shuhail, Ammar El-Husseiny and Jack Dvorkin

Water 2020, 12(3), 682; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030682 - 2 Mar 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4185

Abstract

In arid countries such as Saudi Arabia, aeolian sand often covers a large area of the country. Understanding the variations of sand properties in dunes, including grain size, sorting, mineral composition and water content, can be important for groundwater recharge, environmental, and construction applications. Earlier studies examined properties of sand dunes by collecting samples from the surface. This study aims to investigate variations of sand properties within a Barchan sand dune in the coastal area of Saudi Arabia, by collecting samples and measurements from two vertically drilled boreholes up to the ground water level; one drilled in the dune crest and another one in the limb. Representative samples were collected and analyzed for their texture parameters, water content, and mineralogy. Electrical resistivity survey data was also acquired to map water content variation in the dune limb, and for comparison with well bore data. The reported results show no vertical variations in grain size or sorting in the dune crest. In contrast, the upper 0.5 m of the dune limb shows a relatively poorer sorting than found in deeper parts of the dune. Laterally, no variations in minerology were observed between crest and limb sands while grain size tended to be slightly coarser in the dune limb compared to the crest. Regarding the water content, it was found to vary vertically, probably due to previous cycles of rainfall infiltration through the sand body. Such observed variation in water content is consistent with the measured resistivity profile which could clearly identify the water table and areas with higher water content. This study concludes that beyond the upper 0.5 m, the Barchan sand dune body can be treated as a homogeneous medium in terms of mineralogy and sorting while grain size increases slightly toward the limb side. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Geological and Geomorphological Studies in Coastal Areas)

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11 pages, 853 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coastal Peloids as Geological Heritage: Evidence from the Taman Peninsula (Southwestern Russia)

by Yury A. Fedorov, Dmitry N. Gar’kusha, Roman G. Trubnik, Natalia A. Latushko and Dmitry A. Ruban

Water 2019, 11(6), 1119; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11061119 - 29 May 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3457

Abstract

The coastal peloidis a peculiar and poorly-studied geological substance. Peloids occurin the Bugaz, Kiziltash, and Vityazevolimans and the Chemburka Lake on the southern coast of the Taman Peninsula. The studied peloids are dark-colored mud enriched in hydrogen sulfide and methane and constitute the uppermost 10–20 cm of bottom sediments. Being geologically unique, the coastal peloids of the Taman Peninsula can be recognized as ageoheritage site. Their uniqueness is linked to sediment type, biogeochemical processes, economic value, and depositional environment. The most typical peloids are found in the BugazLiman and the Chemburka Lake, proposed as geosites. The recognized coastal geoheritage site can be used for the purposes of science, education, and tourism, and its utility seems to be especially high because of its close location to the big resort area of Anapa. It appears to be important to balance management of this geoheritagesite with peloid extraction for balneological purposes. The studied coastal muds should be involved into the regional planning programs aimed at sustainable development (international experience and, particularly, some examples from the British coasts should be taken into consideration). Particularly, it is necessary to put peloid use into the context of regional planning and sustainable natural resource management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Geological and Geomorphological Studies in Coastal Areas)

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