Coastal Wetland Shoreline Change Monitoring: A Comparison of Shorelines from High-Resolution WorldView Satellite Imagery, Aerial Imagery, and Field Surveys

Shoreline change analysis is an important environmental monitoring tool for evaluating coastal exposure to erosion hazards, particularly for vulnerable habitats such as coastal wetlands where habitat loss is problematic world-wide. The increasing availability of high-resolution satellite imagery and emerging developments in analysis techniques support the implementation of these data into shoreline monitoring. Geospatial shoreline data created from a semi-automated methodology using WorldView (WV) satellite data between 2013 and 2020 were compared to contemporaneous field-surveyed Global Position System (GPS) data. WV-derived shorelines were found to have a mean difference of 2 ± 0.08 m of GPS data, but accuracy decreased at high-wave energy shorelines that were unvegetated, bordered by sandy beach or semi-submergent sand bars. Shoreline change rates calculated from WV imagery were comparable to those calculated from GPS surveys and geospatial data derived from aerial remote sensing but tended to overestimate shoreline erosion at highly erosive locations (greater than 2 m yr−1). High-resolution satellite imagery can increase the spatial scale-range of shoreline change monitoring, provide rapid response to estimate impacts of coastal erosion, and reduce cost of labor-intensive practices.

Ranking 67 Florida Reefs for Survival of Acropora cervicornis Outplants

Over the past three decades, coral populations have declined across the tropical and subtropical oceans because of thermal stress, coral diseases, and pollution. Restoration programs are currently attempting to re-establish depauperate coral populations along the Florida reef tract. We took an integrated Bayesian approach to determine which Florida reefs ranked highest based on the survival of outplanted colonies of Acropora cervicornis from 2012 to 2018. Survival of A. cervicornis outplants was highly variable in the upper Florida Keys with some reefs showing the highest likelihood of survival (e.g., North Dry Rocks, Carysfort, Key Largo Dry Rocks, and Conch Reef), whereas some adjacent reefs showed the lowest likelihood of survival (e.g., an Unnamed Reef, Pickles Reef, and U47 Patch Reef). Similarly, survival was highly variable in the middle and lower Florida Keys and in the Broward-Miami subregions. Survival was high and less variable in Biscayne Bay and low and less variable in the Marquesas subregions. The reefs that ranked lowest for outplant survival were exposed to high wave energy. Partitioning out the spatial effects of reefs and subregions from the model, we detected spatial latent effects of low survival that were most evident in the middle and the upper Florida Keys, particularly between 2015 and 2017. The overall high spatial and temporal variability in survival among adjacent reefs highlights a need to outplant nursery-reared colonies strategically, in order to optimize coral-population recovery efforts in Florida.

Microplastic pollution on island beaches, Oahu, Hawai`i

We report microplastic densities on windward beaches of Oahu, Hawai`i, USA, an island that received about 6 million tourist visits a year. Microplastic densities, surveyed on six Oahu beaches, were highest on the beaches with the coarsest sands, associated with high wave energy. On those beaches, densities were very high (700–1700 particles m-2), as high as those recorded on other remote island beaches worldwide. Densities were higher at storm tide lines than high tide lines. Results from our study provide empirical data on the distribution of microplastics on the most populated and visited of the Hawaiian islands.

Shore Evidences of a High Antarctic Ocean Wave Event: Geomorphology, Event Reconstruction and Coast Dynamics through a Remote Sensing Approach

Remote sensing can be helpful in defining the dynamic of a high-latitude coastal environment where the role of cryogenic processes like sea-ice or permafrost are the main drivers together with storm surge and wind action. Here we examined the geomorphological dynamics of a beach located at Edmonson Point (74° S) not far from the Italian Antarctic Station “Mario Zucchelli” between 1993 and 2019 using different remote sensing techniques and field measurements. Our data demonstrate that the average rate of surficial increase of the beach (0.002 ± 0.032 m yr−1) was slightly higher than the uplift rate determined by previous authors (0–1 cm yr−1) in case of pure isostatic rebound. However, we suggest that the evolution of EPNB is likely due to the couple effect of vertical uplift and high wave-energy events. Indeed, the coastline accumulation could be related to the subsurface sea water infiltration and annually freezing at the permafrost table interface as aggradational ice as suggested by the ERT carried out in 1996. This ERT suggests the occurrence of saline frozen permafrost or hypersaline brines under the sea level while permafrost with ice occurred above the sea level. The beach also revealed areas that had quite high subsidence values (between 0.08 and 0.011 m yr−1) located in the area where ice content was higher in 1996 and where the active layer thickening and wind erosion could explain the measured erosion rates. Here, we also dated at the late morning of 15 February 2019 coastal flooding and defined a significant wave height of 1.95 m. During the high oceanic wave event the sea level increased advancing shoreward up to 360 m, three times higher than the previous reported storm surge (81 m) and with a sea level rise almost five times higher than has been previously recorded in the Ross Sea.

The Geomorphological Dynamic of the Rupat Strait on the East Coast of Central Sumatera Island, Indonesia

The Rupat Strait on the eastern coast of Sumatera Island is currently undergoing a geomorphological process due to the current system, which flows from the Malacca Strait, and the change of use of the hinterland. The main purpose of this study is to identify the geomorphological dynamic by analyzing the changes to the width and depth of the strait. We propose a remote sensing method using satellite imagery to evaluate the changes to the width and depth. The depth was also measured using echo sounding at 60 stations. The studies of oceanographic observation and sedimentation were carried out along the coastal area of Dumai City and Rupat Island at five stations on each coast. The results showed that although the width of the strait had increased from 6.91 km in 1997 to 7.63 km in 2017, the strait length had not changed over this period. Therefore, the area of the strait increased to 82.544 km² in 20 years from 463.687 km² in 1997 to 544.231 km² in 2017. Over 28 years, the depth of the strait has increased by 1.5–2.7 meters. The changes are due to abrasion and sedimentation, which caused accretion on the coasts of Dumai City and Rupat Island, which go around the Rupat Strait. The abrasion is occupied by a strong current velocity, high-wave energy, steep bottom topography, and coarse-grained sediments, and it was reversed at the accretion areas. The results of this study can be used to guide stakeholders on the utilization and management of shallow marine waters.

Predicted Responses of Beaches, Bays, and Inner-Shelf Sand Supplies to Potential Sea Level Rise (0.5-1.0 m) in Three Small Littoral Subcells in the High-Wave-Energy Northern Oregon Coast, USA

Three small subcells (Nehalem, Tillamook, and Netarts) totaling ~55 km shoreline length in the high-wave energy northern Oregon coast are evaluated for potential beach sand loss from sea level rise (SLR) of 0.5–1.0 m during the next century. The predicted erosion is based on beach sand displacement from the narrow beaches (average ~120 m width) to increased submarine accommodation spaces in the innermost-shelf (to 30 m water depth) and in the subcell estuaries (Tillamook Bay, Netarts Bay, and Nehalem Bay), following predicted near-future SLR. Beach sand sources from local rivers, paleo-shelf deposits, and/or sea cliff retreat are discriminated by distinctive heavy-mineral tracers. Modern beach sands in the study area are derived from river sand (~75 %) and paleo-shelf sand (~25 %). The supplies of paleo-shelf sand to the beaches have largely diminished in late-Holocene time. The river-enriched beach sands have been transported offshore to the inner-shelf (0–50 m water depth) to fill increasing accommodation space in the inner-shelf during latest-Holocene conditions of relative SLR (1.0 m ka-1). To evaluate the beach sand response to future SLR, representative beach profiles (n=17) and intervening beach segment distances were compiled to yield beach sand volumes above mean lower low water (MLLW) or shallower wave-cut platforms ‘bedrock’. Across-shore cross-sectional areas, as averaged for each subcell, are as follows; Cannon Beach (304 m2), Tillamook (683 m2), and Netarts (227 m2). Littoral sand displacements to the adjacent innermost-shelf (to 30 m water depth) and the marine-dominated areas of the three estuaries are based on assumed vertical sand accretion rates of 1.0 m per century and a conservative value of 0.5 m per century. The filling of such submarine accommodation spaces will displace all active-beach sand reserves in all three subcells for either the 1.0 m or 0.5 m thickness accommodation space scenarios. Large beach sand deficits, primarily from the filling of offshore accommodation spaces, could cause further retreat of soft-shorelines, including barrier spit and beach plain/dune deposits, in the Tillamook subcell (150-280 m) and in the southern half of the Netarts subcell (370-770 m). The accommodation space approach used to predict beach sand volume loss from future SLR should have broad applicability in complex littoral systems worldwide.

Beach Nourishment Alternatives for Mitigating Erosion of Ancient Coastal Sites on the Mediterranean Coast of Israel

Since 2011, beach nourishment has become the preferred solution for mitigating coastal erosion along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, as it is considered “soft” and environmentally friendly. However, using fine sand for nourishment in Israel without supporting measures is problematic due to the high wave energy and strong longshore currents in the littoral zone that tend to drift the sand away. This would require ongoing, multiyear, costly, and never-ending maintenance. In the present study, we analyzed sand and pebble alternatives for nourishment of the eroded beach in front of Tel Ashkelon, an important coastal archaeological site in southern Israel that suffers from severe erosion. Based on Pranzini et al. (2018), we analyzed the alternatives, evaluated their cost and efficiency, and assessed their potential environmental impacts. The study concluded that for protecting the southern part of Tel Ashkelon beach, pebble nourishment is the optimal solution, mainly regarding durability and cost. Using this material for nourishment will better absorb the storm wave impact and protect the foot of the archaeological Tel from erosion, and require lower maintenance cost than using finer sand nourishment.

Morphological Exposure of Rocky Platforms: Filling the Hazard Gap Using UAVs

Rock platforms are dangerous environments commonly subject to high wave energy on the open coast. Platform morphology is central to understanding what makes one stretch of coastline more hazardous than another, and it can be used to create site-specific morphological exposure hazard indices to assess the relative risk of being washed into the sea, assisting coastal managers in an effort to reduce the number of injuries and drowning incidents. This paper describes the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to derive morphological parameters for two data-poor rock platforms along the Illawarra coast of southern New South Wales, to fill the gap using an easily replicable site-specific hazard index, developed previously, that can be applied to other microtidal wave-dominated settings. The approach is based on the subdivision of the terrestrial seaward edge of platforms into segments, classified according to mean elevation, orientation and edge type, to model different weighting scenarios of predominant southeasterly and northeasterly wave direction. UAV-derived results were deemed satisfactory for all study sites, and a comparison of results derived from LiDAR for two platforms suggested that UAV data can be successfully used to guide risk policy on rock coasts, despite differences in the delimitation of the seaward edge due to tidal level during survey acquisition.