Environmental controls on decadal morphologic behaviour of the Holland coast

Kathelijne M. Wijnberg*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

63 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A detailed comparison of alongshore variation in environmental variables along the Holland coast with the observed marked regional differences in decadal nearshore morphologic behaviour reveals that neither offshore hydrodynamic parameters nor grain size are discriminating factors. Rather, the abrupt alongshore changes in decadal behaviour coincide with sharp changes in shoreface morphology and the location of large man-made structures. These structures, such as jetties and a protruding seawall, appear to act as artificial headlands. Once they are built, the coastal stretches on either side of the structure can develop independently of each other; initially small differences in the development of the regions potentially may evolve into larger differences with time. Consequently, on the long term, large man-made structures may affect the behaviour of coastal stretches over far larger distances than was previously known.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)227-247
Number of pages21
JournalMarine geology
Volume189
Issue number3-4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Sept 2002
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Alongshore variability
  • Coastal engineering
  • Coastal evolution
  • Large-scale coastal behaviour
  • Nearshore morphodynamics
  • n/a OA procedure

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