ORCID
- Gerd Masselink: 0000-0001-6079-7611
- Nieves G. Valiente: 0000-0003-1716-0767
- Tim Scott: 0000-0002-3357-7485
Abstract
AbstractExtreme storms cause extensive beach-dune erosion and are typically considered to enhance coastal erosion due to sea-level rise. However, extreme storms can also have a positive contribution to the nearshore sediment budget by exchanging sediment between the lower and upper shoreface and/or between adjacent headlands, potentially mitigating some adverse sea-level rise impacts. Here we use three high-resolution morphological datasets of extreme storm-recovery sequences from Australia, the UK and Mexico to quantify the nearshore sediment budget and relate these episodic volume changes to long-term coastal projections. We show that sediment gains over the upper shoreface were large (59–140 m3/m) and sufficient to theoretically offset decades of projected shoreline retreat due to sea-level rise, even for a high-end greenhouse gas emissions scenario (SSP5-8.5). We conclude that increased confidence in shoreline projections relies fundamentally on a robust quantitative understanding of the sediment budget, including any major short-term sediment contribution by extreme storms.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2022-05-12
Publication Title
Communications Earth & Environment
Volume
3
Issue
1
ISSN
2662-4435
Acceptance Date
2022-04-12
Deposit Date
2022-05-18
Embargo Period
2022-05-21
Funding
This study was supported by the Australian Research Council (Grant #DP150101339), the UK Natural Environment Research Council (Grant NE/M004996/1; BLUE-coast project), CONACyT (CB-2014-238765 and INFR-2013-011005) and the UC-MEXUS CN-18-179 project. Narrabeen survey data was collected with the support of UNSW Aviation (Airborne Lidar) and the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (bathymetric data). Perranporth survey data was collected thanks to the efforts of numerous generations of PhD students and researchers from the Coastal Processes Research Group, University of Plymouth. La Misión data was collected thanks to the support of the Coastal Morphodynamics Research Group, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. The authors would like to acknowledge traditional owners on whose lands the research was undertaken.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Harley, M., Masselink, G., Ruiz, d., Valiente, N., & Scott, T. (2022) 'Single extreme storm sequence can offset decades of shoreline retreat projected to result from sea-level rise', Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1). Available at: 10.1038/s43247-022-00437-2
