Title :

Identifying forcing conditions responsible for foredune erosion on the northern coast of France.

Author(s) :

Ruz, Marie Hélène [Auteur correspondant]
Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale [ULCO]
Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 [LOG]
Héquette, Arnaud [Auteur]
Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale [ULCO]
Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 [LOG]
Maspataud, Aurélie [Auteur]
Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale [ULCO]
Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 [LOG]

Journal title :

Journal of Coastal Research
Proceedings of the 10th International Coastal Symposium

Pages :

356-360

Publisher :

Coastal Education and Research Foundation

Publication date :

2009

ISSN :

0749-0208

English keyword(s) :

coastal dunes
coastal erosion
southern North Sea

English abstract : [en]

Along the southwestern coast of the North Sea a large proportion of the Flemish coastal plain consists of densely populated reclaimed land, much of which lying below mean sea level. This sandy coast is exposed to fetch-limited, ...
Show more >Along the southwestern coast of the North Sea a large proportion of the Flemish coastal plain consists of densely populated reclaimed land, much of which lying below mean sea level. This sandy coast is exposed to fetch-limited, relatively low-energy waves punctuated by storm activity and experiences tidal range of 5.6 m at spring tides. A number of recent studies suggested medium term (10 years) gross stability of the beach-dune system. This stability was related to moderate wind regime and efficient dune management practices. In March 2007, a storm event resulted in major foredune retreat. This episodic erosive event was induced by moderate direct onshore winds blowing during more than 48 hours associated with a spring tide. Our results show that along this macrotidal coast, erosive events are not necessarily associated with strong winds. Wind direction and duration combined with a spring tide appear to hold the key to understanding the relative importance of processes controlling medium term foredune evolution.Show less >

Language :

Anglais

Peer reviewed article :

Oui

Audience :

Internationale

Popular science :

Non

Collections :

• Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187

Source :

Harvested from HAL