Analysis of data characterizing tide and current fluxes in coastal basins

Abstract

Abstract. Many coastal monitoring programmes have been carried out to investigate in situ hydrodynamic patterns and correlated physical processes, such as sediment transport or spreading of pollutants. The key point is the necessity to transform this growing amount of data provided by marine sensors into information for users. The present paper aims to outline that it is possible to recognize the recurring and typical hydrodynamic processes of a coastal basin, by conveniently processing some selected marine field data. The illustrated framework is made up of two steps. Firstly, a sequence of analysis with classic methods characterized by low computational cost was executed in both time and frequency domains on detailed field measurements of waves, tides, and currents. After this, some indicators of the hydrodynamic state of the basin were identified and evaluated. Namely, the assessment of the net flow through a connecting channel, the time delay of current peaks between upper and bottom layers, the ratio of peak ebb and peak flood currents and the tidal asymmetry factor exemplify results on the vertical structure of the flow, on the correlation between currents and tide and flood/ebb dominance. To demonstrate how this simple and generic framework could be applied, a case study is presented, referring to Mar Piccolo, a shallow water basin located in the inner part of the Ionian Sea (southern Italy).

Three Decades of Coastal Changes in Sindh, Pakistan (1989–2018): A Geospatial Assessment

“…Decadal coastline change was analyzed systematically using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) [18,42] developed by the USGS. The following computation was carried out to compute the change rate: (a) coastline delineation; (b) baseline generation; (c) transects generation; (d) computation of distances between the coastline and the baseline at each transect; and (e) estimation of coastline change rate at each transect.…”

Coastline evolution based on statistical analysis and modeling

“…Shoreline evolution, characterized by erosion and deposition areas, has consequences on socioeconomic activities and ecosystems. Therefore their evolution and understanding represent a challenge to coastal communities, coastal infrastructures and adjacent estuarine environments (Cutter et al, 2008;Torresan et al, 2012;Mossa, 2014, 2016;Samaras et al, 2016;De Padova et al, 2017;Armenio et al, 2017aArmenio et al, , 2018.…”

“…Questions arise about the appropriateness of linear models, considering that shorelines do not recede or accrete uniformly (Douglas and Crowell, 2000;Thieler and Danforth, 1994a, b). As an example, coastal embayments featured by a parabolic curve, which are representative of more than 50 % of the world's coastlines, are very dynamic environments where the shoreline position can fluctuate significantly due to processes such as beach rotation (Armenio et al, 2017b;Short and Trembanis, 2004;Blossier et al, 2015). This can be defined as the landward or seaward movement at one end of the beach accompanied by the reverse pattern at the other end (Bryan et al, 2013) and is often a consequence of maritime constructions (i.e., dikes, breakwaters) and variations in river sediment supply on flanking beaches.…”

Combined Effect of Tides and Wind on Water Exchange in a Semi-Enclosed Shallow Sea

“…However, these large populations generate high levels of pollution, which is discharged into the ocean and can have significant effects on the natural environment. As a result, semi-enclosed seas around the world often face environmental problems [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10].…”