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Wave-dominated, mesotidal headland-bay beach morphodynamic classsfications of the Shuidong Bay in South China

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Abstract

Beach morphodynamic classifications have achieved extensive acceptance in foreign coastal geomorphological studies. Three beaches located in different zones of a headland-bay coast are classified according to a dimensionless fall parameter, a relative tide range parameter and a dimensionless embayment scaling parameter. Synchronous data, including wave, tide, sediment and beach morphology, are respectively collected from the tangential beach, the transitional beach and the shadow beach of the Shuidong Bay during each spring tide for 16 successive months. The research results indicate that (1) the beach in the tangential zone falls between two major categories which are low tide terrace beaches with rips and barred beaches; the beach in the transitional zone exhibits two main types which are low tide bar/rip beaches and barred dissipative beaches; and the beach in the shadow zone mainly mirrors dissipative states with presence or absence of bars; and (2) the sequential changes and differences of beach states in different coastal zones reflect spatial and temporal variabilities of the headland-bay coast, totally meeting the actual measured beach morphology changes, showing that studies on wave-dominated, meso-macrotidal beaches need to consider the influences of the tides. Meanwhile, the research mainly provides a framework about beach state studies, due to different beach states with different erosion patterns, which requires the need to strengthen the researches in this respect, in order to further enrich theoretical basis for a beach topography evolution, beach morphodynamic processes and beach erosion prevention in China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Surveying and Land Information Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454000, China

    Jitao Yu, Yuanting Ding & Lailiang Cai

  2. School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Jitao Yu & Yuanting Ding

  3. Department of Landscape Architecture, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Huangxin Cheng

  4. Geography and Planning School, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Zishen Chen

Authors
  1. Jitao Yu
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  2. Yuanting Ding
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  3. Huangxin Cheng
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  4. Lailiang Cai
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  5. Zishen Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuanting Ding.

Additional information

Foundation item: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41301005; the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China under contract No. 2014M552118.

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Yu, J., Ding, Y., Cheng, H. et al. Wave-dominated, mesotidal headland-bay beach morphodynamic classsfications of the Shuidong Bay in South China. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 35, 87–95 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-016-0907-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-016-0907-9

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