Causes of the different behaviour of the shoreline on beaches with similar characteristics. Study case of the San Juan and Guardamar del Segura beaches, Spain

Storms can alter the beach shape, relocating large volumes of sediments and generating drastic changes in the coastline. In the last 60years, beaches shoreline behaviour has been different even though the energy of the waves was similar. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the factors that affect the sandy coasts for better future management. In this research, two beaches, with different erosion rate, located in the southeast of Spain (separated by only 40km of distance) have been studied. The beaches: i) have similar orientations, ii) are open to waves with similar sand lengths of 9.8km and 6.6km, and iii) have similar median sediment size (D₅₀). For its study, shoreline evolution has been analysed from 1956 to 2017. From the results obtained, it can be seen that: i) Between 1992 and 2017, San Juan just lost 3% of its surface, while in the previous period (1956-1990) it was 50%, and ii) Guardamar surface lost in 1992-2017 was 18%, and in the previous period it was 14%. For the analysis of the agents involved in both beaches, cross-shore profiles (volume), marine climate, biocenosis and sedimentology studies were carried out. The results showed that the energy on both beaches was very similar. The biocenosis had not changed and, however, the morphology of Guardamar seabed had increased to 1m deep in some places, which had caused part of the beach berm erosion. Furthermore, important differences were found from the sedimentological study, concluding that the content of calcites and the degree of homogeneity of the particles are the real factors that caused these two beaches to behave differently against erosion.

The effects of sediment used in beach nourishment: Study case El Portet de Moraira beach

Actions taken to prevent or reduce coastal erosion often do not have the desired effect, leading to major problems instead of solving the original one. This research focuses on why a nourished beach- with borrowed sand and 0.05% of particles <0.063 mm- causes the presence of suspended particles that are observed by beach users as turbidity. This means that the colour of the water was not its characteristic blue, even with calm wave conditions. This research involved a shoreline evolution analysis and a sedimentological study of the sand from 1977 to 2017. The results show that the turbidity episodes that occurred after the beach fill of May 2017 do not coincide with major storms that affected the beach. Furthermore, prior to this beach nourishment, even after the most important storms turbidity was not so pronounced. However, when the pre-nourishment and post-nourishment sediment are compared and analysed in detail, by studying the microstructure and morphology of the sand particles, their composition and morphology were observed to be completely different. These differences are also reflected in the accelerated particle weathering test, with the post-nourishment particles showing greater dissolution of carbonates. From its mineralogy, the post-nourishment material presents a smaller proportion of quartz in its composition and a significant amount of particles (9.6%) formed by clusters of Calcium and Silicon. The separation of this mineralogical composition produced by waves explains the formation of particles measuring <0.063 mm, a fact that has also been confirmed by the accelerated particle weathering test. This is, therefore, the cause of turbidity in the swash zone of the beach.

Study of the evolution of gravel beaches nourished with sand

Coastal erosion is a worldwide problem, so accurate knowledge of the factors involved in the shoreline evolution is of great importance. This study analysed three gravel beaches that were nourished with sand from the same source. However, the evolution of their shoreline was different in each case. For its analysis, different factors were studied such as the shoreline and cross-shore profile evolution, the maritime climate, sedimentology and mineralogy. From the results, it should be noted that Centro beach is the most stable with a loss of surface after the first regeneration of 12.8%, while Carrer de mar is the most instable with a loss of 20.9%. The Posidonia oceanica meadow is one of the factors that make Centro beach the most stable despite being the one that receives the most wave energy. Another factor is its mineralogy and more specifically the composition of the particles that form the sample. Thus, it is observed how the cracking or the formation of particles by different minerals with a fragile union, are factors that make the beaches behave differently against erosion. For this reason, it is concluded that in order for the shoreline to be as stable as possible over time, a previous study of the sediment to be used for nourishment is necessary, as well as its possible effect on the ecosystem, since the future shoreline evolution will depend on it.