Pre- and Post-Storm LiDAR Surveys for Assessment of Impact on Coastal Erosion

Anne-Lise Clémence Montreuil, Margaret Chen, Alexis Esquerre, Rik Houthuys, Robercht Moelans, Patrick BOGAERT

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference paperResearch

Abstract

Sustainable management of the coastal resources requires a better understanding of the processes that drive coastline change. The coastline is a highly dynamic sea-terrestrial interface. It is affected by forcing factors such as water levels, waves, winds, and the highest and most severe changes occur during storm surges. Extreme storms are drivers responsible for rapid and sometimes dramatic changes of the coastline. The consequences of the impacts from these events entail a broad range of social, economic and natural resource considerations from threats to humans, infrastructure and habitats. This study investigates the impact of a severe storm on coastline response on a sandy multi-barred beach at the Belgian coast. Airborne LiDAR surveys acquired pre- and post-storm covering an area larger than 1 km2 were analyzed and reproducible monitoring solutions adapted to assess beach morphological changes were applied. Results indicated that the coast retreated by a maximum of 14.7 m where the embryo dunes in front of the fixed dunes were vanished and the foredune undercut. Storm surge and wave attacks were probably the most energetic there. However, the response of the coastline proxies associated with the mean high water line (MHW) and dunetoe (DuneT) was spatially variable. Based on the extracted beach features, good correlations (r>0.73) were found between coastline, berm and inner intertidal bar morphology, while it was weak with the most seaward bars covered in the surveys. This highlights the role of the upper features on the beach to protect the coastline from storm erosion by reducing wave energy. The findings are of critical importance in improving our knowledge and forecasting of coastline response to storms, and also in its translation into management practices.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGeoInformation for Disaster Management
PublisherThe International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
Pages261-266
Number of pages6
Volume42
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Aug 2019
EventGeoinformation for Disaster Management 2019 - Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Duration: 4 Sep 20196 Sep 2019

Conference

ConferenceGeoinformation for Disaster Management 2019
Country/TerritoryCzech Republic
CityPrague
Period4/09/196/09/19

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