Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-g7rbq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-30T19:33:37.877Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Coastal sand dunes as geomorphological systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

Victor Goldsmith
Victor Goldsmith
Affiliation:
Geology and Geography Department, Hunter College (City University of New York), 695 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10021, U.S.A.
Get access

Synopsis

The importance of aeolian deposition is clearly shown by the size and bulk of coastal dunes. Sand dunes occur where there is a large supply of sand, a wind to move it, and a place in which it can accumulate. A dune classification is presented which takes into account the origin, internal geometry and surface geomorphology of coastal dunes. Since the main element that distinguishes coastal dunes from desert dunes is vegetation, the relative amount of vegetation may be used as a typology. Four dune types are distinguished: vegetated dunes, parabolic dunes, medanos (i.e. large sand hills devoid of vegetation), and artificially-inseminated dunes. Vegetated and medano dunes are the end members, with parabolic dunes in between. Parabolic dunes are “anchored” by vegetation, but the centre of the dunes has migrated in the down-wind direction. The artificially-inseminated dunes are formed by vegetation plantings, fencing, or other artificial means, but with natural sand accumulation around these obstacles. These now account for a very substantial portion of the world's coastal dunes.

The role of wind and its relation to the internal geometry (i.e. cross-bed dip and direction) are discussed in some detail, with examples from Brazil, U.S. east and south coasts, Israel and China. Differences in these characteristics are detailed, and related to the different modes of formation of the four dune types.

The role of the wind in transporting and depositing sand in coastal areas is being quantified through both wind tunnel and field transport measurements. An example from a field study along the coast of Israel illustrates the differences between desert and coastal dune transport, where the role of vegetation and beach topography must be taken into account. From the Israeli study, and others, it appears that transport in coastal dunes is reduced by one-third to one-half of that in deserts, due to these factors.

Coastal dunes provide a useful, and often necessary, buffer against storm waves and the presently rising sea level. They form primarily through vertical sand accretion trapped by the sensitive dune vegetation. Provided that sufficient space exists between the high tide line and developed areas, planned dunes can be easily formed with the aid of plantings and fencing.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 96: Coastal Sand Dunes , 1989 , pp. 3 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bagnold, R. A., 1954. The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes. New York: Will Morrow.Google Scholar
Belly, P. Y., 1964. Sand movement by wind. U.S. Army CERC, Tech. Memo No. 1.Google Scholar
Bigarella, J. J., Becker, R. D. & Duarte, G. M. 1969. Coastal dune structures from Paran, Brazil, Marine Geology 7, 5–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowen, A. J. & Inman, D. L. 1966. Budget of littoral sands in the vicinity of Point Arguello, California, U.S. Army CERC, TM-19.Google Scholar
Bressolier, C. & Thomas, Y. 1977. Studies on wind and plant interaction on French Atlantic coastal dunes. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 47, 331–338.Google Scholar
Chepil, W. S. 1945. Dynamics of wind erosion. The transport capacity of the wind. Soil Science 60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Danin, A. & Yaalon, D. 1982. Silt plus clay sedimentation and decalcification during plant succession in sands of the Mediterranean coastal plain of Israel. Israel Journal of Earth Science 31, 101–109.Google Scholar
Gares, P. A. 1987. Aeolian sediment transport and dune formation on undeveloped and developed shorelines. Dissertation, Rutgers State University of New Jersey.Google Scholar
Gertner, Y. 1989. Vegetation effect on the rate of aeolian sand movement and accumulation in the coastal dunes at Neve Yam. Masters Thesis submitted to Haifa University.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, V. 1973. Internal geometry and origin of vegetated coastal dunes. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 43, 1128–1143.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, V. 1977. Coastal processes and resulting forms of sediment accumulation: Currituck Spit, Virginia/North Carolina. Spec. Rpt. in Applied Marine Science and Ocean Engineering No. 143. Virginia Inst. of Marine Sci., Gloucester Pt., VA., 539 p.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, V. 1983. Dynamic geomorphology of the Israeli coast: a brief review. In Coastal Problems in the Mediterranean, eds Fabbri, P. and Bird, E. C. F., Commission on the coastal Environment, Int. Geograph. Un., pp. 109–124.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, V. 1985. Coastal dunes. In Coastal Sedimentary Environments ed. Davis, R. A., pp. 171–236. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, V., Rosen, P. & Gertner, Y. 1988. Aeolian sediment transport on the Israeli coast. Final Report to U.S.–Israel Binational Science Foundation, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, V., Rosen, P. & Gertner, Y. in press. Aeolian transport measurements, winds, and comparison with theoretical transport in Israeli coastal dunes. In Coastal Dunes: Processes and Geomorphology, eds Nordstrom, K., Psuty, N. & Carter, W., pp. 000–000. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, V. & Golik, A. 1980. Sediment transport model of the southeastern Mediterranean coast. Marine Geology 37, 147–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldsmith, V. & Sofer, S. 1983. Wave climatology of the southeastern Mediterranean: an integrated approach. Israel Journal of Earth Science 32, 1–51.Google Scholar
Gutman, A. L. 1977. Movement of a large sand hill: Currituck Spit, Virginia – North Carolina. In Coastal Processes and Resulting Sediment Accumulation, Currituck Spit, Va., N.C., ed Goldsmith, V., Virginia Institute of Marine Science, pp. 29–1 .Google Scholar
Horikawa, K., Hotta, S., Kubota, S. & Katori, S. 1984. Field measurements of brown sand transport rate by trench trap. Coastal Engineering in Japan 27, 213–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horikawa, K., Hotta, S., Kubota, S., & Kraus, N. 1986. Literature review of sand transport by wind on a dry sand surface. Coastal Engineering, 9, 503–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horikawa, K., & Shen, H. W. 1960. Sand movement by wind action (on the characteristics of sand traps). U.S. Army CERC, Tech.Memo. 119.Google Scholar
Hotta, S., Kubota, S., Katori, S. & Horikawa, K. 1987. Sand transport by wind on a wet sand surface. 19th Coastal Engineering Conference. N.Y: A.S.C.E.Google Scholar
Hsu, S. A. 1971. Wind stress criteria in sand transport. Journal of Geophysical Research 76, 8684–8686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsu, S. A. 1973. Computing aeolian sand transport from shear velocity measurements. Journal of Geology 11, 739–743.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsu, S. A. 1974. Computing aeolian sand transport from routine weather data. Proceedings of the 14th Conference on Coastal Engineering pp. 1619–1626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunter, R., Richmond, B. & Alpha, T. 1983. Storm-controlled oblique dunes of the Oregon coast. Geological Society of America Bulletin 94, 1450–1465.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illenberger, W. & Rust, I. 1988. A sand budget for the Alexandria coastal dune field, South Africa. Sedimentology 35, 513–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, J. W. & Kadib, A. A. 1965. Sand losses from a coast by wind action. Proceedings of the 9th Conference on Coastal Engineering pp. 366–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, J. R. & Willetts, B. B. 1979. Errors in measuring uniform aeolian sand flow by means of an adjustable trap. Sedimentology 26, 463–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kadib, A. A. 1964. Calculation procedure for sand movement by wind on natural beaches. U.S. Army CERC, Misc. Pap. no. 2-64.Google Scholar
Kutiel, P., Danin, A. & Orshan, G. 1979/1980. Vegetation on the sandy soils near Caesarea, Israel. Israel Journal of Botany 28, 20–35.Google Scholar
Leatherman, S. P. 1978. A new aeolian sand trap design. Sedimentology 25, 303–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCluskey, J. M., Nordstrom, K. & Rosen, P. 1983. An aeolian sediment budget for the south shore of Long Island N. Y. Prepared for the National Park Service by the Center for Environmental Studies, Rutgers Univ., 78 p.Google Scholar
Moreno-Casasola, P. 1986. Sand movement as a factor in the distribution of plant communities in a coastal dune system. Vegetatio 65, 67–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordstrom, K. F. & McCluskey, J. M. 1985. The effects of houses and sand fences on the aeolian sediment budget at Fire Island, New York, Journal of Coastal Research 1, 39–46.Google Scholar
Olson, J. S. 1958. Lake Michigan dune development. 1-2-3. Journal of Geology 56, 254–263, 345–351, 413–483.Google Scholar
Pierce, J. W. 1969. Sediment budget along a barrier island chain. Sedimentary Geology 3, 5–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pye, K. 1983. Coastal dunes. Progress in Physical Geography 7: 4, 531–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosen, P. S. 1979a. An efficient, low cost, aeolian sampling system. Scient. Tech. Notes, Current Research, part A, Geol. Surv. Canada, Pap. 78–1 A.Google Scholar
Rosen, P. S. 1979b. Aeolian dynamics of a barrier island system. In Barrier Islands, ed Leatherman, S. P. pp. 81–98. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Short, A. D. & Hesp, P. A. 1982. Waves, dune and beach interactions in southeastern Australia. Marine Geology 48, 259–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swart, H. 1987. Prediction of wind-driven transport rates. In Proceedings of the Coastal Engineering Conference, ed Edge, B., pp. 1595–1611. N.Y: A.S.C.E.Google Scholar
Tsoar, H. 1974. Desert dune morphology and dynamics, El Arish (northern Sinai). Journal of Geomorphology suppl. 20, 41–61.Google Scholar
Tsoar, H. 1978. The dynamics of longitudinal dunes. Final Tech. Rep., Eur. Res. off., U.S. Army, London.Google Scholar
Tsoar, H. 1983. Dynamics process acting on a longitudinal (seif)sand dune. Sedimentology 30, 567–578.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsoar, H. & Moller, J. T. 1986. The role of vegetation in the formation of linear sand dunes. In Aeolian Geomorphology, Proc. from the 17th Annual Binghampton Geomorphology Symposium, ed Nickling, W. G. Boston: Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Tsoar, H. & Pye, K. (in press). Aeolion Sand and Sand Dunes. London: Unwin Hyman.Google Scholar
Vallianos, F. 1970. Recent history of erosion at Carolina Beach N.C. Proceedings of the 12th Conference on Coastal Engineering.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wasson, R. J. & Nanninga, P. M. 1986. Estimating wind transport of sand on vegetated surfaces. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 11, 505–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yaalon, D. H. & Laronne, J. 1971. Internal structures in aeolianites and paleowinds, Mediterranean coast, Israel. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 41, 1059–1064.Google Scholar
Zhao, X. & Goldsmith, V. 1989. Surficial and internal geometry of carbonate aeolianite in Fujian. China: Climatic and tectonic implications. Journal of Coastal Research 5, 765–776.Google Scholar