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Effects of Climate Variability on the Morphodynamics of Uruguayan Sandy Beaches

Authors :
Omar Defeo
Charles W. Finkl
Leonardo Ortega
Eleonora Celentano
Source :
Journal of Coastal Research. 289:747-755
Publication Year :
2013
Publisher :
Coastal Education and Research Foundation, 2013.

Abstract

Oretga, L.; Celentano, E.; Finkl, C., and Defeo, O., 2013. Effects of climate variability on the morphodynamics of Uruguayan sandy beaches. Effects of long-term trends in climatic variability on the morphodynamics of a reflective and a dissipative sandy beach in Uruguay (SW Atlantic Ocean) were analyzed. The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) alternates between warm and cold cycles with a periodicity of roughly 70 years, with a shift toward a warm phase since 1995, resulting in an increase of sea surface temperature in the study area. Wind speed anomalies (WSA) also increased through time and were associated with an increasing speed of southerly winds, particularly after 1997. Beach morphodynamics showed no statistically significant trends in grain size, but long-term morphodynamic patterns differed between beaches: the dissipative beach showed an increase in swash and beach width, Dean's parameter, and the Beach Index (a measure of beach morphodynamic state). At the same time, the slope dec...

Details

ISSN :
15515036 and 07490208
Volume :
289
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of Coastal Research
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........03e4db6bfa0face316de264a25f36765
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.2112/jcoastres-d-13-00003.1