Beach Morphology and Sediment Budget Variability Based on High Quality Digital Elevation Models Derived from Field Data Sets英文文献资料.docVIP

International Journal of Geosciences, 2011, 2, 111-119 doi:10.4236/ijg.2011.22012 Published Online May 2011 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ijg) Beach Morphology and Sediment Budget Variability Based on High Quality Digital Elevation Models Derived from Field Data Sets Mohammed Taaouati , Abdelmounim El Mrini, Driss Nachite * Department of Geology, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tétouan, Morocco E-mail: mtaaouati@ Received January 11, 2011; revised February 17, 2011; accepted March 22, 2011 Abstract The morphological and volumetric changes of a sandy beach were investigated through a series of two- monthly filed surveys carried out over a 2-year period from April 2005 to January 2007. This paper discusses the ability of 3-D digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from high accurate data to assess and quantify beach morphodynamics in relation with wave forcing. The methodology and data acquisition are described and consist mainly in the production of interpolated DEMs from which a variety of representations can be made, including as elevation change maps, two-dimensional cross-sections of the beach, and calculation of net volume. The results of the analysis highlight seasonal changes in beach morphology due to variations in wave energy. This behavior is characterized by beach erosion and bar decay under high-energy waves and net accretion and bar formation during relatively fair weather conditions. The sand budgets adjustments show that the loss of volume in the winter months is compensated for by accumulation to the beach during summer. This trend suggests that waves are the main forcing which controls the beach evolution. The correlation be- tween beach changes and wave energy variations highlights a strong relationship between them and supports the suggestion previously made. The results from this investigation state the value of DEMs utilized and demonstrate the efficiency of the 3-D approach employed here to assess the erosi