Role of Atmospheric Indices in Describing Shoreline Variability Along the Atlantic Coast of Europe

Abstract

Beaches are highly variable environments and respond to changes in wave forcing, themselves modulated by climate variability. Here, we analyze three high-quality beach profile data sets to robustly investigate, for the first time, the link between shoreline change, wave forcing and climate variability along the Atlantic coast of Europe. Winter wave conditions are strongly associated with North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Western Europe Pressure Anomaly (WEPA), with WEPA explaining 50%–80% of the winter wave power variability. Shoreline variability during winter is also strongly linked to NAO and WEPA, with WEPA explaining 25% of the winter shoreline variability. Winter wave conditions and associated shoreline variability are both unrelated to El Nino Southern Oscillation. In addition to the atmospherically-forced beach morphological response, shoreline change also depends strongly on the antecedent morphology as evidenced by significant correlations between summer/winter shoreline response and the shoreline position at the start of each season.