Long-term observations of beach variability at Hasaki, Japan

Abstract

Long-term beach observation data for several decades are essential to validate beach morphodynamic models that are used to predict coastal responses to sea-level rise and wave climate changes. At the Hasaki coast, Japan, the beach profile has been measured for 34 years at a daily to weekly time interval. This beach morphological dataset is one of the longest and most high-frequency measurements of the beach morphological change worldwide. The profile data, with more than 6800 records, reflect short-to long-term beach morphological change, showing coastal dune development, foreshore morphological change and longshore bar movement. We investigated the temporal beach variability from the decadal and monthly variations in elevation. Extremely high waves and tidal anomalies from an extratropical cyclone caused a significant change in the long-term bar behavior and foreshore slope. The berm and bar variability were also affected by seasonal wave and water level variations. The variabilities identified here from the long-term observations contribute to our understanding of various coastal phenomena.