Contemporary shoreline changes and consequences at a tropical coastal domain

Temitope D Timothy Oyedotun,Arturo Ruiz-Luna,Alma G Navarro-Hernández

doi:10.1080/24749508.2018.1452483

Temitope D Timothy Oyedotun, Arturo Ruiz-Luna + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/24749508.2018.1452483

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Abstract

Coastal environment is affected by diverse human and natural activities, more than any other natural environment. The main aim of this study is to examine shoreline dynamics of the sandy beach of Mazatlán, a medium-sized tropical coastal city in north-west Mexico. This paper specifically investigates the shoreline change as impacted by natural and anthropogenic interferences on the Mazatlán coastline. The mean high water (MHW) shoreline positions were extracted from Landsat Images (2012–2016) and a 2016 GPS field survey data. Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) was then used to investigate the dynamics of the extracted shoreline movements and the relative changes. Results showed that 96% of the coastline is undergoing yearly small-scale erosion at two distinct rates. The first at −1.9 ± 0.9 m year−1 and the other at −1.4 ± 0.2 m year−1, which are noted at Cerritos and other sections of the coastline, respectively. Changes in the coastal behaviour, here, are attributed widely to suspected sea level rise; increasing tidal range in the region; and the lack of or inadequate accommodation space for sediment movement occasioned by landed assets alongshore. These factors are not only encouraging erosion but also causing the depreciation of landward assets.

Highlights

Intense conflicts between the natural environment and human activities are reported widely in literature (e.g., Brown et al, 2013, 2017; Larsen, 2016; Rhoads, Lewis, & Andresen, 2016; Waters et al, 2016)
Coastal geomorphology and processes are impacted by anthropogenic influence, directly or indirectly (Blum & Roberts, 2009; Brown et al, 2017), in addition to the mirage of natural environmental forcings, thereby presenting acute challenges within this natural environment (Teasdale, Collins, Firth, & Cundy, 2011)
As no natural environment has become more affected by human activity at the contemporary timescale than the coastal environment, this study was aimed at investigating geomorphic response at the tropical coastline of Mazatlán, Mexico, in the context of natural and anthropogenic influence

Summary

Introduction

Intense conflicts between the natural environment and human activities are reported widely in literature (e.g., Brown et al, 2013, 2017; Larsen, 2016; Rhoads, Lewis, & Andresen, 2016; Waters et al, 2016). Perhaps no natural environment is more affected by human activity at the contemporary (shorter) timescale than the coastal environment (Brown et al, 2017). The inability to understand and predict shoreline variability can result in the misinterpretation of coastal change scenarios, and affect (directly or indirectly) decision-making and subsequent design of intervention plans (Stive et al, 2002). Contemporary shoreline change is the short-term behaviour (annual to decadal timescale) of the shoreline positions, especially as it relates to either the hydrodynamics processes

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