Abstract
Until recently, studies of the regional distribution of seabed sediments off the littoral zone of the Danish North Sea coast had been concentrated on the Jutland Bank area (Fig. 1; Leth 1996, 1998). Knowledge on the sedimentary conditions and processes along the entire west coast of Jutland has, however, significantly increased as a result of 2000 km of newly acquired high-resolution seismic and side-scan sonar data, supplemented by about 100 vibrocores. These data were collected by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) during joint projects with the Danish Coastal Authority between 1998 and 2001 (Leth et al. 1999; Larsen & Leth 2001). The coastal zone off west Jutland displays a highly dynamic environment, where sediment transport is governed by strong tidal and wave-induced currents. The net wave-generated current is south going, while the coastal current has a net direction towards the north (Knudsen et al. 2002). The direction of the net littoral drift is southward from the outlet of Limfjorden to Blåvands Huk, with net erosion north of Nymindegab and aggregation to the south; the offshore part of this depositional system has recently been studied (Larsen & Leth 2001).
Highlights
Seabed geologyThe present coast between Nymindegab and Limfjorden is a highly erosive, wave-dominated, high-energy barrier coast subdivided by glacial headlands
Until recently, studies of the regional distribution of seabed sediments off the littoral zone of the Danish North Sea coast had been concentrated on the Jutland Bank area (Fig. 1; Leth 1996, 1998)
The mobile sand occurs as NE–SW-trending shoreface-connected ridges close to the coast between Nymindegab and Bovbjerg (Anthony & Leth 2002) that extend into large sand-bodies farther offshore
Summary
The present coast between Nymindegab and Limfjorden is a highly erosive, wave-dominated, high-energy barrier coast subdivided by glacial headlands. The natural retreat of the coast profile is in the order of 2–5 m/year. Mapping of the geological substratum reveals a complex range of lithologies, of which five types are dominant: (1) Weichselian glacial till, (2) Saalian till, (3) Weichselian outwash deposits, (4) Eemian marine deposits and (5) Miocene sediments (Fig. 2). The development of the coast and sand transport has been closely linked to the subsurface geology since the onset of the Holocene transgression and up to the present (Leth 1996, 1998; Anthony et al in press)
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